Lack of data on SDGs a big hurdle

A day-long 'Citizens Conclave: Four years of SDGs in Bangladesh' was held in Dhaka on Saturday. Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh organised the conclave ahead of the meeting of a High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in 2019.
Planning Minister MA Mannan inaugurated the event on Saturday morning at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.
In his inaugural speech the minister said that the government had been working relentlessly to further alleviate poverty and also make the ongoing development efforts sustainable.
"Poverty is behind all problems like lack of healthcare facilities, lack of food and education," he said.
Mannan also said for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the government has undertaken a good number of steps. The minister also cited that apart from the resource constraints, lack of data is also a barrier to attaining the SDGs.
UN Resident Coordinator and Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Mia Seppo spoke on the occasion as guest of honour.
He underscored the need for addressing lack of data towards attaining the SDGs, taking the benefits of development to every nook and corner and further involving the civil society in attaining the SDGs.
Core group member of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs in Bangladesh, Rasheda K Choudhury, made an introduction on the initiative.
Chair of the inaugural session and Convener of Citizen's Platform for SDGs Bangladesh, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya made the opening address while Executive Director for Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Fahmida Khatun presented the overview report.
Coordinator of Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh Anisatul Fatema Yusuf gave the vote of thanks at the inaugural session.
Six goal-specific review reports were presented at various working sessions of the day-long conclave where experts, business leaders, professionals and civil society members talked about quality of education, climate change, inequality, decent work and strong institutions.
An overview report on four years of SDG implementation in Bangladesh was also shared at the conclave.