Dr. Conille: Liberia Still Afloat on MDGs Success

A strong political will being expressed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf may be all that it will take for Liberia to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); former Haitian Prime Minister, Dr. Garry Conille has said.

Dr. Conille is currently in Liberia to advise President Sirleaf, who now co-chairs the UN-backed High Level Panel for the post-2015 development agenda.

Speaking Thursday October 4, 2012 at a regular press conference at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT); Dr. Conille said Liberia still faced huge challenges in most targets of the MDGs but could put out a surprise due to the strong political will of the Government of Liberia.

He affirmed that Liberia has been doing very well with gender equity and most recently infant mortality.

Meanwhile, Dr. Conille is expected to meet members of civil society organizations in the country. That meeting will be followed by a similar meeting with civil society organizations within the West African sub-region.

According to him, the views and inputs of stakeholders was very important to the achievement of all eight goals.

“The goals must be owned and shared by those for whom they are intended,” Dr. Conille told the press briefing.

Garry Conille is a former Prime Minister of Haiti. Before that, he worked with the United Nations in various capacities, including UNDP Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Niger, Chief of Staff to the Special Envoy to Haiti, Head of MDGs Support Cluster in UNDP and Regional Director of UNFPA. Dr. Conille is also an adjunct Researcher with Columbia University.

Ministry of Information Liberia