Work on MDGs after 2015 - JK

By The guardian reporter

President Kikwete speaks at the opening of the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Summit in Toronto on Wednesday. With him is Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper (Photo: Freddy Maro, State House)

President Jakaya Kikwete has called upon the international community to continue implementing the Millennium Development Goals 2015 even in the post MDGs period when efforts will also be directed to other areas of priority.


Speaking in Toronto, Canada at the opening of a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) conference on Wednesday as the MDGs deadline draws to a close:.
“Let us complete what we have not yet and strengthen all that we have achieved.”

The President was responding to questions from a high level delegation comprising of various prominent leaders including United Nations’ Sectary General, Ban Ki Moon, Aga Khan, Director General for World Health Organisation Margaret Chan, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Anthony Lake and representatives from the Melinda Gates of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“After implementation and achievement of all eight of the MDGs, we will then direct our efforts to other areas of priority all the while ensuring that the previous MDGs are strengthened and sustained,” Kikwete told his fellow delegates.

Earlier that day, the President met businessmen and investors from various Canadian companies many of which have investments in Tanzania.

President Jakaya Kikwete is in Toronto, Canada where he is attending a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) conference on invitation from Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

The meeting started on Wednesday and is expected to end today having given experts and world leaders the chance to deliberate and reach a joint agreement on the way forward and the future of maternal, newborn and child health.

The meeting is also meant to emphasize efforts to strengthen health care, data management, and efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality to developing nations.

In September last year, Kikwete said that despite delays experienced in disbursement of funds by development partners, Tanzania would achieve five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

At the last UN conference in New York, Kikwete said:
“Tanzania will achieve the second goal of universal primary education, which notes that all children must be enrolled in schools, the fourth that covers reduction of child mortality, the sixth, combating HIV/Aids and malaria and part of the seventh goal on clean water provision.”

“The third goal which focuses on promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women including equal representation in Parliament and equal number of boys and girls in primary and secondary schools and tertiary education can also achieved by 2015,” the President told the meeting.

However, he said, due to slow progress by development partners to dish out funds, the country’s implementation reports indicate that Tanzania is not likely to achieve at least three of the goals.

“We have taken major steps and put more effort on this but it is necessary that we increase the speed of implementing some of the projects in the remaining two years,” he said.

He told them that in general, the MDG implementation report in Tanzania shows that it is impossible for the country to meet three of the set goals, first eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the fifth, improving maternal and child health and the seventh on environmental sustainability. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN