The Government of Punjab acknowledges SDGs in its 2017-2018 Budget in collaboration with UNDP
Published : 10 April 2018
Pakistan was among early nations who committed to declare the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a national agenda by adopting a resolution at the National Assembly in February 2016. The main challenge in Pakistan is to transform the ambitious 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into provincial strategies, policies, plans and budgets. The Planning and Development Department of Punjab and UNDP have collaborated to support the Government of Punjab efforts for mainstream and accelerate SDGs.
In the Punjab Government’s White Paper Budget 2017-2018 published in June 2017, the Government recognizes the importance of increasing development allocations to less developed districts, which have been most lagging behind in the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in the Province, in order to achieve the SDGs. In the Annual Development Programme 2017-2018, priorities have been given to the schemes that ensures the better performance of Punjab against key SDG indicators. The White Paper also notes that the proper stock taking exercises and a robust monitoring mechanism will further propagate the achievement of SDGs in the Province.
During budget preparation process, UNDP provided analysis on ADP 2016-2017 allocations against 17 SDGs as well as Punjab’s MPI trends, and suggested to embed the SDGs into regular planning and monitoring guidelines and processes. UNDP, together with other UN Agencies and development partners, will continue working with the Government of Pakistan and Provincial Governments to identify and support actions that will take Pakistan forward quickly across a broader range of interlinked Sustainable Development Goals.