The United Nations has said Nigeria is not close to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030 due to the various challenges in the country.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr Matthias Schmale, stated this during the first summit on Africa Social Impact 2022 organised by Sterling One Foundation in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said, “The challenges are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, education, growing unemployment, inflation and insufficient access to quality health care.”
He maintained that the situation was the same across many African nations, adding that transformational efforts were required from nations in Africa to meet up with the development agenda.
“If we position women and girls at the center of economic drive, we will fundamentally drive better and more sustainable outcomes for all, and put Africa back on a footing to achieve the 2030 agenda and its accompanying SDGs,” Schmale said.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Bank, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, said for Nigeria to meet up with SDG’s plan, more attention must be paid to wealth and job creation.
He said the government should pay more attention to promoting economic growth by supporting the private sector to create jobs and drive growth to other sectors of the economy.