Millennium Development Goals and Poverty Eradication in Enugu State

Abstract

The challenges facing humanity prior to the 21^st century was instrumental to the fusing together of world leaders to brainstorm and initiate strategies on how best to tackle the problems that threaten human existence. This move led to the emergence and launching of eight Millennium Development Goals initiative with a strong task to world leaders to evolve policies that will help address the identifiable challenge. In line with this, Nigerian government through the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy articulated viable ways to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015. At the state level, Enugu State Government replicated the federal initiative and developed the State policy to complement the efforts of the federal government. In the light of the above, the paper seeks to examine the extent at which the Millennium Development Goals was achieved in Enugu state vis-a-viz: Has the implementation of the Millennium Development Goal led to reduction in the maternal mortality in Enugu state? The objective of this paper is to determine whether the implementation of Millennium Development Goals led to reduction of maternal mortality in Enugu state. The aid of secondary data and complex Interdependent theory offered theoretical explanation on why the incidence of maternal mortality has persisted despite all efforts by Enugu State government in check-mating the menace. The paper argues the inability of Enugu state to tap into the potentials availed by the globalization as major impediment for non-realization of the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 5. As a result, Enugu State can achieve this goal if the state government explores multi-dimensional approaches that will incorporate inter-state and trans-national entities that form the major stakeholder in globalization process.