Daily Times

Pakistan is all set to present its Voluntary National Review (VNR) report at a mid-term summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), scheduled to take place in September 2023 in New York. According to a press statement, the SDGs Support Unit of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives conducted a multi-stakeholders consultative session here Tuesday to conduct a mid-term review of goals. The aim of the session was to evaluate the performance and outcomes of SDGs implementation, identify the challenges faced and devise a roadmap for accelerated SDGs implementation.

The consultative session was attended by representatives from various ministries, provincial governments, UN agencies, development partners, academia, private sector, civil society and media. On the occasion, the participants shared their inputs and feedback on Pakistan’s progress on SDGs and agreed on a common vision and strategy to accelerate SDGs implementation in light of the challenges faced. The session was convened by the SDGs Support Unit of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives while Chief SDGs, Dr. Ali Kemal presented an overview of Pakistan’s progress on SDGs.

He said that Pakistan was reporting on 133 out of 247 indicators and has integrated the SDGs into its national development plans and policies. He also highlighted the role of various stakeholders in advancing the SDGs agenda in Pakistan, such as universities, private sector, civil society and media. Dr Kemal also discussed the major challenges faced by Pakistan in implementing the SDGs, such as macroeconomic and political economy challenges, uncertain global economic and demand outlook, increased frequency of natural disasters and weak governance system.

He stressed the need for an effective local government system, a consortium of non-government stakeholders to inform the government about their investments on SDGs and a better coordination mechanism among different actors.Talking about the way forward, Dr Ali Kemal highlighted that the SDGs Support Unit has proposed investment action plans for climate challenges, social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups, implementation of universal health coverage, prevention of stunting and malnutrition and harnessing emerging technologies for SDGs. He said that Pakistan will also conduct a consultative session with the provincial representatives to formulate a way forward on each goal of SDGs.