Nepal government, National Planning Commission and the United Nations in Nepal, jointly kicked off the SDG Acceleration Visioning workshop on Wednesday.

Ahead of the SDG Summit in September, the workshop aims to review the status of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) progress in Nepal and identify priority areas for SDGs acceleration and outline a roadmap for strategic actions.

It also aims to launch a nationwide campaign on SDGs to mobilise multi-stakeholders, including provincial and local governments, the private sector, civil society, and development partners to ramp up efforts to accelerate progress on SDGs.

“The government of Nepal is passionately internalising the SDGs through the current 15th plan and its regular programmes and policies. Nepal has identified key areas that hold the potential to catalyse economic transformation, leading us towards SDG attainment and irreversible graduation from LDC status,” said Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission.

“Our focus is on enhancing production and productivity within our economy, generating skilled human capital, and creating inclusive employment opportunities including a robust emphasis on quality education, accessible healthcare systems, sound infrastructure, responsible urbanisation, social empowerment, inclusivity, social security, increased capital expenditure, biodiversity preservation, and effective governance.”

For the first time in decades, development progress is reversing under the combined impacts of climate disasters, geopolitical tension, global economic slowdown, and the lingering effects of Covid-19 globally.

Halfway to the deadline of 2030, the promise of the SDGs is in peril with just 12 percent progress globally. This means that the people and planet are in deep crisis, and hence, a renewed commitment to the SDGs is needed now more than ever before. This workshop is therefore expected to outline the national commitment of Nepal.

Speaking at the workshop, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Hanaa Singer Hamdy said, "The SDG progress is not about lines on a graph. It is about healthy mothers and babies; children learning the skills to fulfil their potential; and parents who can feed their families. It is about a world in which everyone enjoys human rights and human dignity."

She further added, "The road ahead to achieve the SDGs globally and in Nepal is still a bit steep. But it is one we can, must and will achieve- together – and for the people we serve from all parts of this incredibly beautiful country."

The National Vision for SDG Acceleration that will be prepared through a consultative process based on the outline coming from this workshop will be presented to the global leaders as Nepal's commitment at the 2023 SDG Summit being held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on September 18.

The summit will reaffirm the collective commitments of world leaders to the goals and the promise to leave no one behind.