THE DAILY
No. 2
SAIMUNER Tuesday, June 20th 2017
www.saimun.net
The 4 ‘Es’ That Will Steer SDGs in Africa By Naomi Wanjiku
“Sub Saharan Africa loses 95billion dollars every year only because of gender inequality,” said Mr Seed. He went on to say that the only way we can solve that is by working together as a globe and empowering both genders equally. Given that every year 1million Kenyans and 100million Africans join the workforce, African nations should make sure that they develop themselves economically and hence ensure equitable growth in their countries. Ali Mohsin l PHOTO
Siddhart Chatterjee, UNON Resident Coordinator giving his speech during the openeing ceremony
Mr. Siddhart Chatterjee graced the SAIMUN opening ceremony yesterday. The event was graced by more than 300 delegates, both international and local at the UNON. “The median age of Kenya is 18, the median age of Africa is 19.1, which basically means that you represent that median age across Africa. This is the greatest opportunity Africa has ever had,” said Mr Siddhart Chatterjee, the Resident Coordinator of the UN (United Nations) office in Nairobi. In a key note speech at the opening ceremony of the SAIMUN (Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations) conference at UN – Gigiri, Mr Seed encouraged the youth dominated delegation to promote the development of sustainable goals through 4 mnemonics – Education, Equality, Employment and Equity.
“When you see young people getting radicalized or joining extremist groups, particular segments of society are being left behind,” said Mr Seed. But through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for example SDG 4 – access to education, SDG 3 – universal access to healthcare, SDG 5 – Gender equality, there is equity and hence nobody is left behind in the process of growth. Mr Seed advised the delegates present to achieve the SDGs through inclusion of all people, making sure there is no inequality, ensuring the society contributes to the growth process, and engaging in dialogue with the civilizations and various communities to understand the complexity of the environment.
According to Mr Seed, who is also the head of UNDP (United Nations Development Program) in Kenya, education contributes to the development of an economy. This is because, one is able to acquire skills which enable them to be part of the workforce thus contributing to the GDP (Growth Domestic Product) of a country.
Ali Mohsin l PHOTO
Delegates at the SAIMUN opening ceremony yesterday keenly listening to the speeches