The Lagos State Government along with Governments of the 6 south-western states has committed to ensuring that they accumulate the knowledge and skills they will need to compete in a new world.
At a 2-day HCD Southwest Regional Conference with the theme: “From Plan to Action: Push for HCD” held in Lagos, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the HCD as the most responsive initiative that will break the cycle of poverty, address inequality, and boost productivity of labour in the region.
According to him, this high level engagement marks the beginning of inter-state and cross-sectorial collaborations among the States to bridge the gap between evidence and action and improve outcomes across the three thematic area of education, health and nutrition and labour force.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, disclosed that the collective leadership of this region will be critical to making sure that the country has the opportunity to thrive and that everyone, irrespective of city, has a chance to achieve their highest aspirations.
He stated that the region has a unique and competitive advantage with her distinctive sense of citizen’s identity who are innovative, hard-working, self-reliant and more willing to contribute to economic growth, affirming that government must enliven the HCD ambition with innovative policies that outline short-term and long-term targets.
Sanwo-Olu who maintained that while the government needs to create avenues that will facilitate further discussion and newer dimensions to socio-political effort in building a resilient region, the private sector and civil society needs to consistently be encouraged to support efforts in achieving sustainable human capital development across the 3 thematic areas.
Lagos State according to him is fully committed to ensuring every child, man and woman within the state is not left behind and has the opportunity to live a full and productive life, adding that inclusiveness and social protection have been placed at the core of our THEMES development agenda.
In her welcome address, the HCD Focal Person in Lagos who is also the Special Adviser to the Governor on SDGs and Investment, Mrs. Solape Hammond stated that a key priority of the administration in the last three years has been the alignment of policies and initiatives backed by tangible budget spending on critical human development areas.
Highlighting the State’s priorities in driving human development outcomes in the three thematic areas – Health and Nutrition, Education and Labour Force, Solape said, the aspirations of a government do not lie in its vision but rather in its budget.
“Lagos State has remained a frontrunner in the adoption of innovations, concepts and approaches that seek to improve the lot of our populace and guarantee a better future for coming generations. Notwithstanding these efforts, we are always keen to do more – and we know that much more is needed”, she affirmed.
The Special Adviser revealed that the Lagos State Government is delighted to embrace this platform with her nearest neighbours, brothers and sisters from the South-West to work, learn, drive and push together to achieve the desired result of greatly improved Human Capital Development performance across the region.
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