As we speak (or as you read this article), the global leaders have already met at the UN headquarters in New York to adopt a new global plan of action for ending poverty, known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This new term rhymes wonderfully with the term Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which is the next phase of the global development agenda on which the world has been focusing on for the past 15 years. Bangladeshi success stories on achieving the MDGs have been discussed over and over again. However, that does not mean we should sit back and relax, because the work to sustain the developments that have already been achieved is going to be much harder.
So, what are SDGs? SDGs are a set of 17 goals and 169 targets aimed at resolving the social, economic, and environmental challenges of today's world, something that will have great impact in the coming days. Like the MDGs, SDGs also aim to achieve the goals and targets in the next 15 years, starting from 2016. Only, this time, these are truly global goals, because of the method in which they’ve been devised.
When MDGs were decided upon back in 2000, it was mostly a top-down approach. However, this time, while deciding on SDGs, in 2012, the governments have come up with a different idea at the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development. This was followed by the development of a working group with representatives from 70 countries which drafted the proposed set of goals.
At the same time, the UN facilitated a number of public consultations around the world -- online and face-to-face -- asking them about their priorities for the goals. Back in June, the governments negotiated a final version of the SDGs, which has since then been adopted by 193 countries at the UN.
In taking on SDGs, Bangladesh will have the opportunity to draw strength from being a star performer of the MDGs. Bangladesh’s achievements in the MDG era are as follows:
Bangladesh has made a considerable achievement by reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty
The issue of gender parity in primary schools has been met
In terms of reducing the rate of children dying before their 5th birthday by more than half since 1990, we have achieved this way before 2015
Maternal mortality has taken a sharp dive while, at the same time, communicable diseases have been somewhat halted and deaths as a result have been averted
In terms of access to improved drinking water, sanitary latrines, and use of digital media, we -- as a developing country -- are on track compared to other developed nations
So, why do we need SDGs in Bangladesh? While we have demonstrated our capacity for achieving the goal of poverty reduction within the target time-frame, reaching food security and nutritional well-being still remains a challenge. The challenges in reducing income inequality and increasing women’s participation in the formal economic sector, also remain major concerns.
Challenges faced in attaining the targets of increasing primary education completion rate, improving the quality of education at both the primary and higher levels, and adult literacy rate need to be addressed on a priority basis. The country has already achieved the targets of gender parity in primary and secondary education at the national level. However, wage employment for women in Bangladesh is still low. Only one woman out of every five is engaged in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector.
In terms of child health, while mortality rates have improved, major inequalities among the population segments still need to be addressed. Childhood deaths, especially by drowning, have emerged as a considerable public health concern responsible for a full quarter of the deaths among children one to four years of age.
For maternal mortality, after the dramatic decline, the challenge is now overall reproductive health and aspects of maternal morbidity. For goal six, the challenges remain multiple drug resistance when it comes to TB control and the sudden rise of malaria. The issue of the rise of HIV among concentrated populations, and STDs in general, are also something to look at.
In terms of ensuring environmental sustainability -- despite winning awards and combating climatic events and disasters in novel ways -- access to safe water for all is still a challenge, as arsenic and salinity intrusion, as a consequence of climate change fallout, will exacerbate availability of safe water, especially for the poor. For the last goal, the major challenges are trade policy, market diversifications, and global treaties.
So, what is new and different about SDGs? I am not going to mark all 17 goals, but just to give an idea, SDGs go much further than the previous goals, because they address the root cause of poverty and pledge to leave no one behind, including vulnerable groups. Because of its bottom-up approach, these goals also emphasise the need to tackle climate change urgently and protect the environment through a shift to sustainable consumption and production.
Unlike the MDGs, these goals are intended to be universal, applying to all countries rather than just a formality for the developed world and a target to achieve for the developing world. And lastly, to some extent, these goals recognise the key role of the private sector in pursuing and financing sustainable development, in partnership with governments and the civil society.
Now, with these challenges in hand, and the new paradigm of development goals, for Bangladesh to meet the SDGs, what should be the main areas to look at? First and foremost, end poverty and hunger everywhere -- regardless of social structure, geographical location, seasonality, and any other social determinants. For this, the main hurdle is to combat inequalities within the determinants.
The second way is to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies by protecting human rights and promoting gender equality and equity at all levels -- especially for women and girls. The third way is to ensure enduring protection of the natural resources, and, lastly, creating conditions for sustainable, inclusive, and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity, and decent work for all.
