A non-governmental organisation, Sterling One Foundation, has advocated for Public Private Partnerships to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.
The Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Mr Olapeju Ibekwe, made the call at the end of a meeting organised by the foundation on Friday, July 15, 2022, in Sokoto.
Ibekwe said the foundation organised a meeting tagged “Africa Social Impact” in FCT, aimed at harnessing government and private enterprises to build synergy and strategic partnerships on SDGs.
He said “challenges confronting the African continent can no longer be tackled working alone”, stressing the need to urgently upscale partnerships across public and private organisations in achieving the SDGs.
He explained that the foundation was pushing for aggressive partnerships and inclusive actions from civil society organisations, private and public sectors across Africa to accelerate the actualisation of the UN SDGs.
The foundation CEO said “the 17 UN SDGs are targeted at ending poverty, hunger and strengthening access to education and healthcare by the end of 2030.”
President Muhammadu Buhari, represented at the meeting by his Special Adviser on Finance and Economy, Dr Sarah Alade, stressed the need for integration of private sector ideas and knowledge in achieving SDGs.
He said “other development organisations should emulate the partnership drive of Sterling One Foundation in achieving the 17 SDGs. It is time to build and sustain partnerships to achieve SDGs by 2030.”
According to him, public private partnership initiative will forge a stronger strategic alliance with development organisations in delivering measurable solutions to actualising the UN SDGs.
By Habibu Harisu
