Pres. Sirleaf launches Agenda’s 2030

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has launched the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in Monrovia which set the stage for the domestication and implementation of the Agenda 2030 here for the next 15 years.

She described the launch Tuesday as a dream come true because many countries did not complete benchmarks set in the Millennium Development Goals but Liberia was able to make a considerable progress, adding the MDGs was able to fight poverty from one percent to about fifty percent.

President Sirleaf spoke Tuesday, January 26, 2016, at the official launch held at the Monrovia City Hall. The program brought together development partners and officials of line ministries and agencies of government, members of the Diplomatic Corps and civil society representatives, among others.

Madam Sirleaf said Liberia is focusing on both private and government sector in poverty reduction, pointing to challenges including the health sector.  The Liberian leader expressed thanks and appreciation to the British charity Save the Children, for the level of support to Liberia during the campaign for sustainable development goals in the country.

The launch aims to announce Liberia’s endorsement of the Agenda 2030 and register the country’s commitment to the shared global vision over the next 15 years, ending December 2030, create public awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and chart the way forward for the domestication and integration of the Agenda 2030 SDGs into Liberia’s development programmes for implementation.

Meanwhile, outgoing Minister of Finance and Development Planning Amara Konneh, said recently “We have talked a lot about some of the fundamental challenges, soft social issues that have prevented Liberia’s steady rise into mature democracy and robust economy.”

Konneh emphasized the need for Liberians to remind themselves constantly who they are and use the answer to that question as a driving force to become the best self. He said the sustainable development goals are all about challenging each nation to become a better component of the entire process.

According to him, the Agenda 2030 contains 17 lofty and ambitious goals with 169 targets referred to as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which address environmental, economic, and social challenges facing the world today.

-Edited by Jonathan Browne