Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi said that children should be at the front of the post-2015 development agenda while opening the annual session of UNICEF’s Executive Board.
She said, “no real progress can be made for children unless all children, particularly the most disadvantaged and marginalized, are reached,” Ambassador Lodhi, the president of the 36-member board, said in her presidential address that, “we should use the influence we have as policymakers and thought leaders to position children at the heart of the development agendas of governments and nations”.
The Pakistani envoy said that UNICEF’s annual meeting was being held at a time of great opportunity and of great challenge. Lodhi said that the opportunity had appeared because of the approaching historic milestone that will see the endorsement of the post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She added that, “this is also a time of peril for humanitarian workers in so many parts of the world. That is why I want to start by recognizing and paying tribute to the heroic work of UNICEF staff around the world, especially those who work under difficult, if not life-threatening, conditions”.
Ambassador Lodhi said that 2015 was the target year for the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), which had served to improve the lives of many millions of children, and also helped the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged.”And it marks the beginning of the SDGs and post-2015 agenda, which must improve the lives and change the destinies of millions more,” she added.
Terming the post-2015 agenda as a roadmap for future development, Ambassador Lodhi said that while just a few months were left in concretely setting goals and targets, it was not the time to pause and rest.”We must continue to work together for the best interests of children until the very day the Goals and agenda are adopted”, she said.
In her address, Ambassador Lodhi also underscored the importance of resources to achieve the desired development objectives.
While expressing satisfaction on the progress made on strengthening financing for development, she said that at the national level, goals and agendas would not make much impact without securing financing
She emphasized the need to reach all the children with interventions in the crucial early years, with health care, nutrition, education, protection and an enabling environment in which their full potential is realized.
