Home ›› 11 Oct 2022 ›› Opinion
Once upon a time, the world experienced a high poverty rate, a hungry population, and acute diseases among billions of people. Given this upsetting scenario, the United Nations September 2000 arranged a gathering of 189 countries’ leaders. At the meeting, a historic Millennium Declaration came through in the presence of all the global leaders. The landmark declaration, widely known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), was meant for developing nations worldwide. When the tenure of MDGs ended in 2015, the successes in eight fields of MDGs were significant.
The UN set eight measurable goals in MDGs that ranged from halving extreme poverty and hunger to promoting gender equality and reducing child mortality by the target date of 2015. Through MDGs, Bangladesh improved a lot in many areas, no doubt. The goals Bangladesh achieved under MDGs were (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, (2) Achieve Universal Primary Education, (3) Promote gender equality and empower women, (4) Reduce child mortality, (5) Improve maternal health, (6) Combat HIV/aids, malaria and other diseases (7) Ensure environmental sustainability and (8) Develop a global partnership.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) came up with a comprehensive study on global MDGs successes. According to the Millennium Development Goals Report, 2015, prepared by UNDP (1), the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. (2) The number of people in the working middle class living on more than $ 4 a day nearly tripled between 1991 and 2015. (3) The proportion of undernourished people in developing regions has dropped by almost half since 1990. (4) The number of out-of-school children of primary school age worldwide fell by almost half to an estimated 57 million in 2015, down from 100 million in 2000. (5) Gender parity in primary school has been achieved in most countries. (6) The mortality rate of children under five has been cut by more than half since 1990. (7) Since 1990, maternal mortality has fallen by 45 per cent worldwide. (8) Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015. (9) New HIV infections fell by approximately 40 per cent between 2000 and 2013. (10) By June 2014, 13.6 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally, an immense increase from just 800,000 in 2003. (11) Between 2000 and 2013, tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions saved an estimated 37 million lives. (12) Worldwide, 2.1 billion people have access to improved sanitation. (13) Globally, 147 countries have met the MDG drinking water target, 95 countries have met the MDG sanitation target, and 77 countries have met both. (14) Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66 per cent between 2000 and 2014, reaching $135.2 billion.
The UN launched another landmark initiative for high-income, middle-income and lower-middle-income countries titled Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. All economies are set to achieve SDGs by 2030- the timeline set by the UN. There are 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 indicators in SDGs, scheduled to be completed by 2030. Bangladesh, next to achieving MDGs, had been struggling to achieve goals set in SDGs. Huge investments from both the public and private sectors are needed to achieve SDGs. Besides, financing from external sources helps to achieve SDGs. An estimated $ 928.48 billion, calculated based on 2015-16 constant prices, is required. The annual average cost of SDGs has been estimated at $ 66.32 billion (at regular prices) from FY 2017 to FY 2030. A total of $ 928.48 billion, which is 19.75 per cent of the country’s accumulated GDP, must be managed to implement SDGs within the time frame.
The government, in the meantime, identified five traditional financing methods to manage the funds. In this regard, private sector contribution is significant. Of total financing, around 42 per cent is expected to come from the private sector, 34 per cent from the public sector, 6 per cent from public-private partnership ( PPP), 15 per cent from foreign direct investment, foreign aid and grants ( 10 per cent FDI, 5 per cent foreign aid and grants), 4 per cent from NGOs.
Bangladesh has gradually shown praiseworthy performances in terms of social and economic indicators. Amidst many challenges, Bangladesh scored satisfactory in the per capita GNI, Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) and Human Assets Index (HAI). Regarding reducing the poverty rate, Bangladesh performed better than other peer economies.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the poverty rate in Bangladesh in 2000 was 48.9 per cent, 24.8 per cent in 2016 which came down to 20.5 per cent in 2019. In its study, household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIES) revealed that the poverty rate during 1973-74 was recorded at around 71 per cent, just after independence.
Behind the success stories of Bangladesh, the United Nations (UN) played a pivotal role. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme taken by the UN worked to improve social and economic indicators. The MDGs programme ended in 2015, showing remarkable progress in many areas. Currently, Bangladesh is in a race to achieve SDGs in addition to the MDGs. Bangladesh ranked 104th with an overall score of 64.2 in the 2022 SDG index.
A total of seven goals out of 17 are displayed in the category of moderately improving, four goals are in stagnating state, and a few goals are suffering from information unavailability. According to media reports, about one–third of all indicators (32.11 per cent) to monitor the 17 SDGs are currently unavailable.
Now, Bangladesh needs to be updated in authentic data collection to achieve SDGs. In the absence of updated data, SDGs achievement is not possible. Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), Violence Against Women (VAW) Survey, Bangladesh Urban Health Survey (BUHS), Bangladesh Maternal and Healthcare Survey ( BMHS), Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS), Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey ( BDHS), Labour Force Survey (LFS), Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics under the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics ( BBS) data are not up to the mark. With outdated information, achieving SDGs is impossible.
Apart from data unavailability, Bangladesh faces the SDGs financing problem. Though the SDGs issue has been linked with the 7th and 8th Five Year Plan, the progress is unsatisfactory because of financing issues. The public-private partnership (PPP) move is needed to implement SDGs within the stipulated time frame. It is essential to note that Bangladesh lags far behind Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar in the 2022 SDG index. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations said that the Sustainable Development Goals are more important now than ever, adding that now is the time to secure the well-being of people, economies, societies and our planet.
If Bangladesh fails to address the SDG financing gap and is unable to provide updated data, how Bangladesh achieve SDGs by 2030? Bangladesh has to count the massive cost if seen fails to achieve SDGs. If PPP does not come forward in respect of SDGs financing, Bangladesh will have to look for external sources soon. The need for funding is a must to implement the 2030 plan. Many economic successes will be seen if Bangladesh can show success in SDGs affairs.
The writer is an economic affairs analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]
