Despite rapid economic growth, relative political stability and rising income levels, Nigeria is still faced with a number of systemic social problems like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of access to capital by entrepreneurs, and international trade limitations. International development organizations have developed programs and interventions to solve these problems and we collaborate with them to make these programs work.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”container”][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu=”8″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Sawubona works with international development organizations and other private development organisations to achieve their objectives. With a robust understanding of the Nigerian society and the Nigerian culture and a network of high-value partners, Sawubona collaborates with international organizations to deliver high impact solutions and interventions to the communities in which they operate.[/vc_column_text][vc_tabs interval=”0″][vc_tab title=”Client” tab_id=”b1fe1e0b-1bb2-6″][vc_column_text]
Stephen Cross, Lead Expert, Accreditation, UNIDO.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tab][/vc_tabs][vc_tabs interval=”0″][vc_tab title=”Client” tab_id=”1434739820347-0-5″][vc_column_text]
Nigerian NGOs can Position For Post-MDG Opoortunities
In this interview with Sawubona, Dr. Prosper Okonkwo, CEO of AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN), one of Africa’s largest AIDS prevention programmes, explores growth opportunities for NGOs in Nigeria in the aftermath of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)[/vc_column_text][vc_accordion el_class=”tab-blk”][vc_accordion_tab title=”What is your assessment of Nigeria’s performance so far in meeting the MDG goals with particular emphasis on the country’s performance in 2014?”][vc_column_text]My sincere impression is that Nigeria is trying its best, but even with these best efforts, we are not likely to meet many of the goals.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”The coming year will signal the official end of the MDG agenda and the commencement of the new post-2015 agenda. What are your perspectives on this new agenda?”][vc_column_text]The new agenda builds on the successes and lessons learned from the initial MDG agenda. For example, because many countries will meet their health MDGs, the emphasis in the health sub sector focuses on non-communicable diseases like cancer, mental health, etc. Countries like Nigeria that still have high burdens of communicable and maternal and child health problems will suffer. This is because as the emphasis shifts, so will the funding, and countries that still drive their health programs with donor funding like Nigeria will likely experience further negative dip in the indicators.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”To what extent do you think Africa is positioned to benefit from the post 2015 agenda on a needs-based perspective?”][vc_column_text]Speaking from the health sector perspective, the first point to note is that the African region can no longer be grouped together as one homogenous group. There are a few countries such as Botswana and Namibia that have invested smartly and will definitely benefit from the post 2015 agenda. Other countries in sub Saharan Africa, still unable to meet the 2015 agenda will not benefit as much, since these post 2015 agenda will not align to the prevailing needs of these nations. If innovative approaches are not quickly thought out by these nations, they will remain in a catch up position for many years to come.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Since the commencement of the MDGs in 2002, Africa has attracted a significant amount of funding for development. To what extent do you think Africa’s NGO funding will be affected given the conclusion of the MDG agenda in 2015?”][vc_column_text]Initiatives will be affected severely if the post 2015 agenda are not relevant to the national priority. For example, HIV/AIDS funding will decrease substantially.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”How can African NGOs evolve their models and what alternative resources can they seek to access in funding their developmental activities in a post-MDGs world?”][vc_column_text]NGOs with functional systems and technical capacities will survive. Monitoring and Evaluation skills and systems built for a HIV/AIDS program can be deployed to reproductive health or cancers for example. Advocacy to African conglomerates as well as more emphasis on social enterprises will help.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][/vc_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”container no-bottom-margin”][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5/6″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_raw_html]JTNDc21hbGwlMjBjbGFzcyUzRCUyMmNvbG9yZWQlMjIlM0Vjb25uZWN0JTIwd2l0aCUyMHVzJTNDJTJGc21hbGwlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-linkedin-square” color=”custom” align=”right” custom_color=”#686868″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-facebook-square” color=”custom” align=”right” custom_color=”#686868″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-twitter-square” color=”custom” align=”right” custom_color=”#686868″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-youtube-square” color=”custom” align=”right” custom_color=”#686868″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]