Out of seven countries in South Asia (Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan), only two countries -- Maldives and Sri Lanka -- are on track to some degree to achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), according to the 2023 review report, published by the United Nations (UN) agency. 

The Sustainable Development Report (SDR) reviews progress made each year on the sustainable development goals since their adoption by the 193 UN Member States in 2015. At the halfway mark to 2030, the sustainable development report 2023 takes stock of progress made and discusses priorities to restore and accelerate SDG progress. 

This analysis has taken the top-7 SDG indicators for discussion: Poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, and access to clean water and sanitation, to make an assessment on where we stand today in the region on important development parameters.
 

 
Mostly in the red zone

Halfway to the deadline for the 2030 agenda, South Asian countries remain mostly in the “major challenges” category.  The SDR shows that just two countries in South Asia are making some progress: Maldives is only one on track with the indicator on “no poverty,” while Maldives and Sri Lanka are both on track with their “quality education.”  The progress on most of the other SDG indicators in these countries are either weak or insufficient.  

Even worse, most of the South Asian countries have stalled or gone in the reverse category (major challenges-red zone). The performance of five out of seven countries on hunger and health, and four on accessing clean water and sanitation are in terrible shape. 

Unless these countries act immediately, it will be an impossible task for them to achieve SDG goals by 203o. The report says that the hunger has increased in most of the South Asian countries and is back at 2005 levels. Gender equality is some 300 years away. Such progress on key SDG indicators means that something is fundamentally wrong with the governance of the system that delivers such negative outcomes. 

If execution of SDGs falls short, what may happen?

Looking at the current progress, it looks like many human development SDG indicators will not be achieved by 2030 nor by 2050. So, what are the possible consequences if the execution of the SDGs falls short, what may happen if the targets are not met in 2030? 

The consequence of not executing the SDGs may lead to an exacerbation of problems such as poverty and hunger. Moreover, complex issues related to gender equality and other indicators are likely to remain underachieved. 

If existing trends continue to persist, by 2030, 575 million people will be trapped in extreme poverty and an estimated 84 million children and young people will be out of education globally -- it is important to note that most of these people affected will be either from South Asian or African countries. 

The failure to reach the target SDGs indicator is likely to negatively affect millions of people in these developing and least developed countries in the South Asian region, with substantial damages to livelihoods, an exacerbation of poverty and the spread of diseases. 

Hunger in the region: High priority area

The SDG implementation in South Asian countries has such high significance because more than 33% of the global population living in extreme poverty live in this region. The pandemic further trapped millions in the region to fall in the poverty trap, worsening the hunger situation. 

The Global Hunger index (GHI) 2022 ranks South Asian countries with Sri Lanka (64th) followed by Nepal (81st) and Bangladesh (84th). Both Sri Lanka and Nepal are placed in the "moderate" severity level. Afghanistan (109th), India (107th), and Pakistan (99th) are the bottom three countries in South Asia in the 2022 GHI index. 

It is extremely worrying to find that poverty and hunger continue to diminish South Asia's development progress significantly and in a way showing how SDG is implemented in the region. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal have child labour populations of 5.8 million, 5 million, 3.4 million, and 2 million respectively, as per a survey by the International Labour Organization (ILO) -- which indicates that quality education for children in the region is not on the expected track committed to by South Asian leaders on SDG.

Failing SDG reflects nothing but policy failure

Without a renewed commitment and energy (after the global disturbance due to pandemic), we risk putting many of the SDGs permanently off the track. With only seven years remaining for implementation of the goals, the South Asia region cannot afford to slow progress and the countries have to take strong actions in reducing extreme poverty and hunger. 

As data shows, the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger is increasing for the first time in a generation. Each hungry person, each desperately poor person, each child without education, each person without having access to safe and clean drinking water, reflects nothing but a policy failure. No country can afford to see them fail. 

This article was first published in Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh