Daily Times

The year 2021 brought unprecedented challenges for Pakistan in several ways. From the rapid spread of novel coronavirus to the imposition of nationwide lockdown to curtail the risks of the virus, the year 2021 had brought tremendous challenges in all the social, political and economic dimensions. It has posed more social challenges in the form of education, health, and most of all attaining Sustainable Development Goals in Pakistan. Currently, the federal budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022 has been presented in the National Assembly by Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen where Rs 118 billion has been proposed for the Public Sector Development Program in the country. The amount allocated for development purposes has been increased up to 37 percent as compared to last year’s development budget. Concerning SDGs, which is global agenda 2030 for achieving a more sustainable and prosperous future and has the potential to address all the peculiarities from highlighting gender inequality, to rising poverty and environmental concerns, adopting SDGs has now become a priority for developing countries like Pakistan where a pandemic has radically transformed the dwindled economy and society on the whole.

Financing Sustainable Development Goals in Pakistan is the need of an hour to attain a better sustainable future. Out of 118 billion proposed for PSDP, 68 billion has been allocated for achieving SDG in Pakistan. Unfortunately, the respective budget for SDGs is not enough to address the challenges which the country is currently facing in three of the SDG key dimensions including social, environmental, and economics. Although financing SDGs is a convoluted task and requires more extraordinary coordination between the public and private sector and commitments at both federal and provincial levels to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. The Federal Government’s vision for Pakistan’s growth by 2025 includes promoting a green economy, rebuilding the state institutions, more employment opportunities for youth, enhancing competitiveness, and inclusive growth in different sectors. According to Standard Chartered SDG Investment Map, the private sector has the potential of investing around $96.2 billion in four of the main goals for achieving a significant improvement by the 2030 SDGs agenda. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries that lack access to clean water and sanitation.

According to a UNICEF report, 53,000 Pakistani Children under the age of five die from diarrhea due to poor sanitation and water facilities available for them in the country. A total of $40 billion investment is required for providing clean water and sanitation facilities to the people of Pakistan. Covid19 has questioned the digital infrastructure of the country owing to which investment of around $56.6 billion is required for digital access for all in Pakistan. Moreover, there are other flexible investment options as well for achieving Sustainable Development Goals such as prioritizing those areas which need more attention such as combating climate change, working on infrastructural developments, and advancing in technology. The Board of Investment can play a significant role in facilitating investment transactions from local to foreign direct investments in all the SDG projects.

It would be pertinent to say that Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved only through the allocated budget. Pakistan needs some external means of finances as well. Without external support, achieving SDG is a daunting task for the state. Rendering to Jeffery Sachs the author of a book named (The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time), pointed out that countries can fight poverty only if development assistance in various forms is granted to them and business regulations globally are made fair for the developing countries. External finances in that point of view can play an integral role in the real implementation of SDGs Agenda 2030 in Pakistan. There can be several reasons to invest in Pakistan such as its favorable geostrategic location which offers regional connectivity with important countries including the Central Asian States, China, and Western countries can attract foreign direct investors for financing SDGs in Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan’s ranking has been increased from 147 to 180 in ease of doing business owing to which external investors can get maximum benefit through it. The favorable investment regulations in Pakistan can attract many global investors to invest in key areas which can ultimately raise the fund for financing SDGs in Pakistan.

In conclusion, Covid19 has increased the challenges for the country in several ways. It has put 25 percent of the population below the poverty line. However, increasing SDG investment opportunities in the country along with coordination and partnership at the national and international level can pave the way for achieving SDG Agenda 2030. Relying solely on the allocated federal budget for SDGs cannot completely address the existing challenges which the country is facing so far in the real implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, therefore, strengthening institutional capacities, enhancing public, private partnership and attracting foreign investors can help Pakistan to finance SDGs in more strengthened ways.