Bangladesh needs $928b extra to implement SDGs
Bangladesh requires $928.48 billion additionally from 2017 to 2030 to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, revealed a new study.
This amount would be needed after current costs related to the SDGs are borne by the public and private sectors and external sources. The $928.48 billion is 19.75 percent of the accumulated gross domestic product under the Seventh Five-Year Plan, according to the report titled “SDGs Financing Strategy: Bangladesh Perspective”.
The annual average cost of the SDGs will be $66.32 billion at constant prices for the period, said the report prepared and published by the General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission.
The report, along with two other books, Bangladesh Voluntary National Review (VNR) 2017 on SDGs and A Training Handbook on Implementation of the 7th Five-Year Plan, was launched at a programme jointly organised by the GED and the UNDP Bangladesh at the conference room of the National Economic Council yesterday.
The GED, with financial and technical support from the UNDP, has prepared and published the books.
Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, “We have already integrated the SDGs into our 7th Five-Year Plan, mapped the ministries by targets, and conducted a data gap analysis and SDGs financing strategy. We are now preparing an SDG monitoring framework and a national action plan to achieve the goals.”
“Bangladesh is moving forward and showing healthy signs of progress in economic and social fields, including that of SDGs. We are very much on track and hopefully will achieve the SDGs well ahead of time.”
HT Imam, political affairs adviser to the prime minister, reiterated the government's political commitment in achieving the SDGs and transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041.
“To achieve the targets by the timeline, a 7-plus percent GDP growth is not enough; we have to reach double-digit growth and have to employ our all-out effort in it.”
UNDP Bangladesh Country Director Sudipto Mukerjee said, “Bangladesh was an example of best practice in mainstreaming SDGs into national plan with an effective SDGs implementation plan.”
He expressed continued support of the UNDP to timely achieve the SDGs in the country.
The VNR 2017 on SDGs was prepared and submitted to the UN High Level Political Forum in July this year giving an account of progress of SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 9, SDG 14 and SDG 17.
The “Training Handbook on Implementation of the 7th Five-Year Plan” specifies the tasks to be completed by each ministry or division.