Imoke Assures On MDGs

Govrnor Liyel Imoke of Cross River says the state would meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets by 2015 in spite of its lean financial resources.

Imoke gave the assurance last Friday, when the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Mrs Precious Gbeneol, paid him a courtesy visit.

He also assured that the state would collaborate with the presidency to become one of the first states to meet these global agenda.

According to him, the state is committed to meeting MDGs in all its 196 electoral wards.

He said that the State Government had renovated 130 health centres under the first phase and would complete 66 other centres in the second phase to cover all the political wards.

Imoke said that he would ensure that pregnant women and children below five years had access to its free medical initiative.

He said that the free health programme was supported by a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme in partnership with MDGs for 15 indigent households per ward.

The governor commended the MDG office for the support which the state enjoyed and assured that the partnership would be strengthened.

Earlier, Gbeneol said that the State Government and the MDG had delivered projects that impacted positively on the poor.

Gbeneol said that MDG programmes were focused on malnourished children, empowerment of unemployed women, maternal and child health care, malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

She said that as at November 2011, her office had spent N3. 3 billion in Cross River, adding that the state paid N1. 16 million as counterpart fund.

According to her, people should be made to feel the impact of the Federal and State Governments through the MDGs in various areas.