The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commended the Federal Government for meeting up with its one million targets on ‘U-report’ on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as Nigeria joined other countries to swift to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
U-Report launched by the UNICEF in 17 countries, mostly in Africa, as a way for community members to share their opinions and drive positive change, relies on volunteer community members, mostly young people, serving as U-Reporters to provide information on issues that affect their communities.
The Country Representative of UNICEF, Mrs Jean Gough said Nigeria had become the first country to reach one million responders on the SMS-based U-Report platform, designed to strengthen community-led development and citizen engagement.
Attributing the country’s achievement to the vibrancy of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Gough said the country did not only meet up but surpassed the set target for it by the UN body.
Gough, who gave the commendation during a visit to the NYSC Headquarters to strengthening their partnership, in Abuja, urged the management of the scheme to reach out to policy makers in the country to make the needed change.
She called on the scheme to look into the replicating of the achievements of the MDGs in the future as the country moves into the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
Responding, the Director General of NYSC, Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi told the team that “NYSC since its inspection 42 years ago had been contributing to the growth and development of the country.”
Citing HIV/AID, MDGs among others as areas where the scheme had made significant contributions, Olawumi expressed their readiness to continue to collaborate with the UNICEF for Nigerians to benefits from the international community.
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