Challenges of SDG implementation

The key challenge for Bangladesh in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is finance needed for its implementation. To achieve the MDGs within the timeline, the annual aid requirement for Bangladesh was estimated at US$ 3.5 billion per year. In actual terms, Bangladesh received US$ 1.58 billion on an average annually from the donors.
Bangladesh is not getting the support promised by the international community. The developed countries committed to provide 0.7 per cent of their GDPs, but only Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, UK and the Netherlands can claim to have met the target so far. The contributions from other rich countries are way below their commitments. It is, therefore, clear that Bangladesh will have to mobilise internal resources to achieve the SDGs.
In addition, according to the estimates in the final report by the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF), countries like Bangladesh will need huge investments for basic infrastructure like roads, rail and ports; power stations; water and sanitation and also for the sectors like agriculture and rural development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, health and education.  
But the recent trend of investment in Bangladesh in important sectors is not up to the desired level. Budgetary allocation to social security is about 2 per cent of GDP in FY2010-2015 period, while average allocation for the health sector was about 0.7 per cent of GDP during FY2003-2014. The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that the allocation should be 5 per cent of GDP. Education got 2 per cent of GDP during FY2003-2014 and UNESCO suggests that the allocation should be 6.0 per cent of GDP.
Bangladesh will need foreign aid and support to implement the SDGs, as it can mobilise internally 62 per cent of budget and 11 per cent of GDP so far. Bangladesh needs US$5 billion to US$6 billion each year to become a middle income country.  
Bangladesh is widely recognised as one of the most vulnerable states to climate change. It is one of the worst sufferers despite being least responsible for it. In 2011, it was estimated that direct annual cost of Bangladesh on account of natural disasters over the last 10 years was between 0.5 and 1 per cent of its GDP. US$ 5.7 billion will be required as adaptation cost to face the increased risks of cyclones and inland monsoon floods in a changing climate by 2050. This amount should come from the countries which are historically responsible for the emerged situation.
Apart from compensation, Bangladesh also deserves technology and capacity building support from the industrialised countries. Bangladesh has been demanding compensation from the countries mainly responsible for climate change. The last Conference of Parities (CoP 21) has sealed that opportunity too. The draft climate agreement has removed the option of compensation. So, Bangladesh is going to get very small support in this regard.
Another big problem of achieving the SDGs is the integration of these goals in the national planning process. At present, there are at least 14 national plans, policies and strategies in Bangladesh. Some key plans and policies are 7th Five Year Plan, National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) 2015, National Education Policy 2010, Primary Education Development Program (PEDP III) 2011-16 (extended to June 2017), National Women's Development Policy (NWDP) 2011, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) 2009 etc. Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), an independent research organisation, shows in a research that among the 17 SDGs - 8 goals are better integrated in the existing national prioritization processes and about 20 per cent targets are not currently reflected in national list of priorities.
The 5th Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR5) has predicted that sea-level rise threatens coastal and deltaic rice production areas in Asia, such as those in Bangladesh and the Mekong River Delta region. By 2050, Bangladesh will face incremental cost of US$ 2.6 billion for flood protection initially and US$ 54 million as annual recurring costs (Planning Commission, Bangladesh). Therefore, it is evident that, climate change will be a serious threat for Bangladesh in achieving the SDGs.   
Lack of good governance has always been a huge problem for Bangladesh in achieving desired development. Corruption is one of the most nagging problems in ensuring good governance. The Transparency International ranked Bangladesh as the most corrupt country from 2001 to 2005. Bangladesh, however, has improved its position by securing the rank and it now has risen to 139th position among 168 countries in 2015 Corruption Perception Index. But this improvement in rank does not represent the real picture of the spread of corruption.
Good governance is a must to ensure the basic needs of the people, socio-economic safety and enough employment opportunities for the growing population.  Some key precondition of good governance are people's participation in decision making, existence of rule of law, transparency in both public and private sectors, and consensus building among all the power structures and accountability of all. Unfortunately in Bangladesh, all these criteria do not exist in the expected manner. Inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy, politicisation and nepotism in public administration, lack of transparency in public procurement, lack of accountability of the service providers and deterioration in the law and order situation are continuing and with this kind of governance it is not possible to ensure sustainable development.  
If economic growth is not shared equally and fairly, if resources are not distributed properly sustainable economic growth can not be attained. Rather the situation will make way for other types of economic crises. Development and income inequality is pretty much evident in Bangladesh, which has been another challenge for sustainable development. The incidence of poverty is higher in rural areas than the urban areas and the rate of decline in poverty is also higher in rural areas (1.24 per cent) than that of the urban areas (1.13 per cent) (Samiya Ferdousi, Wang Dehai 2014).  
The HIES 2010 shows the clear gap between bottom 5 per cent (the poorest of the poor) and the top 5 per cent (richest of the rich). The survey shows that, the income accumulating in top 5 per cent of the households was 24.61 per cent, and it was only 0.78 per cent for the bottom 5 per cent households. Gaps are also evident in social indicators for the poorest and richest quintiles in Bangladesh. For example, child malnutrition rate in the poorest quintile is 50 while it is 21 in the richest quintile, primary school completion rate in poorest quintile is 65 and it is 97 in the richest quintile (World Development Indicators 2014). So, to ensure proper and adequate implementation of the SDGs, inequalities and regional disparities issues must be addressed.  
Unemployment among the youth is another huge challenge for Bangladesh towards SDG achievement.  ILO predicts that youth unemployment will remain a sizable problem for policy makers of Bangladesh as the working-age population will grow annually to more than 2.2 million over the next 10 years. A World Bank report says, in 2013, the youth unemployment rate was 10.3 per cent, higher than the regional South Asian average of 9.45 per cent.
More than 95 per cent of youth reported to work in the informal sector in 2013, of which many worked as self-employed (31.7 per cent), or in unpaid family work (11.1 per cent). Eighty per cent of young women are at home and not in the labour force. Two-thirds of young women are not in employment, education or training (NEET), and two-thirds of school dropouts are women, 36 per cent of urban youth and 42 per cent of rural youth are in NEET.  So ensuring employment is another very important pre-condition of the successful implementation of SDGs in Bangladesh.  
The writer is a development activist.