CHESTRAD Outlines Plans to Make Nigeria’s GDP Growth

As the deadline for the millennium development goals draw closer with many Nigerians left out of the reported gross domestic product(GDP) the  Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD)  International has announced  plans to create a platform for crowed funding social development that will ensure that Nigerians have access to basic amenities.

CHESTRAD is a global non-state, not-for-profit social enterprise established in 1992. It is registered in Nigeria as a  corporation limited  by Guarantee and is tax-exempt.

In a chat with newsmen in Lagos, President, CHESTRAD International, Dr. Oluwafunmilola Dare, said the initiative tagged, ‘I Will Give,’ is platform for organised private giving in support of social development and key activities in education, health, youth development and women’s empowerment to take advantage of these resources and development.

The initiative, she added, will provide a platform for private and corporate giving that has the potential for long-term impact on development financing in 21st century Africa.

“It is a platform for crowed funding social development. Nigeria has witnessed growth in the middle class and GDP but the growth in the economy and GDP is not trickling dawn. So we decided to develop a platform to tap into the pocket of the rich and create a domestic financing platform. We will invite subscriptions from African middle class, high net worth individuals, corporations and public sector where necessary.

“We will put these resources together to invest in social development. It is a combination of crowed funding and high impact investment for the purpose of bridging the gap between economic and social development by providing access to services for the poor," Dare said.

CHESTRAD, she added has been involved in development for more than 30 years stressing that it work through the various stages of development.
She added, “We are in different phases of development now, this phase says MDGs ends in September, it is a reality so we are crafting a new phase of development plan. At the time we are doing this, there are also economic realities around the world.

“Our traditional development partners have their GDP dropping and are in recession while we in Africa has seen its GDP growing and the economy booming. So the place to be now is Africa. What we are going to see is the overseas development assistance is going to drop. When this happens it is going to leave a lot of gap behind in terms of where we get money to fund developmental projects, fund projects that our development partners used to do.

“So in the last two years we have been strategizing and looking at how we can bridge the gap in sustainability, transition and development continuum.  The key question is how we can transition Africa from a donor dependent, aid dependent to a self-reliant community with its growing middle class. This is one of the reasons we are embarking on this effort.”

She added that its strategic goals and objective are to: “Establish a platform for social giving engaging corporate social responsibility (CSR), Organized Philanthropy and private giving. Harness subscriber contributions for the benefit of programs which yield high social impact, with a focus on increasing human capital, supporting and nurturing productivity and maximizing the economic contribution of women and young persons.”

Other are to, “Devise effective communications and subscriber outreach programs to sustain levels of subscription. Implement a robust performance monitoring system to promote accountability and maximum utility of resources.”

- By Eromosele Abiodun