En route to SDGs: Bangladesh

In general, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in terms of poverty reduction, gender consciousness, economic performance, and for innovative work with the downtrodden people, entrepreneurship and private sectors’ innovation, consistent investment in human development

Following an inclusive consultative process involving 194 member states of UN, as well as global civil society and business sector representatives, in 2015, UN member countries adopted Sustainable Development Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets between them  under the  title “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop­ment.”  Center to the agenda and goals is to get a better world and inclusive development, protect the planet, end poverty and improve the lives of people everywhere. 

 In spite of the fact that the SDGs are successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and built on their successes and draw backs, the difference between them is colossal.  Seemingly the difference between the MDGs and the SDGs is that the former dealt with the problems, silos and development, while the latter focus to the causes of the problems, connecting the dots and sustainable development. Nonethe­less SDGs are highly criticized by some scholars for its overreaching goals, result measurement difficulties and for ignoring to a great extent the local context.  Further to this,  The Economist (March 26, 2015 Edition) in its commentary title “The 169 Commandments” points out that ‘the proposed sustainable development goals would be worse than useless.’ It further indicates that the 169 targets for the SDGs are too many, calling them "sprawling," "misconceived," and "a mess" compared to the MDGs. Also it criticizes the goals for ignoring local context and promoting "cookie-cutter development policies." 
Monitoring Profile October 2016 of Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, the government has recently launched a groundbreaking Social Security Strategy and the Seventh Five Year Development Plan (2016-20). Both are well-aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. At this stage, 14 out of 17 SDGs are fully reflected in the seventh five year plan. Also a Development Results Framework (DRF) covers all thematic and sector areas. And in 2015/2016, the government has aligned development planning with the Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) considering that public expenditures evolve around development priorities. In fact, the development in Bangladesh is framed by the Vision 2021 outlining social and economic progress to be achieved by the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence in 2021.  
Under the Vision 2021 and its Perspective Plan 2010-2021, two strategic country documents were framed within two national strategic plans: sixth five year plan (FY2011-FY2015) title accelerating Growth and Reducing Poverty”, and seventh five year plan (FY2016-FY2020) title “Accelerating Growth, Empowering Citizens.” As documented in the Executive Summary of the 7th Five Year Plan (2016-2020), ‘the 6th Five Year Plan (FYP) moved the nation from the somewhat investment-driven and resource dependent framework to a broader socio-economic transformation vision, unifying the various state and non-state actors with specific milestones and complementary roles.’  Importantly, such a move was intended to coincide for concluding the MDGs with remarkable success, and for getting prepared for the post 2015 agenda.  Bangladesh’s success in MDGs1-6 was tremendous. The country has also made noteworthy progress in South-South cooperation, but reverse is true for North-South cooperation.  
Failure in achieving MDGs7 and 8 does not necessarily mean governance failure. Insufficient global cooperation and inequitable distribution of global fund for facing the challenges of climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability were evident. There were also problems with objectives and measurement, as well as with the goal set for the global partnership for development. 
The 7th Five Year Plan (FYP) started considering the vision of UN’s post-2015 agenda and SDGs. Thus the development approach underlying the 7th FYP (as noted down in the plan) is consistent with the global agenda for higher growth in developing countries with appropriate measures for protection of the environment, and with a broad-based strategy of inclusiveness to reach the benefits of progress to all citizens on a sustainable basis. The 7th Five Year Plan centers on three generic themes:  i) GDP growth acceleration, employment generation and rapid poverty reduction; ii) A broad-based strategy of inclusiveness with a view to empowering every citizen to participate full and benefit from the development process; iii) A sustainable development pathway that is resilient to disaster and climate change, and that entails sustainable use of natural resources and successfully manages the inevitable urbanization transition. 
Finally, in general, Bangladesh has made remarkable success in recent years in terms of poverty reduction, gender consciousness, economic performance, and for innovative work with the down trodden people, entrepreneurship and private sectors’ innovation, consistent investment in human development, and notably effective natural and political disaster management and combating terrorism.  
However, as indicated in the Asian Development Outlook 2016, the country’s goal of truly graduating to middle-income status requires much higher investment, robust development assistance, thorough effective reform initiatives so as to improve the business environment, boost up budget revenue, reinforce financial discipline and uphold stable political environment. Moreover, Monitoring Profile, October 2016, reckons that the main challenges for Bangladesh’s development relate to sustaining an enabling environment for private investment; strengthening efficiency and integrity in the public sector governance and the judiciary; accommodating a quickly growing and increasingly urban labour force; adapting to climate change and managing substantial risks as one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. 

The writer is a political, local governance and development analyst

En route to SDGs: Bangladesh

In general, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in terms of poverty reduction, gender consciousness, economic performance, and for innovative work with the downtrodden people, entrepreneurship and private sectors innovation, consistent investment in human development

Following an inclusive consultative process involving 194 member states of UN, as well as global civil society and business sector representatives, in 2015, UN member countries adopted Sustainable Development Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets between them under the title Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Center to the agenda and goals is to get a better world and inclusive development, protect the planet, end poverty and improve the lives of people everywhere. In spite of the fact that the SDGs are successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and built on their successes and draw backs, the difference between them is colossal. Seemingly the difference between the MDGs and the SDGs is that the former dealt with the problems, silos and development, while the latter focus to the causes of the problems, connecting the dots and sustainable development. Nonetheless SDGs are highly criticized by some scholars for its overreaching goals, result measurement difficulties and for ignoring to a great extent the local context. Further to this, The Economist (March 26, 2015 Edition) in its commentary title The 169 Commandments points out that the proposed sustainable development goals would be worse than useless. It further indicates that the 169 targets for the SDGs are too many, calling them sprawling, misconceived, and a mess compared to the MDGs. Also it criticizes the goals for ignoring local context and promoting cookie-cutter development policies. Monitoring Profile October 2016 of Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, the government has recently launched a groundbreaking Social Security Strategy and the Seventh Five Year Development Plan (2016-20). Both are well-aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. At this stage, 14 out of 17 SDGs are fully reflected in the seventh five year plan. Also a Development Results Framework (DRF) covers all thematic and sector areas. And in 2015/2016, the government has aligned development planning with the Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) considering that public expenditures evolve around development priorities. In fact, the development in Bangladesh is framed by the Vision 2021 outlining social and economic progress to be achieved by the 50th anniversary of Bangladeshs independence in 2021. Under the Vision 2021 and its Perspective Plan 2010-2021, two strategic country documents were framed within two national strategic plans: sixth five year plan (FY2011-FY2015) title accelerating Growth and Reducing Poverty, and seventh five year plan (FY2016-FY2020) title Accelerating Growth, Empowering Citizens. As documented in the Executive Summary of the 7th Five Year Plan (2016-2020), the 6th Five Year Plan (FYP) moved the nation from the somewhat investment-driven and resource dependent framework to a broader socio-economic transformation vision, unifying the various state and non-state actors with specific milestones and complementary roles. Importantly, such a move was intended to coincide for concluding the MDGs with remarkable success, and for getting prepared for the post 2015 agenda. Bangladeshs success in MDGs1-6 was tremendous. The country has also made noteworthy progress in South-South cooperation, but reverse is true for North-South cooperation. Failure in achieving MDGs7 and 8 does not necessarily mean governance failure. Insufficient global cooperation and inequitable distribution of global fund for facing the challenges of climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability were evident. There were also problems with objectives and measurement, as well as with the goal set for the global partnership for development. The 7th Five Year Plan (FYP) started considering the vision of UNs post-2015 agenda and SDGs. Thus the development approach underlying the 7th FYP (as noted down in the plan) is consistent with the global agenda for higher growth in developing countries with appropriate measures for protection of the environment, and with a broad-based strategy of inclusiveness to reach the benefits of progress to all citizens on a sustainable basis. The 7th Five Year Plan centers on three generic themes: i) GDP growth acceleration, employment generation and rapid poverty reduction; ii) A broad-based strategy of inclusiveness with a view to empowering every citizen to participate full and benefit from the development process; iii) A sustainable development pathway that is resilient to disaster and climate change, and that entails sustainable use of natural resources and successfully manages the inevitable urbanization transition. Finally, in general, Bangladesh has made remarkable success in recent years in terms of poverty reduction, gender consciousness, economic performance, and for innovative work with the down trodden people, entrepreneurship and private sectors innovation, consistent investment in human development, and notably effective natural and political disaster management and combating terrorism. However, as indicated in the Asian Development Outlook 2016, the countrys goal of truly graduating to middle-income status requires much higher investment, robust development assistance, thorough effective reform initiatives so as to improve the business environment, boost up budget revenue, reinforce financial discipline and uphold stable political environment. Moreover, Monitoring Profile, October 2016, reckons that the main challenges for Bangladeshs development relate to sustaining an enabling environment for private investment; strengthening efficiency and integrity in the public sector governance and the judiciary; accommodating a quickly growing and increasingly urban labour force; adapting to climate change and managing substantial risks as one of the worlds most disaster-prone countries. The writer is a political, local governance and development analyst