The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh has commended Ghana’s contributions to the fight against Ebola.
According to her, though Ebola killed thousands of people in sub-region, the country has been able to prevent it and helped other countries to contain the disease.
“One year down the line, we are at the point where Ebola is almost eradicated from West Africa. So in terms of concrete results, I think that is a fantastic achievement that we all have to be thankful for because if it had not being contained, you can imagine what we will have to be suffering for,” she told Citi News in an interview.
Speaking at a press briefing to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Summit, Mrs Tetteh said this year’s gathering will focus on peace, security and human rights as one of the major global concerns.
She said the increasing rate of migrants attempting to cross borders on daily basis remains a major concern to Ghana and Africa in particular.
Hanna Tetteh said “we cannot stand by and watch our youth die needlessly due to either changes in climate which are affecting their ability to earn their livelihoods from agriculture, the unnecessary political conflicts that have plagued some of our members and especially challenged the process of developing good governance and effective democracies.”
The 70th UN summit which opens on September 24 would also focus on the adoption of a new set of universal sustainable development agenda (SDGs).
The SDGs is a successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is expected to end by December 2015.
It will therefore compliment the aims and objectives of the MDGs to address development challenges facing our world today.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana is the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to meet the MDG 1 target of halving extreme poverty by 2015.
Meanwhile, government is considering to incorporate the SDGs into the 40-year development plan which is currently being formulated by the National Development Planning Committee (NDPC).
The theme for this year’s UN General Assembly is “The United Nations at 70, the road ahead for peace, security and human rights.”
The event is scheduled to be held from September 24 to October 2 at the UN headquarters in New York. President John Dramani Mahama will be leading Ghana’s delegation and will address the assembly on September 30.
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By: Farida Shaibu/citifmonline.com/ghana