UN Advocates call on Ex-President Mahama

The United Nations Advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Advocates) have extended an invitation to former President John Dramani Mahama to support the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) in their ongoing efforts to further the advancement of humanity.

A member of the SDG Advocates, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, extended the invitation when he paid a courtesy call on the former President at his residence, No. 3 Prestige Link, Cantonments, Accra, last Sunday.

The discussions focused on the implementation of the One Million Community Health Workers (1mCHW) Campaign, with the two expressing optimism that the project would be sustained for the larger benefit of people in deprived communities.

According to a statement from the Office of former President Mahama, Prof. Sachs said: "The Ghana Campaign has so far recruited, trained and deployed 20,000 community health workers who are contributing significantly to the delivery of healthcare services in rural communities."

Mr Mahama and Mrs Erna Solberg, the Prime Minister of Norway, are Co-Chairs of the SDG Advocates.

Mahama commended

The statement said Prof. Sachs commended the former President for the many innovations he introduced into the health sector of Ghana which impacted positively on the country’s quest to guarantee access to quality health care for its people.

He took notice of Mr Mahama's involvement in efforts to resolve The Gambia's political crisis and wished him well.

Accompanied by his wife and staff of the SDG Advocates, Prof. Sachs presented four reports relating to the 1mCHW Campaign to Mr Mahama.

About SDG Advocates

The SDG Advocates concept, which was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21, 2016, consists of 17 eminent persons who are meant to assist the UN Secretary-General in the campaign to achieve the SDGs that world leaders unanimously adopted in September 2015.

Since the launch, the SDG Advocates have been working to promote the universal sustainable development agenda to raise awareness of the integrated nature of the SDGs, all with the view to meeting the mandate to support the UN Secretary-General in his efforts to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030.