Chijioke Iremeka The World Health Organisation says the Sustainable Development Goals targets are currently in jeopardy due to economic crisis, climate change, multiple emergencies, and the global economic downturn following the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health body hinted that the 2030 deadline for achieving these goals may be extended if the trend continues, as only about 17 percent of the SDG healthcare targets are on track, saying that the rest was at serious risk. The WHO’s Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr Walter Mulombo stated this during a two-day training organised by the WHO for journalists in Abuja.
Mulombo said the SDG targets, especially universal health care, zero hunger, zero poverty, and clean energy, among others, were at risk. He emphasised the need to pick up the pace of actions towards attaining the SDGs and the Universal Health Coverage across the WHO member nations and beyond. Mulombo said Nigeria must go beyond pilot projects and focus on implementation and delivering large-scale, quality healthcare solutions to be close to attaining these goals.
He said, “Nigeria, as a member state of WHO, has endorsed health emergency preparedness response. The world has changed, and we have an SDG target. “The SDG targets are in jeopardy due to the economic downturn, climate change, and multiple emergencies that require prompt action to achieve the SDGs.
” Mulombo noted that the Summit of the future has endorsed a roadmap with st.