The promise of a secure future remains elusive, and the wait is unlikely to end soon. With just four years to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, lofty pledges at global forums increasingly ring hollow as the poor pay the price for leaders’ misplaced priorities.
The latest assessment puts global SDG achievement at a mere 16 per cent, signalling that many targets will be missed and by a wide margin.
Despite independent media campaigns to build public awareness of the SDGs, policymakers gradually lost focus in Pakistan. The SDG cells created after the goals were adopted in 2015 first became dysfunctional and were eventually dissolved. Critics blame successive governments’ preoccupation with short-term political interests at the expense of long-term development.
The loss of momentum is particularly striking given Pakistan’s early start. It was among the first countries to translate the 17 SDGs into defined, benchmarked national targets and establish dedicated teams to pursue them at the federal and provincial levels.
Cells created after the goals were adopted in 2015 first became dysfunctional and were eventually dissolved
