National Stakeholders’ Consultation on the 2017 National Voluntary Report (NVR) on SDGs
Education as a Vaccine participated in the National Stakeholders’ Consultation on the 2017 National Voluntary Report (NVR) on SDGs that was held on 25th April, 2017. The NVR is a requirement for countries to voluntarily review its implementation of the SDGs according to the 2030 Agenda. The Agenda outlines the commitment of all Member States to work tirelessly for the full implementation of the SDGs by 2030 and their determination to mobilize the means required to implement it through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
44 member-states, including Nigeria volunteered to participate in the 2017 session of the review of national progress. It is intended that the participating countries will use the report and lessons learned to strengthen their national policies and institutions of government towards the 2030 agenda. On this basis, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs (OSSAP-SDGs), organized a one day National Consultation Workshop to enable all stakeholders to contribute to the development of the report that will be presented by Nigeria at the forthcoming High Level Political Forum in July.
According to Mrs Priscilla Achakpa, the representative of CSOs on the National Voluntary Report Committee “there is a need to hold the government accountable to their commitment. When we talk about SDG we talk about LGAs, there is need for LGAs to be empowered because they have a vital role to play in the development of the society. There is also need to strengthen programs around gender equality since the rejection of passage of GEO BILL last year. If Nigeria really needs to achieve the 2030 agenda there is need to pass the GEO BILL and also the inclusion of people with disabilities in the implementation of the SDG is significant.”
EVA served as a rapporteur for the technical break-out session which focused on the theme “Good Health and Well-being: The journey towards the attainment of Goal 3.” Participants from MDAs, CSOs, private sector and academia exchanged views on the interventions, emerging trends, partnerships in SDGs, successes, challenges and lessons learned on the implementation of the SDGs.
At the technical break-out session, the MDAs which included the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), National AIDs Control Agency (NACA), indicated that a strategy and work plan has been developed for the implementation of the SDGs. Currently, the revamping of Primary Health Care Centres nationwide under the PHC under 1 roof policy is on-going however, funding remains a major challenge for the successful implementation of SDG 3. The Ministry also solicited for the co-operation of partner organisations to enable implementation of the goal.
This meeting was an important opportunity for EVA to inform stakeholders on the work the organization has done so far on the implementation of the SDGs. The organization is focusing on advocacy that targets decision makers to ensure that they adhere to their commitments towards achieving the SDGs in Nigeria. EVA is also engaging with relevant government agencies towards the integration of youth friendly services into the PHC under 1 roof program.
Additionally EVA is the Country Focal Point for ACT!2030 Project which is a long term youth social mobilization strategy that involves behind the scenes political lobbying and advocacy, as well as a broad systematic support to identify youth advocates who are members of an Alliance at local, state and national levels to ensure the implementation of the SDGs. The project is funded by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and UNAIDS.
EVA also had the opportunity to network with other focal persons of various OSSAP offices at the state level. The relationships developed will assist EVA Alliance members who are young people across 12 states in their reporting on the SDGs implementation. According to Mr. Patrick Enwerem (Team leader, Advocacy and Policy Influencing, EVA), “OSSAP needs to take the lead, give direction and ensure that the process of implementation is clear. At this point, what we have in Nigeria is more of agencies performing their duties without much being done to mainstream the SDGs”.
The ACT!2030 project which is in its 4th phase is focusing on progress tracking towards 2030 ensuring youth engagement in the implementation of the SDGs. Moving forward, EVA will track progress using evidence based data driven by social accountability measures and develop a score card grading the SDGs implementation across the states.