The Akosombo declaration

Journalists commit themselves
… To help achieve MDGs
Posted:The Chronicle Tuesday, May 19, 2009


By Charles Takyi Boadu
With just six years to go, a team of Ghanaian media practitioners, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the academia, have committed themselves to helping the country towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In all, the thirty-six participants have resolved to intensify and expand the coverage of programmes and activities towards the attainment of these goals by the year 2015.

This was after three days of intensive deliberations at a workshop organised by the Ministry of Information, with support from the United Nations Development Planning (UNDP), at Akosombo over the weekend.

The theme for the programme was ‘The state and the media as development partners in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).’

In recognition of the political polarisation in the country, the group pledged to enhance professional media practice as a means of contributing to national stability and peace, a critical consideration for the attainment of the MDGs, which include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal basic education, promote gender equality, and women empowerment.

The rest are reducing child or infant mortality, improve maternal mortality, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and to develop a global partnership for development.

In a seven-point communiqué, the group recommended for government consideration, the need for the establishment of a multi-sectoral team, comprising representatives of the Ministry of Information, UNDP, National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), media, political parties and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) by the end of June 2009.

The team would be tasked with a responsibility of submitting progress reports on Ghana’s efforts at attaining the MDGs, to the Ministry of Information by the end of September 2009.

It was further recommended, for the consideration of government and other stakeholders, the formulation of a national development agenda, which recognises the attainment of the MDGs as binding, regardless of which government is in power.

“We further recommend the setting up of a mechanism to monitor and evaluate the performance and progress made or achieved in attaining the MDGs,” the communiqué said.

In order to ensure community participation and ownership towards the attainment of the goals set, it was further recommended that stakeholder meetings should be organised at district, regional and national levels, to create awareness and commitment in attaining the MDGs.