The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs are seventeen interlinked objectives designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The United National General Assembly had set them in 2015 and are proposed to be achieved by 2030. They are a part of the UN Resolution called the “2030 Agenda.”
The objective of the developing and developed countries of the world should be to pursue a strategy framework to achieve these goals. These goals include (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals.
Akin to other developing and developed counties, Pakistan too will be aspiring to achieve these Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, all of Pakistan’s internal sectors need to work in cohesion to achieve such goals. These aims shall not be achieved until the sectors of trade, economy, education, along with all areas of industrial, agricultural, and service sector are not working with a single-minded resolution to realize these SDGs.
In this regard, the concerned authorities from all the respective sectors, departments, and industries need to create a plan of how the tasks should be achieved. This calls for a common consensus from the public, private organizations, and all the stakeholders involved in it. The objectives identified during the brainstorming and preliminary research phase should be categorized according to importance and priority. The tasks must be assigned a budget and a team must be given the responsibility to ascertain these tasks are achieved. A dedicated team of industry experts from the relevant field must be given the objective to add impetus in their department.
In this regard, the group of professionals should take advice from key specialists from the field who know the industry inside out. Here, the teams must work with honesty, dedication, and show the utmost transparency in all matters. Furthermore, inlets must be developed to ascertain that all concerned stakeholders are moving forward with their respective objectives.
Issues such as those about eradicating poverty, providing food, education and healthcare, speedy justice, and bringing innovation in industries and infrastructure require skilled and proficient human resources. The human capital of Pakistan, therefore, needs to be evolved. The SDGs cannot be achieved without a loyal and devoted human capital who knows how to tackle challenges, work with accountability, and bring results while utilizing all available resources.
While the objective must be to attain the SDGs, the primary goal should be to bring such reforms in each sector that facilitates the growth of the sector. These reforms should focus on developing the human capital, find ways to attract investment, and should streamline all operational and strategic processes required to fulfill each SDG. Special efforts should be made to create links with other countries and foreign companies to attract foreign investment while the national players must be taken on board as well.
The teams and human resources working in their respective industries should find out the shortcomings of their industry and its various sectors that are being ignored for years. This should also focus on identifying the loopholes and closing them so no one tries to complete a task through unfair means.
Three steps will guarantee that the teams working to achieve the SDGs are moving in the right direction. These include awareness, action, and accountability. Awareness is necessary for the teams to know what goal needs to achieve, how to do it, and what impact will it have on society. Taking action and that too in the right direction with the correct set of strategies will provide effective and timely results.
Accountability will be essential in keeping the teams and the concerned stakeholders true to their efforts and objectives. When all the key players embrace hard work, display teamwork, and ensure their efforts are aligned with the results, then the SDGs will surely be achieved.