UN ready to help Bangladesh achieve SDGs

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis on Sunday said the United Nations in Bangladesh stands ready to help the government and the people of Bangladesh navigate the path towards inclusive sustainable development which leaves no one behind.

“We need to work together to not only advance development, but to accelerate our joint efforts to reach our shared goals by 2030,” she said.

The government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Country Team conducted a comprehensive review of their collaborative efforts to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This discussion took place on Sunday at the second Joint Steering Committee meeting of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-26, co-chaired by the Secretary of the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance and the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh.

The UNSDCF 2022-26, co-signed by the Government of Bangladesh and all UN agencies, funds and programmes working in Bangladesh, is the UN’s five-year plan to accelerate progress towards the sustainable development goals in line with the Country’s 8th Five-Year Plan.

The Joint Steering Committee meeting, attended by 22 ministries of the government of Bangladesh and 17 UN agencies, funds and programmes, discussed how in 2022, UN agencies, funds, and programmes provided over $241.2 million in assistance to support inclusive and sustainable economic development, equitable human development and well-being, a sustainable, healthy, and resilient environment, transformative, participatory and inclusive governance and gender equality and efforts to eliminate gender-based violence.

During the meeting, the Secretary of the Economic Relations Division, Sharifa Khan, emphasized the significant role played by the partnership between the United Nations and the government of Bangladesh in advancing the nation’s development.

“As Bangladesh prepares to graduate from its status as a Least Developed Country in 2026, Ms. Khan expressed confidence that the collaboration would gain further momentum in the coming year,” she said.

UNDP to work with content creators to promote SDGs

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh will work with eight prominent content creators for one year. They will act as UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Socializer: Empowering Change Through Social Media Advocacy.

A signing ceremony for that was held at UNDP office at Agargaon on Sunday.

“The SDG Socializers are prominent individuals in Bangladesh from the worlds of arts, sciences, literature, entertainment, sport, or other fields of public life,” UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller said at the signing ceremony.

“Through their past actions, they have demonstrated their desire to contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is a key factor behind their selection for this voluntary role,” he added.

“We have only seven years left to achieve the SDGs. I believe working with content creators and using social media as an advocacy tool will be catalytic in making a push for the SDGs,” Stefan added

The content creators include educator Enayet Chowdhury, child rights activist and climate campaigner Faatiha Aayat, food blogger Iftekhar Rafsan, singer Masha Islam, vlogger Mashrur Enan, artist Masuda Khan, cartoonist Morshed Mishu, dancer and choreographer Ridy Sheikh, and actress Taslima Hossain Nodi.

“As popular figures, the socializers will serve as a primary catalyst in raising awareness for eradicating poverty and inequality, strengthening governance, developing resilience, protecting the environment, promoting clean energy and ensuring gender equality,” UNDP Bangladesh’s Head of Communications, Md Abdul Quayyum said at the signing.  

“All of these individuals have great followings on social media and have demonstrated social responsibility and advocacy towards sustainable development. Through them, we want to advocate to the mass audience, especially the youth, about the need to act now for a better future,” he added.