Every year on October 24th, the United Nations Day is held to commemorate the organization’s founding in 1945, and its 2022 domesticated theme is tagged “The UN and Nigeria: Partnership for Peace, Prosperity and Sustainable Development”, which brings to light the importance of peaceful coexistence and the role it plays in the process of development. In light of this, the United Nations (UN) has issued a call to action to the government of Nigeria, urging them to make the promotion of health and peace their top priorities in order to achieve genuine and long-lasting progress throughout the country.
On Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria, at a peace walk organized by the United Nations System in Nigeria to honour the 77th anniversary of the United Nations, the country representative for the WHO, Walter Mulombo, issued the following call. According to him, the United Nations was established 77 years ago, following the devastation of World War II, with the goal of promoting international peace and prosperity. Nigeria is a very involved member of the United Nations, and over the course of its membership, it has provided significant assistance to several UN peacekeeping operations.
UN urges Nigeria to see healthcare as a priority and a tool for peace.
Mr Mulombo, while talking on behalf of the UN agencies, stated that the government, in partnership with the citizen, needs to view the prioritization of healthcare as a true tool for building stability, peace and economic development. According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the government will fail to achieve its goal if it continues to think of health as a consumption good. If Nigeria does not position health as a prerequisite for all developmental initiatives, then we are likely to confront the same situation that we witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because health is a requirement for all of Nigeria’s policies, strategies, and interventions.
Speaking further, he started that the right to one’s own health should not be considered a privilege. This is one of the things that the United Nations is doing by carrying along that message all the way up to the highest level of leadership so that Presidents and Heads of Government may recognize that health is a priority. He explained that the United Nations is an organization that was founded in order to build mechanisms for enduring peace, solidarity, and cooperation.
Nigeria has been an active member of the UN over the years.
Moreover, Mr Mulombo explained that Nigeria has supported development initiatives for the UN people and has been an active partner in global space. While James Christoff, the High Commissioner of Canada, in his remark stated that the walk that was organized is a great chance to unite with colleagues throughout the international community and the UN community in solidarity to promote peace. He added that the United Nations Day is an excellent chance to emphasize the significance of working together to make the world a better place.
WHO representatives stressed the importance of addressing security concerns for a peaceful society. While urging the current administration to address the country’s insecurity issues, he asserted that peace was first necessary. Reminding the people that everybody should be devoted to peace, to silencing that weapon, and to delivering equal opportunity to every citizen in the whole world. He pleaded with all of the state’s members to stick to their word and keep the peace.
The world needs to bring UN values and principles into existence.
Antonio Guterres, the General Secretary of the United Nations, delivered a speech in honour of the day and noted that the United Nations was created out of hope. Mr Guterres asserted that more than ever before, it is important to bring the values and principles of the UN Charter to existence in every corner of the world, especially by giving peace a chance and stopping conflicts that endanger lives, futures, and global progress; by working to eliminate extreme poverty, reduce inequalities, and save the Sustainable Development Goals; and by protecting our planet, including by breaking our dependence to fossil fuels and resuming renewable energy development.
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