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NMG reporter bags award at sustainable development conference
Angela Oketch, Nation Media Group's senior health reporter.
Nation Media Group's health reporter Angela Oketch has emerged the winner of the 2025 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) awards, media category, for her consistent reporting on the country's health sector.
Ms Oketch was awarded last Friday night at the culmination of a week-long multi-stakeholder conference to discuss the status of the SDGs in the country.
The event was held in Mombasa County, where calls were repeatedly made for the country to re-examine its plan and meet the 2030 goals on schedule.
The SDGs are a globally agreed-upon set of 17 objectives adopted by the United Nations in 2015. They replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and set a universal deadline of 2030 for nations to achieve targets ranging from ending poverty and zero hunger to ensuring gender equality, quality education, and urgent climate action.
Other awards in different categories went to the Principal Secretaries from the State Departments for Public Health and Professional Standards, Devolution, Blue Economy and Fisheries for their contributions towards advancing the SDGs initiatives.
Delegates at the conference pointed out challenges in implementation of policies towards SDG goals, particularly where the money is allocated. This structural failure, they say, is exacting a devastating toll, most notably on the country’s most vulnerable.
Data from the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) revealed a stark picture of social disparity, confirming that the economic recovery post-2020 has bypassed the most vulnerable. This growing inequality is a major obstacle to Kenya meeting SDG 1 (No Poverty), as poverty remains alarmingly high, with an estimated 40 per cent of Kenyans living in monetary poverty.
Bondo MP Dr Gideon Ochanda blamed the situation on lack of awareness among implementers.
"If you ask them for example how water is related to a goal they do not know. We are not very conscious about the SDGS," he said.
Dr Ochanda, who chairs the SDG and Business Caucus in Parliament, highlighted that the committee operates informally, lacking the necessary official standing to compel action.
However, the national government stated that it was making tangible progress on key national priorities that overlap with the SDGs. The Principal Secretary for Economic Planning Boniface Makokha, said out of 168 SDG indicators, 61 per cent are showing progress, though the country must still "confront challenges".
He highlighted ongoing governmental efforts, including pushing for clean water access, providing subsidised fertiliser to boost food sustenance and promote smart agriculture, and implementing flagship programmes such as the Affordable Housing Programme and the Sh5 billion National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (Nyota) programme.
However, the PS acknowledged that data is not definitive, stating that it is neither positive nor negative.
"We need to be accountable for the SDGs, and the government cannot do it alone as we require stronger domestic financing to meet the 2030 deadline," said Mr Makokha.
Ms Charity Mumo, an economist from Makueni County, showcased their success by being consistent in producing a county statistical abstract and collaborating with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics to track indicators.
“Makueni County has been on the push to achieve the SDGs and we champion it. We even translate the SDGs in vernacular so that our people understand. We ensure our people propose projects so that they themselves own them,” she said.
This successful tactic has been duplicated in Vihiga and West Pokot, where the counties utilise community health volunteers to collect data on progress in the SDG projects.
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