Bangladesh is falling behind on a number of core SDG indicators, including the ones relating to revenue generation and foreign direct investment, according to the latest SDG progress report of the government.
At the same time, unavailability of quality, accessible, timely, reliable and disaggregated data is hindering the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the decision-making process, the report said.
The findings of the progress report were shared at its launching ceremony at the National Economic Council (NEC) conference room in the capital on Sunday.
The report showed the country has made impressive progress in reducing headcount poverty and that the total government spending on essential services like education, health and social protection is also on the rise.
"Child welfare indicators such as the under-five mortality rate and the neonatal mortality rate have already reached or surpassed the 2020 milestone," Dr Shamsul Alam, a member of the Planning Commission, said in his keynote presentation.
"The share of manufacturing value added to GDP has already reached 21.74 per cent in 2016-17, exceeding the 2020 target of 21.5 per cent," he pointed out.
Significant progress has also been made in ensuring access to electricity and expanding mobile and Internet coverage, the progress report said.
However, the total government revenue as a proportion of GDP stood at 10.16 per cent in 2017, lagging far behind the 2020 target of 16 per cent, the report showed.
At the same time, foreign direct investment as a proportion of total domestic budget stood at 7.4 per cent in 2017 -- way behind the 2020 target of 14 per cent.
The volume of remittance as a proportion of total GDP, on the other hand, is around 5.1 per cent while it needs to reach 7.6 per cent by 2020, according to the report.
Similar sluggishness is also visible when it comes to quality education, reduction of inequality, renewable energy and manufacturing employment.
"The total government revenue as a proportion of GDP is falling behind target," said Dr Alam, who heads the General Economics Division of the Planning Commission.
He also noted that FDI also needs to grow in an accelerated way.
"The volume of remittances as a proportion of total GDP has also to be improved considerably," he added.
Speaking at the event, experts called for developing country-specific SDG indicators in line with the country context.
"We need to be innovative and work out our own domestic indicators in line with our own development challenges," said eminent economist Prof Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud.
He noted that up until now, the progress of Bangladesh has been mostly driven by remittances coming from unskilled and semi-skilled expatriate workers as well as readymade garments.
"But the next stage of development should be attained through skilled workers and productive employment," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister's Economic Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman blamed the country's protectionist tariff regime for low revenue generation.
"Our interest in protectionism is so strong that we find all ways to give more protection to our industries," he said.
"Unless the protectionism is brought to a rationale level, there is no way to make the local industries more competitive while the revenue generation will also remain low," he added.
Planning Minister MA Mannan, in his speech, stressed the need for strengthening the Bureau of Statistics to address the data gap in order to properly implement the SDGs.
Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo also spoke.
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