More intra-UN coordination, capacity must to atain SDGs

The UN needs more coordination within its systems and to raise capacity to help countries achieve sustainable development goals (SDG), said the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) regional director for Asia and the Pacific.

"The countries are demanding that we work together to move forward this big agenda as a whole," Yoriko Yasukawa said in a recent interview with a few journalists at Hotel Sonargaon in Dhaka on Friday.

Appointed in August with over 30 years of experience with the UN in sustainable development, defence and promotion of human rights, democratic governance and conflict prevention and resolution, she is visiting Bangladesh to attend the Partners in Population and Development meetings.

"The UN system is going to need to be much better. We need to raise the level of our technical and intellectual capacity to really help countries achieve the countries' priorities," she said.

Yoriko Yasukawa's observations coincide with the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to a 15-year SDG regime starting 2016. Yoriko shared lessons learnt during MDGs and the strategies needed for SDGs.

She said that "it is possible to make progress if you have mind in it" was a very important lesson.

During the MDG period from 2000 to 2015, poverty reduced globally which was unprecedented. Also, there was significant progress in saving millions of children from death and enrollment of children in schools, she said.

It is important to take note that there is a need for setting goals and making public investments for that and work together to achieve the goals, said Yoriko Yasukawa.

Despite the significant progresses, inequality and discrimination prevails among people worldwide. Large numbers of indigenous people, people with disabilities, women, migrants and ethnic minorities are left out from the universal development process, she added.

The countries under the SDGs are trying to take these issues into account so that the development is inclusive, holistic and integrated and transformative, she said.

The goals include economic, social and environmental development as well as transparent and accountable governance that can ensure a peaceful society, Yoriko Yasukawa said.

On Bangladesh's progress during the MDG regime, she said over the past 15 to 20 years it progressed by leaps and bounds in terms of both economic and social ends.

It has significantly reduced maternal and child deaths, and set an example in expanding family planning and gender equality in education but child marriage and maternal mortality rates are still very high, she said.

Government statistics say Bangladesh's current maternal mortality rate is about 194 per 100,000 live births, while about two-thirds of girls are married off before they reach 18 years of age.

"More and more skilled midwives are required to reduce maternal mortality," Yoriko said, adding that the UNFPA has been working with the government to this end.

She termed child marriage a serious form of human rights violation. "We know it is a tradition (in some countries) that must be respected, but when it violates rights, it has to change," Yoriko said.

She underscored the role of countries that lead SDGs while the UN systems would help achieve those. Within the countries, it is the people who will demand development rights, where civil society and media can play an important role to work in coordination and coherence, she said.

"We need to do that because these are very ambitious goals and they will need lots of additional resources, but at the same time by working together more closely and eliminating inefficiencies, learning from one another, we together can define the best course of action," said Yoriko Yasukawa.

"(In that case) we can do much more with the same amount of resources," she said.