The Cross River State government has reiterated its commitment to ensuring a continuous support for development partners across the state.
Inyang Asibong, the State Commissioner for International Development Cooperation, made this known when she played host to Omalaso Omosehin, the newly posted United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) head of office in the state.
During the visit, Omosehin said the organization is still focused on ending preventable maternal deaths, unmet needs for family planning, and gender-based violence and harmful practices.
He promised to strengthen issues bordering on effective coordination of the United Nations Delivery as One, of which UNFPA is the coordinating UN agency in the state for all UN partners, while the MIDC, on the other hand, coordinates all UN activities of MDAs statewide.
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He commended the state through the ministry for its excellent coordination in the area of development support and the United Nations delivery as one partnership, whilst acknowledging quality and excellent leadership of the commissioner and her team, noting that UNFPA has enjoyed a beautiful relationship in the state.
In her response, Asibong welcomed and congratulated the new Head of Office, whilst lauding the efforts of UNFPA in supporting the state over the years in the areas of its mandate. She reiterated the commitment of the state to the existing partnership and noted that the ministry is not resting on its oars as it strives to remain the leading state in development coordination.
Asibong hinted that there have been movements by the ministry in engaging the governor towards securing counterpart funds to support the partnership despite the lean resources and meagre allocations to the state.
Asibong also maintained that the Ministry has a dedicated desk officer supporting the UNFPA programme, and she expressed confidence that her team will give the needed support round the clock. She thanked the team and further reiterated that her doors will always be open for collaborations on any developmental issue.
