NDPC calls on media to promote SDGs

General News of Friday, February 15, 2019

Source: GNA

2019-02-15

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Thursday urged the media to help Ghana raise awareness of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all.

The NDPC said that unless the media team up with stakeholders to promote and implement the 17 goals with its 169 goals, it would be difficult for Ghana to reach the target audience. goal of 2030.

The SDGs, also known as global goals, constitute a universal call to action that fosters a spirit of partnership among governments, the private sector, research, academia and civil society organizations to ensure that the right ones choices are made to improve life in a sustainable way. the future generation.

With its five themes, namely: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships, the SDGs address the root causes of poverty and cover areas such as hunger, health, education, poverty, and poverty. Gender equality, water and sanitation, energy and economic growth.

It also covers industry, innovation, climate change, natural resources as well as peace and justice for the 193 UN member states that have adopted the goals.

S addressing editors at a media meeting in Accra, Ms. Grace Bediako, Acting Director General of the NDPC, said that since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, Ghana integrated and localized the objectives in its policies and programs, districts and national levels.

However, the level of awareness of the goals was very low among the population, she said.

She added that Ghana had also been selected from 51 countries to undergo a voluntary national review this year, a process the country intended to use to increase public awareness and citizen participation and promote the national vision of the SDGs.

"But above all, we want to highlight their links in national development in the medium term," she said.

Supported by the United Nations system, Ghana aligns its development priorities in collaboration with civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr Bediako said the role of the media in national development was overwhelming, hence the importance attached to the government's media partnership to educate and inform citizens about the SDGs so that they can support its implementation.

She said that a large portion of Ghanaians were ignorant or less informed about sustainable development goals and that Ghana's prospect of success depended on the participation of all citizens in the implementation of the goals.

Mr. Omar Seidu, Population Statistics Officer of the Statistical Service of Ghana, said the NDPC was leading Ghana to implement the SDGs in collaboration with civil society organizations and called on the media to involve them in the process. the Commission to empower those responsible for implementation.

He said that Ghana still collected data on the different thematic areas to inform the necessary actions to be taken in the implementation process.

Dr. Felix Addo-Yobo, Acting Director of the NDPC's Division for Development Policy, said the SDGs had addressed the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which reflected waste and duplication of efforts. functions, inter alia coordination.

The SDGs have generated ownership, participation in sharing experiences, and improved partnership and collaboration among governments, the private sector, faith-based organizations and other stakeholders, did he declare.

Ms. Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor, Policy and Communications Analyst, SDG Consulting Unit in the Office of the President, advised the media to consider advocacy as a social contract, using their platforms to bring about change, particularly in terms of which concerns the SDGs.

Ms. Cynthra Prah, National Information Officer at the United Nations Information Center, said the SDGs, unlike the MDGs, were sustainable and would help transform the world to meet the needs of future generations.

"This is a global vision, indivisible and shared by all humanity, but also centered on the human being," to ensure that no one is left behind in the development program, said Ms. Prah.