Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has outlined the state’s progress in accelerating seven Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the last six years.
El-Rufai presented the achievements in Kaduna at the State’s 2022 SDGs Summit 2.0 organised by the SDGs Unit, Planning and Budget Commission.
It was to increase awareness, renew commitment, and mobilise resources to accelerate the achievement of the goals.
He explained that the 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 indicators to be achieved by 2030 applied to countries, Kaduna state is implementing goals 1 to 6 and 16, applicable to it as a sub-national.
The governor said that the state had integrated the SDGs into its development plans to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth and social economic transformation.
He said that to track the implementation of the SDGs, the state produced the Kaduna State 2017 SDGs Report which represents its commitment to explicit, measurable, and ambitious targets by 2030.
On Goals 1 and 2—ending hunger and poverty—the governor said that the state focuses on creating jobs by attracting foreign direct investment and other domestic investments.
He said that in the last six years, the state has attracted more than 4.4 billion US dollars in investment and created more than 75,000 direct and indirect jobs.
On goal 3, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages, the governor said investment in the health sector has improved service delivery and the wellbeing of citizens.
He said that the government expanded and renovated 255 Primary Health Centres, one in each political ward, so that every resident would be within five kilometers to the health center.
He added that a total of six billion naira was spent on equipping the 255 PHCs and additional 45 rural hospitals in 2022.
El-Rufai also said that the government had embarked on massive reforms in the education sector to achieve goal 4 through provision of a conducive teaching and learning environment.
The key reforms he said, included free and compulsory 12 primary and secondary education, recruitment of 25,000 qualified primary school teachers and 9,000 secondary school teachers.
On goal 5—gender equality, El-Rufai said that his administration has the only deputy governor in the entire northern Nigeria and had passed legislation on gender and social inclusion in 2017.
He said nine out of the 17 commissioners in the state were females, while 53 percent of government agencies in Kaduna state were headed by women.
The governor said that the state has also recorded remarkable achievements in goal 6 through its efforts to provide clean water and sanitation.
He said that thousands of communities across Jaba, Giwa and Kaura Local Government Areas of the state have attained open defecation-free status with many other LGAs waiting to be certified by end of the year.
He said that the government has invested heavily on water and sanitation infrastructure, including 111 VIP latrines, 608 hand-washing facilities, 5,910 water points and 600 boreholes between 2018 and 2020.
On goal 16—peace, justice and strong institutions – the governor said that the state had curbed the spread of violence from one community to the entire state through reforms and security infrastructure.
He said that the state created the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs to coordinate internal security matters and collaborate with federal security agencies, with significant results.
He added that his administration also established the Kaduna State Peace Commission to engage communities in peacebuilding, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. P.M NEWS
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