by ndubuisi edoga

We know Nigeria and many other African nations cannot achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s).

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

That is common knowledge.

But after watching a documentary: Water First: Reaching the Millennium Development Goals by Mr Charles Banda, founder of Malawi Freshwater Project. see more here “Freshwater Project Malawi”
Mr Banda through his revolutionary work with low cost water well/pumps and , low cost Latrines both providing employment and teaching our children the essence of hygiene in health and disease prevention also successfully conveys the critical importance of clean water and sanitation in achieving all of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and relieving global poverty.

Mr Banda through his works and his commitment in implementing a ‘social work’ approach to solving water problems, and prioritizes community engagement and ownership in all projects. This approach can be used in supplying medical equipments to our Universities and Hospital.

Since 1995 the organization has provided more than 2,000 wells and more than 5,000 pit latrines in Malawi. Mr Banda uses locally made materials or simple equipments for all his projects for easy of maintenance.

Compare this to the CT scan supplied by Vamed to one of our Universities that has not been used because the new CT scan could not fit into the old CT scan room and there was no contract for building a new room or expanding the old room. The government of Malawi and UNICEF has bought into the project and is actively behind this project.

Recently in a public appearance the American Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has listed the Federal Government of Nigeria among governments that are “able but unwilling to make the changes their citizens deserve,” and such governments, she promised, will come under vigorous U.S. pressure.

Need I say more, it is very obvious that our government has failed us.

That is common knowledge.

Mr Banda has shown us that ” there are many ways to reach the MDG’s aside from building the biggest and best hospitals that we hear everyday in our media, buying the latest MRI equipments without any inputs from the beneficiary institutions as per needs and scale of use.

Let us celebrate the Mr. Banda’s in our societies and in our lives, and let us hope that our leaders can learn from the Banda’s of the world.