FAQ


Sustainable development is commonly defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize three core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These elements are interconnected and are all crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies.

The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next 15 years in areas of critical importance: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.

 ○ People - to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.

○ Planet - to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

○ Prosperity - to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.

 ○ Peace - to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

 ○ Partnership - to mobilize the means required to implement this agenda through a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of 3 the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.

● The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets are broader in scope and will go further than the MDGs by addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people. The goals will cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.

 ● Building on the success and momentum of the MDGs, the new global goals will cover more ground, with ambitions to address inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, cities and human settlements, industrialization, oceans, ecosystems, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, peace and justice.

● The new Goals are universal and apply to all countries, whereas the MDGs were intended for action in developing countries only.

● A core feature of the SDGs is their strong focus on means of implementation—the mobilization of financial resources—capacity-building and technology, as well as data and institutions.

 ● The new Goals recognize that tackling climate change is essential for sustainable development and poverty eradication. SDG 13 aims to promote urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

The pledge to leave no one behind is embedded at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. It means that the international community has agreed to make a concerted effort to identify and lift up those who are furthest behind first. This means targeting the most vulnerable people who societies so often miss: from youth, and especially girls; to refugees and migrants; to rural farmers and indigenous populations – and so many others living on the margins of society.

It’s about giving voice to those who are furthest behind, but who stand to gain the most as we embark on implementing this ambitious agenda over the next 15 years.

Main objectives are to:

  ○ Create a data repository for monitoring the implementation of the SDGs and other national development goals;
  ○ Facilitate the tracking of progress against each goal and target;
  ○ Improve situation analysis and performance monitoring;
  ○ Enable predictive analysis for achieving the goals within the set time-frame.

Main features are:

 ○ Data from any geographical location;
 ○ Can be customized for any language;
 ○ Target setting and progress tracking;
 ○ Data to policy making;
 ○ Multiple visualization and reporting schemes;
 ○ Correlation among multiple SDG indicators; and
 ○ Dashboard for the Ministries/Directorates.

Achieving SDGs rests largely on informed decision making and targeted resource allocation. For a Government to plan and monitor the impact of its policies, it must be able to benchmark data and see year on year progress. An effective monitoring tool provides essential support in order to achieve the SDGs. Regular monitoring and evaluation of development interventions facilitate continuous improvement of their designs and thus enhance their potential to make impact.

As an NSO, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics will provide maximum data. Besides, other data producers both public and private agencies will provide data for this purpose.

The government has taken several initiatives for the implementation of SDGs, these are:

  1. A high level post titled “Principal SDG Coordinator’ has been created under Prime Minister’s Office to coordinate the implementation of SDGs.
  2. ‘Mapping of the Ministries by targets’ to determine the responsibilities of implementation. 43 Ministries have been identified as lead, 34 as co-lead and 61 as associate.
  3. ‘SDG data gap analysis’ has been done to understand the status of data for monitoring.
  4. SDGs Financing Strategy has been formulated to identify the resource gap and requirement of resources for implementing SDGs in Bangladesh
  5. Bangladesh is one of the 44 countries who has prepared ‘Voluntary National Review-2017’ report on SDGs implementation. Bangladesh also participated in the High Level Political Forum of UN in July 2017.
A simple but powerful and innovative tool named SDG Tracker has been developed by a2i programme of Prime Minister’s Office to monitor the implementation of SDGs. The platform was launched by Honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 72nd General Assembly of UN on 20 September 2017.