On Investments Toward Achieving National Development Objectives And Priorities
By Alfred Kollie, alfredkolliejr92@gmail.com
A one-day National Stakeholders Review consultation on the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development the AADPD+10 has been held in Monrovia by the Liberian government through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The consultation took place on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at the Ministerial Complex,
The Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development in Africa (AADPD Beyond 2014 was adopted by African Ministers at the African Regional Conference on Population and Development in Addis Ababa in October 2013, and endorsed by African Heads of State and Government at the African Union Executive Council in 2014.
As part of their commitments, AU member states promised to lead policy change and investments toward achieving national development objectives and priorities in line with commitments reflected in the AADPD, including-Dignity, and Equality- upholding human rights and fulfilling the needs of all people with attention to specific population groups, including women and young people, adolescent girls, older persons, persons living with HIV, persons with disabilities, and migrants.
Key issues include poverty eradication, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, tackling gender-based violence and harmful practices, including eliminating child marriage and female genital mutilation, education, and skills building for young people, educating the girl child, and youth employment, amongst others.
The other Commitments are Health-universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including maternal health (mortality and morbidity), skilled birth attendance, family planning, and unmet need, HIV and sexually transmitted infections, comprehensive sexuality education, and equitable and universal access to healthcare and health system strengthening; Place and Mobility- urbanization and migration, including the integration and re-integration of migrants; Governance-facilitating commitments in all dimensions of population and development while integrating population issues into development planning; Data and Statistics- strengthening statistical capacity, civil registration, and the generation, collection, and timely use of census, survey, administrative and other data for planning, monitoring, and evaluation, and Partnership and international cooperation- strengthening partnerships at sub-national, national, and international levels, including with civil society and the private sector; and strengthening policy dialogue and coordination, as well as knowledge transfer and resource mobilization in population and development.
The National Stakeholders Review consultation held at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia’s Congo Town suburb was intended to review progress in policy development, programs, mobilization of and allocation of required resources, and challenges in implementing the AADPD Commitments and Plan of Action in Liberia.
Speaking at the review, Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Augustus Flomo, noted that the government is working hard to make sure that no one is left out of the development agenda, evidenced by its Pro-Poor agenda that talks about Power to the people in Pallor one.
According to Minister Flomo, the government is working on converting people-centered problems to action that positively impacts their lives through access to health care delivery, road infrastructure, and access to quality and affordable education and agriculture programs.
‘’We are undertaking access to health programs. There are issues around road infrastructure which provide the opportunity for health service delivery to people, which also provides an opportunity for education service delivery to people. So, it is about the population,’’ Minister Flomo noted.
According to him, the government focuses on Agriculture mainly to address the issue of hunger; they are now focusing on domestic food production in the country, which he said provides the opportunity to incorporate all citizens into the development network that targets the youthful population.
He explained that population and development are significant to any society with the eyes on the number of people with access to good education, health, and other areas across government sectors.
UNFPA on reducing maternal mortality
In remarks, UNFPA Resident Representative to Liberia, Bidisha Pillai, commended the government for the gain in reducing maternal mortality in the country.
According to her, Liberia has made tremendous gains but stressed the need for more education and awareness to reduce teenage pregnancy in the country.
The UNFPA Resident Representative to Liberia maintained that teenage pregnancy is still increasing in Liberia, thus encouraging partners to focus more on educating adolescent girls across Liberia.
Madam Pillai observed that more needs to be done to address the needs of Liberia’s youthful population.