UN Secretary General makes historic visit to Nigeria

The United Nations’ Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, paid a historic working visit to Nigeria from May 22-24, 2011. The visit was historic in the sense that it was his first trip to Nigeria since he became the UN Secretary-General on January 1, 2007.
His visit to Nigeria was largely to further propagate his "Every Woman, Every Child" global health campaign, which he launched last September during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit at the UN Headquarters in New York.

On his arrival in Nigeria on Sunday, May 22, Mr. Ki-Moon was received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja by key government cabinet ministers, led by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia.  The UN Resident Coordinator / UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Daouda Toure, was also on hand to welcome the UN Chief to Nigeria.
In his first major engagement in the country, the UN SG visited the Maitama General Hospital in Abuja – an indication of the key importance of health issues on his agenda for the visit.  In his address Mr.  Ki -Moon said health care indexes across the globe, mostly on women, children and development, were not encouraging – and showed that more battles lay ahead.
He said his visit was to assess the performance of Nigeria in the areas of maternal health, child health care and development. He commended the Nigerian Government for investing in women and children's health, saying the United Nations would continue to support efforts to make communities in Nigeria healthier.
Mr. Ki-Moon said: "Though it is the wish of the UN to help young mothers, children and women to get better health care, unfortunately, 1,000 women die daily from complications resulting from child birth while 25,000 children die daily. This is unacceptable, especially when these can be prevented."
Later in the evening, the UN SG met with Nigeria’s President, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and other government officials at the State House in Abuja, where they reportedly discussed various critical issues including health and sanitation, good governance, regional peace and security.

The UN chief also met with state governors to discuss accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The breakfast meeting was held under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
In an interview with a major Nigerian newspaper, The Guardian, the UN SG praised the efforts of the Federal Government specifically on the passage of the National Health Bill which, he said, was capable of enhancing the country’s capacity to meet the Millennium Development Goals – one of the major challenges that Africa faces.  He also commended the Nigerian authorities for conducting a transparent and credible election in Nigeria, specifically also commending President Jonathan for having “played a very important leadership role in restoring democracy to Cote d’Ivoire”.

Before he left Nigeria, Mr. Ki-Moon held a Town Hall meeting with UN staff in Abuja and commended them for the excellent work they were doing and their overall contribution to the realization of the goals of the UN.