United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale has underlined the importance of addressing widespread food insecurity by revitalizing Nigeria’s food systems.
He described the recent declaration of food security as a national emergency by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a positive step, and said that “we hope it brings meaningful investment into Agriculture to tackle rising food prices and shortages.”
Schmale called on all stakeholders to use the Africa Social Impact Summit being organised by the Sterling One Foundation in collaboration with the UN in Nigeria on August 10 and 11in Lagos as an opportunity to join hands to formulate a rescue plan for the SDGs.
He urged federal and State governments, the private sector, development partners and other critical stakeholders, to generate new ideas, new solutions, and new hope in particular for the most vulnerable citizens. “Let’s put our collective foot on the accelerator and build momentum for 2030”, Schmale added.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, said the Africa Social Impact Summit had grown and gained so much traction that it provided all involved in development work to translate available capital and resources into meaningful and sustainable impact.
UN Resident Coordinator Schmale noted that Nigeria could feed itself and that solutions to food insecurity did not lie with the international community bringing food aid.
To cushion the impacts of fuel subsidy removal and the attendant increase in the cost of goods and services in the country, Schmale emphasised that the “United Nations stands ready to support the government of Nigeria in designing both impactful palliative measures as well as translating effective and enduring measures to increase sustainable agricultural production.
The Africa Social Impact Summit is a key step on the way to the global SDG Summit being organized by the UN in New York this September.  Schmale noted that the SDG Summit in September 2030 , provides leaders a global platform to move from rhetoric to reality.  Unless we build on existing positive initiatives and “take urgent action now, the 2030 Agenda will become no more than a broken promise to the world’s most vulnerable people,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation, Adepeju Ibekwe, disclosed that the first edition of Africa Social Impact Summit exceeded expectations in terms of attendance, outcomes and impacts in the development ecosystem.