The Standard Newspaper wins a UN award

Business

By Fredrick Obura

The Standard Newspaper has won the United Nations award for its contribution towards Kenya's attainment of eight millennium development goals.

The Newspaper emerged overall winner in the 2011 print media category for its incisive news coverage in the daily newspaper, weekend edition and pullouts, which highlight different issues in society.

The newspaper was recognised for its news coverage touching on critical components of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as poverty reduction, education, gender parity, environmental sustainability and maternal health.

Other goals set by United Nations in the MDGs programme includes the development of a global partnership for development, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

Adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the MDGs provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions.

The programme also provide a framework for the entire international community to work together towards a common end – making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere.

The print media category included Nation newspaper and the People Daily.

In the electronic category, KTN and Citizen Television were runners up in a competition that NTV won.

Kenyans for Kenya, an initiative formed by Media owners, Safaricom and the Kenya Commercial Bank to raise money for starving Kenyans a few months ago was recognised for the effort to eradicate extreme poverty.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) hailed Kenya for its progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, reducing child mortality rate and in offering universal education to its citizen.

"We are happy with the progress Kenya has made in offering education to its citizens, the free primary education has made it possible for majority to access basic education," said UNDP Country Director Maria- Threase Keating.

"We are calling for cooperation and closer working relationship between individuals, organisations and the government to make MDGs attainable before the set 2015 date, it is possible," Keating said during the award ceremony held at the Museums of Kenya, Nairobi on Friday night.

Speaking during the occasion, chief guest and assistant minister for planning Peter Kenneth said the government is working round the clock to provide the much-needed environment to achieve MDGs.

"We are delighted to honour you for your relentless effort in offering the MDG a premium slot in your programmes," he said.

The MDGs Award is an initiative that acknowledges the contribution of government, financing institutions, private sector, NGOs and individuals in Kenya that have demonstrated outstanding efforts in driving the achievement of the eight MDG goals through their core programmes.

The programmes can be part of business or organisations’ activities or part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with UNDP in Kenya, Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, Millennium Development Goals Trust Fund and the Government of Finland.

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