All good things must come to an end
The race to achieving the MDGs by 2015 is winding down. Consequently, consultations and deliberations are underway which aim to assess the progress made and set new targets for the next phase that incorporate emerging challenges with the MDGs as well as address the deficits of the MDGs.
Doesn’t mean though that more good won’t continue
The new goals are being referred to as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The MDGs were set in 2001 at the turn of the millennium by Kofi Anan who was the secretary general of the UN at the time, with the aim of giving support to people living in vulnerable situations across the globe. There were eight goals, which aimed to reduce the prevalent conditions to a certain percentage by 2015. Goals one through eight includes:
- Poverty reduction
- Universal basic education
- Gender equality and women empowerment
- Child mortality reduction
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases
- Environmental sustainability
- Developing a global partnership for development.
These set global goals are not without weaknesses, which mostly revolve around their simplistic mien, hence inability to reflect the basic underlying problems of the goals they aim to meet or emerging problems. For example, issues of governance, peace, security, unprecedented demographic change among others have become real issues this turn of the decade. With respect to the existing MDGs, the goal for universal basic education for example does not reflect the need for skills training for youths or that education is a basic need for early childhood. Another example is the fact that the umbrella term “poverty” does not reflect the need for basic human services like access to water, education and health nor does it reflect the need for “food security and nutrition”. Consequently, some of these needs were not tackled appropriately.
NIGERIA’s STATUS
However, Nigeria is far from claiming that these inherent weaknesses in the MDGs served to deter her from making real progress in terms of achieving the MDGs. Every report blames the decadent state of Nigeria on the past “military misrule” and chooses to refer to our current state as a “fragile democracy”. How does Nigeria intend to tackle the real issues that the global community is seeking to address when she is still stuck with her “fragile democracy” that lacks accountability and debates girl child marriage? A couple of problems will deter Nigeria from achieving the MDGs or the SDGs post 2015. The most glaring and important of which is corruption. Where corruption is rife, there can never be true, positive and sustainable economic growth and development.
The Nigerian Factor
Committees and bodies have been set up whose main aim is to see to the actualization of the MDGs, however, existing policies and systems may serve to mar the success of their efforts. Dare I say that I echo the sentiments of the average Nigerian in saying that these committees are set up to make Nigeria look good internationally, while internally or nationally, they are just another reason to put a well-connected person in authority and afford them the opportunity to partake of the “national cake”. These committees as the nation has seen in times past never fulfill their mandate from the perspective of the people. Could this be because problems are not being tackled from the root and there is no real foundation on which such committees can function effectively?
Broken Systems
For example, how does the government aim to sustainably achieve MDG-2 when the educational system is broken? Therefore, it is no surprise that progress reports have shown that while enrolment of children into schools have increased, so has the dropout rate. In other words, more children are being enrolled but they are not finishing school. This does not even reflect the quality of education that the ones in school do receive. Systems have to be repaired before planned interventions can be successful. Salient questions need to be asked like: what do we aim to achieving by ensuring universal basic education? While cultural barriers prevent girls from attending school in the north, socio-economic reasons prevent the boys in the southeast from attending school. However, if we succeeded in enrolling and keeping children in school until they finished, will the state of the system and the quality of education they receive achieve its intended aim? It is well known that among other things, the availability of human resources will encourage foreign investment. Simply put, when the foreign investors we seek come, will the system have produced a crop of educated/literate people who can do the job without needing massive re-training which will lead to increased cost for the investing venture? The state of primary healthcare in Nigeria in addition to the industrial actions (strikes) has driven many average and poor Nigerians into the hands of quack doctors that own and run private hospitals where they meet many misfortunes, the height of which is death. Access to primary healthcare is a big determinant of the extent to which maternal/child mortality rates can be reduced (MDGs 4&5) still there has been no improvement in the number of skilled attendants present at birth for mothers in Nigeria. Another salient question is for those who can access primary healthcare, what is the quality of services they receive? While the definition of quality could be subjective, basic and recurring themes have emerged in all the definitions proffered by the quality gurus. Quality in healthcare means NO needless death, pain, suffering, delay, NO helplessness in those serving or being served, NO unwanted waiting and NO waste. Things should be done right, at the right time, for the right people, at the first time. Is this the story of the average Nigerian that accesses our primary healthcare centers? Food insecurity affects other MDGs especially those that relate to health. Hungry children cannot concentrate in school. Across the nation, water and sanitation are a big problem and this impacts on agriculture and health. Local and state governments as well as town planning have a big role to play in these areas. Therefore, no arm of government should be aloof to the realization of the MDGs and the concerted efforts of all is needed. Local and state specific needs should be identified and steps taken to address them. However, there is need for innovation if these problems are to be tackled effectively given the environmental challenges we currently face which threaten the planet and future generations. This need for innovation in tackling problems brings us back to our quality of education. Another salient question should be asked at this point. Does the system foster innovation? Is innovation rewarded or stifled due to the lack of “connection” among other things? Why are a lot of talented Nigerians in Diaspora where they seem to be doing very well? The interconnection between these goals means that there is need for all systems to work.
We Need Quality Data
Quality drives accountability and change using feedback. The basic tenet of continuous improvement and performance management is using feedback to inform practice. If we do not collect data through which we can get such feedback, how do we measure growth? Data collection should be the first step in any improvement plan or intervention. Pre and post intervention (quality) data is the only true reflection of change after all other influencing variables have been accounted for. However, reports have shown that Nigeria has not been able to truly measure progress in some areas due to the lack of baseline data.
Not all bad news, High Scores on some fronts
No doubt progress has been made especially with respect to MDG-6 as Nigeria has been able to almost eradicate polio, stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among others and the distribution of insecticide treated nets nationwide has helped to combat malaria. National Bureau of statistics is working to address the issue of paucity of data. There has been success in MDGs 4 &5 however, improvement has not been sustained. This is reflected in the fluctuations seen in the rise and fall of maternal mortality rates as stated in the MDGs progress report for 2010. The international debt relief served to improve the chances of the MDGs being met as funds was supposedly channeled towards meeting them. There is no doubt that the government has made efforts towards achieving the MDGs and there has been success on some fronts but the big question remains. With the current systems in Nigeria, does Nigeria stand a chance of meeting the MDGs or the SDGs that will follow? Does Nigeria intend to repair the systems and tackle these problems from the root or does the leadership intend to keep up with what can best be referred to as cosmetology? When will Nigeria get to the point where she will set higher goals than those set by the global community like Botswana did or set earlier deadlines as South Africa did or borrow a leaf from countries like Lesotho who prioritized the MDGs to reflect the national context of their problem? It was reported that more progress was recorded in countries that adopted the MDGs to fit their specific national contexts. Maybe our MDGs should reflect the need to repair our system as the foundation for tangible, measurable and sustainable growth.