IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SDGs IN BANGLADESH: DOMESTIC

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ESCAP

SOUTH AND SOUTH-WEST ASIA

OFFICE

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SDGs IN BANGLADESH: DOMESTIC CHALLENGES AND REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Fahmida Khatun

Syed Yusuf Saadat

April 2021

South and South-West Asia Development Papers 21-02

April 2021

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this Development Paper are those of the author(s) and

should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carrying the endorsement of

the United Nations. Development Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and

are published to elicit comments and to further debate. This publication has been issued

without formal editing.

For any further details, please contact:

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director

South and South-West Asia Office (SSWA)

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

C-2 Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016, India

Email: [email protected]

Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh

April 2021

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Contents

Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 5

Foreword ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 10

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 11

2. SDGs Progress in Bangladesh: An Overview of Trends ......................................................... 12

3. Challenges of SDG Implementation in Bangladesh ................................................................. 30

3.1 Aligning policies ................................................................................................................. 30

3.2 Establishing institutional architecture ................................................................................. 33

3.3 Mobilising funds ................................................................................................................. 36

3.4 Generating data ................................................................................................................... 39

3.5 Developing partnerships ..................................................................................................... 43

4. Regional Priorities, Instruments and Institutions for SDGs delivery ...................................... 46

4.1 Regional priorities for sustainable development ................................................................. 47

4.2 Regional instruments and institutions ................................................................................. 49

4.3 Towards a model of regional cooperation .......................................................................... 56

5. COVID-19 and the SDGs in Bangladesh.................................................................................. 59

5.1 Impact of COVID-19 on the progress of the SDGs in Bangladesh .................................... 60

5.2 Measures taken by the Government to Counter the Impacts of COVID-19 ....................... 67

5.3 Effect of COVID-19 on Regional Cooperation in South Asia: Areas of Cooperation and a

Shared Future Pathway ............................................................................................................. 70

6. Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................................. 72

References ..................................................................................................................................... 75


April 2021

List of Tables

Table 1: Proportion of SDG indicators aligned with 7FYP ....................................................................... 31

Table 2: Policies, acts, strategies, programmes or plans of GoB aligned with the SDGs ........................... 32

Table 3: Institutions responsible for SDG implementation in Bangladesh ................................................. 33

Table 4: SDG implementation projects and programmes of GoB, by indicator ......................................... 35

Table 5: Total additional synchronised SDG financing requirements in Bangladesh ................................ 36

Table 6: SDG financing options available for Bangladesh ........................................................................ 38

Table 7: Proportion of SDG data available in Bangladesh compared to global average ............................ 39

Table 8: Ongoing and planned projects under Statistics and Informatics Division .................................... 41

Table 9: Some examples of Bangladesh’s SDG partnerships and commitments ....................................... 43

Table 10: Primary SDG involvement of partners of the Citizen’s Platform ............................................... 45

Table 11: Approaches and modalities to operationalise the five connectivity model of regional cooperation

for South Asia ............................................................................................................................................. 58

Table 12: Potential number of jobs lost due to slower economic growth under different economic growth

scenarios ...................................................................................................................................................... 64

Table 14: COVID-19 funds announced by the government ....................................................................... 68

List of Figures

Figure 1: SDG 1.1.1 Poverty headcount ratio at national upper poverty line ............................................. 13

Figure 2: SDG 2.1.1 Prevalence of undernourishment (3-year average) .................................................... 14

Figure 3: SDG 3.1.1 Maternal deaths (per 100,000 births) ......................................................................... 15

Figure 4: SDG 4.1.1 Lower secondary completion rate, both sexes (percentage) ...................................... 15

Figure 5: SDG 5.3.1 Women who were first married by age 18 (percentage of women ages 20-24) ........ 16

Figure 6: SDG 6.2.1 People using at least basic sanitation services (percentage of population)............... 17

Figure 7: SDG 7.1.1 Access to electricity (percentage of population) ....................................................... 18

Figure 8: SDG 8.1.1 GDP per capita growth rate (in percentage) at constant prices ................................. 19

Figure 9: SDG 9.2.1 Share of manufacturing in GDP (percentage) at constant prices ............................... 20

Figure 10: SDG 10.1.1 Income share of bottom 40 per cent (percentage of national income)................... 21

Figure 11: SDG 11.1.1 Population living in slums (percentage of urban population) ................................ 22

Figure 12: SDG 12.2.1 Total natural resources rents (percentage of GDP) ................................................ 23

Figure 13: SDG 13.1.1 Number of households affected by natural disasters, by type of disaster .............. 24

Figure 14: SDG 14.4.1 Total fisheries production (metric tonnes) ............................................................. 25

Figure 15: SDG 15.1.1 Forest area (percentage of land area) ..................................................................... 26

Figure 16: SDG 16.1.1 Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) .......................................................... 27

Figure 17: SDG 17.1.1 Tax revenue (percentage of GDP) ......................................................................... 29

Figure 18: Five-connectivity model of regional cooperation for South Asia ............................................. 57


April 2021

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Abbreviations

3R Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

7FYP 7th Five Year Plan

ACU Asian Clearing Union

ADB Asian Development Bank

AH Asian Highway

AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

APDIM Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management

AP-IS Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BaU Business-as-Usual

BBIN-MVA Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement

BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

BCCSAP Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan

BCIM Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation

BDT Bangladeshi Taka

BEEA Bangladesh Environmental Economic Accounting

BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

BRI Belt and Road Initiative

CAPSA Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture

CASM Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanisation

CCAC Climate and Clean Air Coalition

CGE Computable General Equilibrium

CPD Centre for Policy Dialogue

CSOs Civil Society Organisations

DFQF Duty-Free Quota- Free

ECDS Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Statistics

EU European Union

FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation


April 2021

FATF Financial Action Task Force

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FRSS Fisheries Resources Survey System

GAVI Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GED General Economics Division

GNI Gross National Income

GoB Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

GPEDC Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

HFS Health Financing Strategy

HIES Household Income and Expenditure Surveys

HLPF High Level Political Forum

HNPSP Health Nutrition and Population Sector Program

ISMs International Support Measures

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature

IXPs Internet Exchange Points

JMP Joint Monitoring Programme

LDC Least Developed Country

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

MWh Megawatt hour

NEET Not in Employment, Education or Training

NDCC National Data Coordination Committee

NGOs Non-governmental Organisations

NPL Non-Performing Loans

NSDS National Sustainable Development Strategy

NSOs National Statistical Organisations

NSSS National Social Security Strategy

NWDP National Women Development Policy

ODA Official Development Assistance

OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development


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PEDP-3 Primary Education Development Programme

PPE Personal Protective Equipment

RIMES Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning System

RMG Ready-Made Garments

SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SACEP South Asia Comprehensive Economic Partnership

SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Area

SARSO South Asian Regional Standards Organisation

SASEC IH South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Information Highways

SATIS SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services

SDGs Sustainable Development Goals

SE4ALL Sustainable Energy for All

SMEs Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

SWAPNO Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities

TAR Trans-Asian Railway

UMN Integrated Database of Undocumented Myanmar Nationals

UN United Nations

UN-CDP United Nations Committee for Development Policy

UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

UNESCO United Nations Scientific Educational and Cultural Organisation

UNDESA United Nations Department of Department of Economic and Social Affairs

UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

UNODC UN Office on Drugs and Crime

USD United States Dollar

VNR Voluntary National Review

WHO World Health Organisation

WFP World Food Programme


April 2021

Foreword

The Development Papers Series of the ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office (ESCAP-

SSWA) promotes and disseminates policy-relevant research on the development challenges facing

South and South-West Asia. It features policy research conducted at ESCAP-SSWA as well as by

outside experts from within the subregion and beyond. The objective is to foster an informed

debate on development policy challenges facing the subregion and sharing of development

experiences and best practices.

This paper by Fahmida Khatun and Syed Yusuf Saadat is prepared as a part of the research and

policy initiative titled, Interpreting SDGs for South Asia: In Search of a Regional Framework,

undertaken by the UNESCAP-SSWA Office in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Dialogue

(CPD), Dhaka jointly directed by Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow at CPD, and

the undersigned. With more than five years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, world

leaders have now called for a “Decade of Action” spanning from 2020-2030 to mobilize action at

all levels and accelerate sustainable solutions to deliver the SDGs. This presents a timely

opportunity to assess the current status of South Asian countries in terms of progress and existing

gaps to identify and address the key challenges for accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.

While the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening progress

towards the SDGs, it also makes their achievement more critical than ever. The principles on which

the SDGs were established are key to building back better for post-COVID-19 recovery and

meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Against this

background, the overall objective is to explore mutual areas for regional cooperation in the

subregion from the perspective of various South Asian countries to promote SDG delivery at

national level and support SDG implementation within a regional framework.

This paper provides an overview of Bangladesh’s efforts, challenges and opportunities ahead for

achieving the SDGs and addressing the gaps in SDGs implementation. With steady and high

economic growth along with strong macroeconomic stability, rise in per capita income, reduction

in poverty, improved health and education outcomes, Bangladesh has made good progress in

achieving various socio-economic and human development objectives. Bangladesh fulfilled all

three criteria for graduation to developing country in March 2018 and seeks to ensure a smooth

transition from LDC status and to integrate graduation challenges with national SDG

programming. However, environmental sustainability remains an urgent priority with the longer-

term challenge of sustainable management of water and land resources, along with cascading risks

of natural disasters and climate change. The far-reaching and mutually reinforcing socio-economic

effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has impeded progress towards the SDGs through direct and


April 2021

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indirect impacts across the Goals. This calls for accelerated action, strong partnerships and

collective commitment from all stakeholders to build on the momentum of the Decade of Action

to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

In this context, the paper undertakes an important and timely exercise to take stock of challenges

in SDG implementation; reflect on the impact of the pandemic on SDGs achievement in the

country and identify national SDG priorities for regional cooperation to accelerate the 2030

Agenda for Bangladesh along with providing a South Asian perspective through an examination

of the existing connectivity gaps.

We hope that insights and policy implications drawn in this paper would provide useful and

pragmatic lessons for policymakers for raising the efficacy of the SDGs implementation process

in the current decade. The critical policy insights provided in the paper would make meaningful

contributions to the ongoing deliberations on how greater integration and cooperation at the

regional level could be an important complement to the national strategies in achieving sustainable

development.

Nagesh Kumar

Head, ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office


April 2021

Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh: Domestic

Challenges and Regional Considerations

Fahmida Khatun and Syed Yusuf Saadat 1

Abstract

Bangladesh made significant progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

winning global acclaim. It is expected that the country will be able to continue its success in

implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well. The SDGs represent a wider

spectrum of highly interconnected goals and indicators, so they could pose new challenges for the

country. Furthermore, many SDG targets are transnational in nature, transcending national

boundaries. Achievement of those SDGs, will thus, depend on collaborative efforts at the regional

and global levels. It is essential from Bangladesh’s perspective to understand how peaceful

cooperation and prudent diplomacy among the South Asian countries can be conducive in

achieving sustainable development. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic brought along with it

a new set of challenges and a whole “new normal”. Given the significant setback caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic, it is unlikely that any South Asian country, or any country in the world, will

be able to achieve all the SDGs by 2030. It is proposed that if South Asian countries focus on

strengthening various types of connectivity, as identified in the five-connectivity model, they can

accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, and reduce the adverse impacts of the pandemic in the

region.

JEL Code(s): Q01, O11, O20, F55, Q56

Key words: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Inclusive growth, Regional Cooperation,

South Asia, Bangladesh

1 Dr. Fahmida Khatun is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh and Syed Yusuf

Saadat is senior research associate, CPD. The authors are grateful for the overall guidance and peer review of Dr.

Nagesh Kumar, Head at UNESCAP-SSWA. The contribution of Dr. Rajan Sudesh Ratna (Economic Affairs Officer),

Ms. Swayamsiddha Panda (Research Assistant), Ms. Kanika Gupta (Consultant) and interns from UNESCAP-SSWA

office in providing valuable inputs and editing the paper is acknowledged. The views expressed in this paper are those

of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Secretariat.


April 2021

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1. Introduction

Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has transformed itself from being the test case for

development (Faaland & Parkinson, 1976) to a development miracle (Sawada, Mahmud, & Kitano,

2018). The government of Bangladesh (GoB) is committed to achieving the SDGs by 2030.

Bangladesh was among the 43 countries which submitted their Voluntary National Review (VNR)

report on the SDGs at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2017 (GED, 2017a) and it

presented its VNR for the second time in 2020 (Government of Bangladesh, 2020). The

government has also published reports (GED, 2018a; 2020) highlighting the progress made on

SDG implementation so far.

As a signatory of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Bangladesh is engaged in

implementing the SDGs since their adoption and has played an active role in shaping the global

discourse on the relevance of the SDGs. The government has involved various stakeholders within

the country in implementing the SDGs relying on a ‘whole-of-society approach’. Nevertheless,

implementation of the SDGs in developing countries, such as in Bangladesh, face constraints, such

as alignment of the SDGs with national, subnational and local-level development plans;

establishment of institutional architecture that can deliver the SDGs; mobilisation of funds;

generation of data for monitoring and evaluation; and development of effective partnerships for

multi-stakeholder participation (Bhattacharya , Khan, Rezbana, & Mostaque, 2016; Bhattacharya,

Khan, & Sabbih, 2016). With more than five years into the adoption of the SDGs, it is useful to

revisit these challenges to assess the progress of SDGs implementation in Bangladesh. Along

with these domestic challenges, regional contexts and challenges must be considered for successful

implementation of the SDGs at the country level. With South Asian countries comprising 34 per

cent of people living in poverty globally, the subregion plays a pivotal role in the success, or lack

thereof, of the implementation of the SDGs globally (UNESCAP, 2018a). For implementing the

SDGs, South Asian countries should focus on seven key policy priorities such as employment,

infrastructure, universal access to education and health, universal social protection and financial

inclusion, food security, gender equality, and environmental sustainability (UNESCAP, 2018a).

From Bangladesh’s perspective, this paper examines the challenges in SDGs implementation and

explores how regional cooperation can be conducive to addressing these priorities and achieving

the SDGs in South Asia.

The following section provides an overview of SDG implementation in Bangladesh using

select SDG indicators. It is based on secondary analysis of quantitative data based on select

measurable SDG indicators which have readily available and reliable data. The next section

presents an assessment of the abovementioned five SDG implementation challenges from the

perspective of Bangladesh. Then, it identifies regional priorities, instruments and institutions


April 2021

needed to achieve the SDGs in South Asia. Given the unprecedented challenges posed by the

COVID-19 pandemic, this study examines the potential setbacks caused in achieving the SDGs in

Bangladesh. Further, it explores the elements of possible national and regional strategies for

building back better. Finally, the paper provides a few concluding remarks.

2. SDGs progress in Bangladesh: An overview of trends

This section provides an overview of the progress made on various SDGs in Bangladesh

using select SDG indicators.

SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The proportion of population living below the national upper poverty line2 in Bangladesh

has fallen from 56.7 per cent in 1991-92 (BBS, 1995) to 24.3 per cent in 2016 (BBS, 2017) (Figure

1). To reach the milestone of having a maximum of 18.6 per cent of the population living below

the national upper poverty line (GED, 2018a), the rate of poverty reduction needs to be increased.

Poverty rate has declined substantially at national, urban, and rural levels (BBS, 1995) (BBS,

2017). Moreover, the total number of poor has been reduced from 83 million in 1992 to 39.6

million in 2016 with more than 43 million people being lifted out of poverty within 24 years (BBS,

1995) (BBS, 2017).

Bangladesh has made tremendous improvements in reducing extreme poverty. Recent

estimates suggest that the percentage of population living below the national poverty line

decreased to 21.8 per cent in 2018 and 20.5 per cent in 2019 (GoB, 2020). Nevertheless, the pace

of poverty reduction has been slowing down. Between the period 2005 and 2010, poverty rates fell

by 1.7 per cent annually, whereas between the period 2010 and 2016, poverty rates fell by 1.2 per

cent annually (GED, 2018a). With the last mile approaching, Bangladesh will find it challenging

to repeat its miraculous poverty reduction record of the past.

2 Upper and lower poverty lines are calculated as follows: i) a basic food basket (eleven food items: coarse rice, wheat,

pulses, milk, oil, meat, fish, potatoes, other vegetables, sugar, and fruits) is selected; ii) the quantities in the basket are

scaled according to the nutritional requirement of 2122 kilo calorie per person per day; iii) cost of acquiring the basket

is calculated. This estimated cost is taken as Food Poverty Line (FPL). Households whose total expenditures are equal

to the food poverty line are on the Lower Poverty Line. Households whose food expenditure is at the level of food

poverty line are on the Upper Poverty Line. (BBS, 2017).


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Figure 1: SDG 1.1.1 Poverty headcount ratio at national upper poverty line (percentage of population

living below national upper poverty line)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIES),

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Bangladesh has also managed to expand the coverage of its social safety net programmes.

The proportion of households receiving social safety net benefits increased from 13 per cent in

2005 to 27.8 per cent in 2016 (BBS, 2017). Social safety net allocation has been hovering at around

14 per cent of the total national budget during the ten period from fiscal year (FY) 2008-09 to FY

2018-19 (MOF, 2019). Two-thirds of the beneficiaries of social safety net programmes are non-

poor, but enjoy 75 per cent of the benefits (GoB, 2020). Additionally, the bulk of funds allocated

for social safety nets is earmarked to provide pension for government officials (MOF, 2019).

Therefore, in order to ensure that the ‘farthest behind are reached first’ it is important to improve

beneficiary targeting and selection, decouple pension of government officials from the social

safety net budget allocation, and gradually shift from the humanitarian approach of safety nets to

the rights-based approach of social protection (Khatun & Saadat, 2018b).

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable

agriculture

Hunger, as measured by the share of undernourished population, fell from 20.8 per cent in

2000 to 16.3 per cent in 2007 (FAO, 2018a) (Figure 2). However, there was a rise in hunger in the

subsequent few years which led to the share of undernourished population reaching 17 per cent in

2012 (FAO, 2018a). A possible reason behind the sudden rise in hunger could be the widespread

flooding that occurred in 2007, which caused serious damage to crops (UNICEF, 2007). However,

the share of undernourished population declined to 15.2 per cent in 2016 (FAO, 2018a). This is

still a matter of serious concern for Bangladesh, since it represents more than 25 million people.

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Figure 2: SDG 2.1.1 Prevalence of undernourishment (3-year average) (percentage of population)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) estimates

In 2014, the share of underweight children under the age of 5 years was 33 per cent

(NIPORT, Mitra and Associates, ICF International, 2016). On the other hand, the shares of stunted

and wasted children under 5-years were 28 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively in 2019 (GoB,

2020). Therefore, further improvements in children’s health status are required to achieve the

milestones of having not more than 25 per cent stunting rate and 12 per cent wasting rate among

children aged less than 5 years of age by 2020. Research has shown that undernourishment costs

the economy more than United States Dollar (USD) 1 billion per year in lost productivity

(Howlader, Sethuraman, Begum, Paul, & Sommerfelt, 2012).

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Maternal deaths per 100,000 births decreased from 648 in 1986 to 315 in 2001, then

increasing to 391 in 2002 and continuing on this upward trajectory till 2009 (BBS, 2019b). Since

2009, maternal deaths have been falling continuously every year, and in 2019 there were 165

maternal deaths per 100,000 births (BBS, 2019b) (Figure 3). To achieve the milestone of having a

maximum of 105 maternal deaths per 100,000 births by 2020, urgent steps must be taken.

Disparities in maternal deaths in rural and urban areas have been reduced over the years.

For example, in 1995 there were 72 more maternal deaths per 100,000 births in rural areas

compared to urban areas, but in 2005 there were only 25 more maternal deaths per 100,000 births

in rural areas compared to urban areas (BBS, 2019b). In addition to the fall in maternal deaths,

infant deaths have also fallen over the years. Mortality rate of children below the age of 5 years

decreased from 102.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1997 to 32.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in

2017 (World Bank, 2019a). Neonatal mortality rate, or the number of neonates dying before

reaching 28 days of age, decreased from 47.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1997 to 18.4 deaths

per 1,000 live births in 2017 (World Bank, 2019a). Bangladesh has already achieved the national

milestones for 2020 for both under-five and neonatal mortality rates.

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Figure 3: SDG 3.1.1 Maternal deaths (per 100,000 births)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics, BBS (various years)

The decline in maternal and infant deaths can be attributed to improvements in health

infrastructure availability. The proportion of births attended by skilled healthcare service providers

increased from 20.1 per cent in 2006 to 49.8 per cent in 2016 (World Bank, 2019b). The number

of nurses per 10,000 people increased from 1.6 in 2007 to 3.1 in 2017 and the number of physicians

per 10,000 people increased from 3.2 in 2007 to 5.3 in 2017 (UN, 2019d).

SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning

opportunities for all

The lower secondary completion rate for both sexes increased from 48.8 per cent in 1998

to 58.9 per cent in 2003 and stood at 77.6 per cent in 2017 (UNESCO, 2019). (Figure 4).

Interestingly, during the period 1998 to 2017, the lower secondary completion rate has been higher

for females compared to males. In 2002 the lower secondary completion rate was 16.6 per cent

higher for females compared to males (UNESCO, 2019).

Figure 4: SDG 4.1.1 Lower secondary completion rate, both sexes (percentage)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Accessed at http://uis.unesco.org/

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Primary completion rate increased from 64.3 per cent in 2005 to 118.6 in 2017 (UNESCO,

2019). Completion rates above 100 per cent indicate that some students may be failing their classes

and repeating the same grade (Right to Education Initiative, 2017). In 2001, literacy rates were

lower among female youth aged 15-24 years, compared to males. However, gender parity index

of youth literacy rate has been very close to, or within, the upper and lower bounds of parity since

2012 (UN, 2019d). Literacy rate of the adult population, aged 15 and above, increased from 35.3

per cent in 1991 to 47.5 per cent in 2001 with youth literacy rates being higher than adult literacy

during 1991-2017 (UNESCO, 2019). Youth literacy rates are higher for females since 2007,

indicating that Bangladesh has managed to improve access to education for females during the

period 2007-2017.

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

The percentage of women between ages 20 to 24 years old who were first married by the

age of 18 years old decreased from 73.3 per cent in 1994 to 58.6 per cent in 2014 (World Bank,

2019a) (Figure 5). Similar progress was also recorded for the first marriage of women by the age

of 15 years old. The percentage of women between ages 20 to 24 years old who were first married

by the age of 15 years old decreased from 47.2 per cent in 1994 to 22.4 per cent in 2014 (World

Bank, 2019a). Despite improvement, these numbers are nonetheless appalling since when women

get married early, it substantially compromises their ability to study and participate in the labour

market. Female share of employment in senior and middle management increased from 10.9 per

cent in 2006 to only 11.5 in 2017, reflecting that more progress is needed for economic

empowerment of women (ILO, 2019a).

Figure 5: SDG 5.3.1 Women who were first married by age 18 (percentage of women ages 20-24)

Source: Based on data from Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) database, World Bank

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Gender based violence has been a barrier to women’s empowerment in Bangladesh. In

2015, as high as 55 per cent of women who were ever-married and 65 per cent of women who

were currently married reported suffering from violence inflicted by their partners (BBS, 2016a).

Many incidents of violence against women remained unreported. In 2015, an estimated 72.7 per

cent of ever-married women in Bangladesh did not disclose their experiences of violence to anyone

(BBS, 2016a). This means that the prevalence of violence against women may be far worse than

illustrated by the findings of the official surveys.3

SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

The proportion of the total population with access to basic sanitation services increased

from 25.3 per cent in 2000 to 46.9 per cent in 2015 (WHO/UNICEF, 2019) (Figure 6).

Additionally, the gap between rural and urban sanitation access has narrowed. In 2000, rural areas

had 20 per cent lower access to basic sanitation compared to urban areas, but in 2015 this difference

was reduced to 10 per cent (WHO/UNICEF, 2019).

Open defecation has almost been eliminated from Bangladesh. In 2005, the percentage of

the population practicing open defecation was 12 per cent at the national level and 15 per cent in

rural areas, coming down to near zero rates by 2015 (WHO/UNICEF, 2019). Percentage of

population using at least basic drinking water services increased from 96 per cent in 2005 to 97

per cent in 2015 (WHO/UNICEF, 2019), but access to safely managed drinking water remains a

challenge.

Figure 6: SDG 6.2.1 People using at least basic sanitation services (percentage of population)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for

Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene

3 In fact, according to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a legal aid and human rights organisation, 409 women were victims of domestic

violence, 116 women were victims of sexual harassment,195 women were victims of physical torture for dowry and 22 women

were victims of acid attack in 2018 (ASK, 2019). Furthermore, 732 women were raped in 2018, of whom 63 were murdered after

rape and 7 committed suicide (ASK, 2019).

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SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Access to electricity in Bangladesh has increased rapidly in the past two decades along

with decline in rural-urban disparities in energy access. Only 8.5 per cent of the population had

access to electricity in 1990 whereas 75.9 per cent of the population had access to electricity in

2016 (World Bank, International Energy Agency, and Energy Sector Management Assistance

Program, 2019) (Figure 7). Access to electricity was 53.5 per cent lower in rural areas compared

to urban areas in 1991, falling to 25.1 per cent in 2016 (World Bank, International Energy Agency,

and Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, 2019). Various short-term and long-term

measures, such as importing power and increasing installed capacity, has been responsible for

improving electricity access to households.

Figure 7: SDG 7.1.1 Access to electricity (percentage of population)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on World Bank, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) database

However, increased access to electricity was provided mainly through power generated by

fossil fuels. In 2018, natural gas was used to generate 63.5 per cent of all electricity in Bangladesh,

while hydroelectric and solar power generated only 1.6 per cent and 0.01 per cent electricity

respectively (BPDB, 2018). Electricity generated from renewable sources was less than 2 per cent

of total electricity generation in 2018, and it is unlikely that Bangladesh will be able to meet the

target of generating 10 per cent electricity from renewable energy sources as per the Renewable

Energy Policy of Bangladesh (Power Division, 2008). Although the dependence on natural gas for

power generation has decreased over the years, it has been substituted by power generation through

furnace oil and power imports. Indeed, renewable energy output in Bangladesh has fallen from 3.4

per cent of total electricity output in 1995 to 1.2 per cent in 2015 (World Bank, 2019b). The Power

System Master Plan 2016 outlines the intention to increase power generation from coal from 1.6

per cent in 2017 to 35 per cent in 2030, as a strategy for diversifying the fuel mix for electricity

generation (Power Division, 2016). Even though the cost of manufacturing solar photo-voltaic

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cells is falling. Research has shown that the levelized cost4 of electricity generation from utility-

scale solar photo-voltaic power plants in Bangladesh is USD 91 per Megawatt hour (MWh),

compared to USD 110 per MWh for coal (Shiraishi, Shirley, Kammen, Huq, & Rahman, 2018).

The enormous potential of utility-scale solar photo-voltaic power plants has hitherto remained

largely unexplored and solar power in Bangladesh has been relegated to roof-top solar panels,

which is not adequate for meeting urban energy demand.

SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive

employment and decent work for all

Annual growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at constant 2005

Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) increased from 2.96 per cent in 1997 to 5.55 per cent in 2007 (BBS,

2019a) (Figure 8). However, the increase was more modest in the next decade between 2007 and

2017, as the annual growth rate of GDP per capita at constant 2005 BDT increased from 5.55 per

cent to 6.06 per cent in 2017. Using simple methods of approximation such as the rules5 of 69.3,

70, or 72 (Pacioli, 1494) (Slavin, 1999), it can be shown that the GDP per capita will take around

24 years to double if the growth rate is 2.96 per cent, but only 12 years if the growth rate is 6.06

per cent. Growth of GDP per capita in Bangladesh has been driven by the twin forces of rising

economic growth and falling population growth. For instance, the annual real GDP growth rate

increased from 4.43 per cent in fiscal year 1997 to 7.86 per cent in fiscal year 2018 (BBS, 2019a),

while on the other hand, the annual population growth rate decreased from 1.49 per cent in 1997

to 1.17 per cent in 2018 (BBS, 2019a).

Figure 8: SDG 8.1.1 GDP per capita growth rate (in percentage) at constant price (base year 2005-06)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from GDP of Bangladesh (Report), BBS

4 Levelized cost of electricity describes the average cost of electricity for every unit of electricity generated over the

lifetime of a project at the point of interconnection (Shiraishi, Shirley, Kammen, Huq, & Rahman, 2018). 5 The rule number is divided by the growth rate to obtain the approximate number of years required for doubling

(Pacioli, 1494) (Slavin, 1999).

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Despite rapid economic growth, Bangladesh has not been able to provide productive

employment and decent jobs for its young labour force. In 2017, the youth unemployment rate was

as high as 10.6 per cent, whereas the national unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent (BBS, 2018).

Unemployment rate among youth who have completed tertiary level education was 13.4 per cent,

implying mismatch between education system and market-relevant skills (BBS, 2018).On average,

each additional year of schooling increases the probability of entering not in education,

employment or training (NEET) status by 1.16 per cent for male youth and 1.07 per cent for female

youth, provided all other factors are held constant (Khatun & Saadat, 2018a). In 2018, the share of

youth NEET in Bangladesh was 26.2 per cent compared to the global average of 21.2 per cent

(ILO, 2018a). This is crucial since the country is now at the juncture where it may be able to

harness its demographic dividend if it can gainfully employ its enormous young population.

Informal employment as a share of total non-agricultural employment increased from 82.2

per cent in 2010 to 91.3 per cent in 2017 (ILO, 2019b). This means that the vast majority of workers

in Bangladesh are outside the ambit of social protection schemes which makes them more

vulnerable (Khatun & Saadat, 2018b). Additionally, the employment elasticity of GDP in

Bangladesh has declined from 0.55 during the 2005-2010 period to 0.45 during 2016-2020 period

(ADB, 2016).

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization

and foster innovation

Industrialization in Bangladesh, as measured by the growth of share of manufacturing in

GDP, had been stagnant at around 15 per cent during the years 1996 to 2005 (BBS, various years)

(Figure 9). However, since 2006, the share of manufacturing in GDP has been growing steadily

every year, with the pace of growth picking up after 2010. In 2018, the share of manufacturing in

GDP stood at 22.9 per cent (BBS, various years). Thus, the country has already achieved the

national milestone set for 2020 of having manufacturing value added equal to at least 21.5 per cent

of GDP. Growth of the manufacturing sector of Bangladesh has been driven by large and medium

enterprises, ready-made garments sector (GED, 2018a).

Figure 9: SDG 9.2.1 Share of manufacturing in GDP (percentage) at constant prices, base year 2005-06

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from GDP of Bangladesh (Report), BBS

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Bangladesh has undergone significant structural change. ILO modelled estimates suggest

that the share of workers employed in the agriculture sector decreased from 65 per cent in 1999 to

39.7 per cent in 2019 (ILO, 2018b). On the other hand, the share of workers employed in the

industry sector almost doubled from 10.4 per cent in 1999 to 20.5 per cent in 2019 (ILO, 2018b).

Nonetheless, there are concerns about premature deindustrialisation of the Bangladesh economy.

The share of workers employed in the services sector increased from 24.6 per cent in 1999 to 39.8

per cent in 2019 (ILO, 2018b). The economy of Bangladesh, like those of other South Asian

countries, has undergone a shift directly from agriculture to services (UNESCAP, 2018a).

Industry-led structural transformation based on labour-intensive production technology can play a

key role in alleviating poverty and generating employment for the large number of young people

entering Bangladesh’s labour market every year.

SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

The share of national income held by the bottom 40 per cent of the population in

Bangladesh has declined from 17.4 per cent in 1991 (BBS, 1995) to 13 per cent in 2016 (BBS,

2017) (Figure 10). At the same time, the share of national income held by the richest 10 per cent

and 20 per cent of the population in Bangladesh increased from 23.3 per cent and 37.4 per cent in

1991 (BBS, 1995) to 26.8 per cent and 41.4 per cent in 2016 (BBS, 2017), respectively. Thus,

income inequality between the rich and poor has been widening, as manifested in the rise in the

value of the Gini coefficient from 0.39 in 1991-92 (BBS, 1995) to 0.48 in 2015-16 (BBS, 2017).

Figure 10: SDG 10.1.1 Income share of bottom 40 per cent (percentage of national income)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from Household Income and Expenditure Surveys, BBS

The income share held by the richest 5 per cent of households in Bangladesh increased

from 18.9 per cent in 1991-1992 (BBS, 1995) to 27.9 per cent in 2015-2016 (BBS, 2017), whilst

the income share held by the poorest 5 per cent of households in Bangladesh fell from 1 per cent

in 1991-1992 (BBS, 1995) to 0.2 per cent in 2015-2016 (BBS, 2017). In 2010, the richest 5 per

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cent of households were almost 32 times richer than the poorest 5 per cent households, with the

differential widening to 121 times in 2015.

SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

The proportion of the urban population living in slums has fallen significantly from 87.3

per cent in 1991 to 55.1 per cent in 2014 (UN HABITAT, 2015) (Figure 11). This represents good

progress as 32.2 per cent of urban slum dwellers managed to move out of slums in a matter of 23

years, and the proportion of urban population living in slums decreased by 1.04 per cent annually,

on average, during the period 1991 to 2014. Nevertheless, the total number of people living in

urban slums increased from 19.99 million in 1991 to 29.27 million in 2014 (UN HABITAT, 2015).

This implies that on average, every year the urban slum population increased by 403 thousand

during the period 1991 and 2014.

Figure 11: SDG 11.1.1 Population living in slums (percentage of urban population)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from UN HABITAT

The share of population living in urban areas in Bangladesh increased from 22.4 per cent

of the total population in 1997 to 35.9 per cent in 2017 (World Bank, 2019b). Although the growth

rate of the urban population has decreased slightly from 3.8 per cent in 1997 to 3.2 per cent in

2017 (World Bank, 2019b), it is still quite high. The rural-urban wage differential, as well as the

wage differential across different sectors of the economy, could be a likely factor pulling workers

to urban areas (BBS, 2018). Climate change has pushed many people away from rural areas to

urban areas of Bangladesh (Adri, 2014). However, rapid unsustainable urbanisation can result in

climate change since urban inhabitants have a much larger environmental foot-print compared to

their rural counterparts (Murshed & Saadat, 2018).

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

From 1999 onwards there was a rapid increase in total natural resource rents, which reached

1.86 per cent of GDP in 2006 (figure 12).Thereafter, total natural resource rents have undergone a

decline, and as of 2016, total natural rents were 0.77 per cent of GDP (Lange, Wodon, & Carey,

2018). There has been a shift from forest rents to natural gas rents during the period 1990 to 2016.

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For example, in 1990 forest rents were 67 per cent and natural gas rents were 33 per cent of total

natural resource rents (Lange, Wodon, & Carey, 2018). However, in 2016, forest rents were only

38 per cent while natural gas rents were 63 per cent of total natural resource rents (Lange, Wodon,

& Carey, 2018). The decline in natural gas rents from 1.20 per cent of GDP in 2012 to 0.41 per

cent of GDP in 2016 indicates that natural gas extraction has progressively become less profitable.

This is anticipated, since cost of extracting an exhaustible natural resource increases as more of it

is extracted (Hotelling, 1931), with supply held constant.

Figure 12: SDG 12.2.1 Total natural resources rents (percentage of GDP)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on World Bank estimate

Efficient and economical use of resources is a prerequisite for sustainable consumption and

production. During the ten years between 2007 and 2017, domestic per capita consumption of

fossil fuels increased by 57.7 per cent, which included 147 per cent increase in per capita

consumption of coal, 52 per cent increase in per capita consumption of natural gas and 48 per cent

increase in per capita consumption of petroleum (UN, 2019d). Domestic per capita consumption

of all raw materials increased by 21 per cent from 2007 to 2017 (UN, 2019d). From these findings,

it appears that sustainable consumption is still in its nascent stages in Bangladesh. On the

production side, domestic consumption of fossil fuels per unit of GDP decreased by 3.8 per cent,

while domestic consumption of all raw materials per unit of GDP decreased by 26 per cent from

2007 to 2017 (UN, 2019d).

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Bangladesh is one of the countries of the world which are most vulnerable to climate

change. Up to 15 per cent of the land area of the country could be inundated by 2050, due to rise

in sea level caused by climate change (GED, 2015). Projections show that Bangladesh could lose

around 1.1 per cent of its GDP due to climate change during the period 2017-2041 (GED, 2018d).

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The total number of households affected by natural disasters increased from 550,555 in 2009 to

1,934,629 in 2014 (BBS, 2016b) (Figure 13). This implies that as high as 44 per cent of all

households in Bangladesh were affected by natural disasters in 2014 (BBS, 2016b). Nationally,

floods were the most damaging of all types of natural disasters and affected the largest number of

households.6 Hence, the increase in the number of households affected by natural disasters in

Bangladesh over the years can be partly explained by climate change, in the light of substantial

evidence that anthropogenic climate change is responsible for affecting global rainfall (Hoegh-

Guldberg, et al., 2018).

Figure 13: SDG 13.1.1 Number of households affected by natural disasters, by type of disaster

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from Bangladesh Disaster Related Statistics 2015, BBS

The total economic loss due to natural disasters during the period 2009-2014 was BDT

184,247 million (BBS, 2016b). Sector-wise disaggregation shows that crops suffered the greatest

economic loss due to natural disasters during the period 2009 to 2014, which amounted to BDT

66,703 million (BBS, 2016b). The poorest households were disproportionately affected by climate

change. Average annual economic loss per household during 2009-2014 due to natural disasters

was 15.7 per cent of average annual household income for the poorest quintile of households, but

only 3.1 per cent of average annual household income for the richest quintile of households (BBS,

2016b). About 70 per cent of the most climate-vulnerable districts of Bangladesh have higher

poverty rates than the national upper poverty line of 2010 and80 per cent of them had per capita

incomes lower than the national average (GED, 2015). Children were disproportionately affected

by climate change as 69.5 per cent of individuals who fell sick due to natural disasters during 2009

to 2014 were 17 years old or younger. During the period 2009 to 2014, children in Bangladesh

missed a total of 1,078,118 days of school due to natural disasters (BBS, 2016b).

6 However, in Barishal division cyclones affected more households than other types of natural disasters, whereas in Khulna division,

salinity affected more households than other types of disasters.

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SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable

development

Total fisheries production in Bangladesh increased from 846,144 metric tonnes in 1990

(FRSS, 2017) to 4,134,434 metric tonnes in 2017 (FRSS, 2017) (Figure 14). During the period

2007 to 2017, total fisheries production increased by 5.43 per cent annually on average (FRSS,

2017). The majority of the fisheries production in Bangladesh comes from inland fisheries. For

example, in 2017, inland fisheries accounted for 84.6 per cent and marine fisheries accounted for

15.4 per cent of total fisheries production (FRSS, 2017).

Figure 14: SDG 14.4.1 Total fisheries production (metric tonnes)

Source: Based on data from Fisheries Resources Survey System (FRSS), Department of Fisheries

Bangladesh

Although a survey of the potential marine fish stocks in Bangladesh waters has not been

conducted in recent years, there is widespread speculation among experts that marine fish

resources are declining (Hussain & Hoq, 2010) due to overfishing, indiscriminate killing of

juveniles, inadequate conservation laws, pollution and encroachment by foreign fishing trawlers

(Shamsuzzaman, et al., 2017) (Shamsuzzaman, Xiangmin, Ming, & Tania, 2017) (Islam, et al.,

2017). As of 2018, marine protected areas constituted of only 2 per cent of total marine area (GED,

2018a) far below the SDG target 14.5 of conserving at least 10 per cent of marine areas by 2020

(UN, 2018). Moreover, there is serious apprehension about the level of protection even within

protected marine areas, due to legal loopholes and improper implementation (Islam, et al., 2017)

(Shamsuzzaman, Xiangmin, Ming, & Tania, 2017).

Pollution from plastics and shipbreaking are also major concerns. Per capita plastic waste

generated in Bangladesh was only 0.03 kilograms per day in 2010, compared to the global average

of 0.19 kilograms per day (Jambeck, et al., 2015). However, 87 per cent of the plastic waste

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generated in Bangladesh was inadequately managed7, which led to the country becoming the tenth

largest contributor of mismanaged plastic waste in the world in 2010 (Jambeck, et al., 2015). The

Ganges River, which runs through Bangladesh and into the Bay of Bengal, was estimated to be the

second largest river source of plastic inputs into the ocean worldwide in 2015 (Lebreton, et al.,

2017). In addition to plastic pollution, alarming levels of heavy metals, such as iron, manganese,

chromium, nickel, zinc, lead, copper, cadmium, and mercury, have been discovered in the water

near ship-breaking yards of Bangladesh (Hasan, et al., 2013). This is anticipated to have severely

damaging impacts on marine life (Abdullah, Mahboob, Banu, & Seker, 2013).

SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably

manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt

biodiversity loss

Forest area as a share of total land area of Bangladesh has decreased from 11.5 per cent in

1990 to 10.96 per cent in 2016 (FAO, 2018a) (Figure 15). More alarmingly, primary forest8 area

as a share of total forest area has fallen from 29.2 per cent in 1990 to 28.8 per cent in 2016 (FAO,

2018a). Since deforestation threatens the livelihoods of people, reduces biodiversity, and causes

climate change (FAO, 2018b), these numbers are deeply disconcerting. Although Bangladesh has

designated 38 protected forest areas and 13 ecologically critical areas (GED, 2018a), the

proportion of land in the country that is covered by forests continues to decline every year.

Additionally, the level of protection offered to wildlife in protected areas and world heritage sites

of Bangladesh is rather dubious. For example, International Union for Conservation of Nature

(IUCN) has classified the Sundarbans as a World Heritage Site in Danger, due to threats from coal

power plants and industries that are being developed close to the forest (IUCN, 2019).

Figure 15: SDG 15.1.1 Forest area (percentage of land area)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from FAO

7 Inadequately managed waste is defined as waste which is not formally managed and includes disposal in dumps or

open, uncontrolled landfills, where it is not fully contained (Jambeck, et al., 2015). 8 Primary forest is defined as a naturally regenerated forest of native species, where there are no clearly visible

indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed (FAO, 2012).

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Deforestation has resulted in loss of biodiversity in Bangladesh. The global population of

the Royal Bengal Tiger, Bangladesh’s national animal, has dropped below 2500 and IUCN has

categorised the species as endangered (Chundawat, Khan, & Mallon, 2011). The median value of

the IUCN Red List Index for all mammals, birds, amphibians, corals and cycads has declined from

0.83 in 2000 to 0.75 in 2019 (UN, 2019d). This means that many forms of wildlife are moving

closer to extinction.

SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide

access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

During the years 2000 to 2015, the estimated number of intentional homicides per 100,000

people has been fluctuating around the average of 2.7 (UNODC, 2017) (Figure 16). Over the same

period, the highest recorded value was 2.9 in the year 2006, while the lowest recorded value was

2.5 in the year 2003 (UNODC, 2017). Crime statistics published by Bangladesh Police show that

among the recent few years, 2014 was particularly problematic with increase in crimes like murder,

kidnapping, and robbery (Bangladesh Police, 2019a and 2019b). Further research is required to

find out the causes behind high crime rates during certain years. Nonetheless, the currently

available data already make it clear that the number of intentional homicides per 100,000 people

must be reduced significantly in order to achieve the milestone of 1 by 2030.

Figure 16: SDG 16.1.1 Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

In addition to heinous crimes like homicide, even children in Bangladesh have not been

spared from cruelty. The proportion of children aged between 1 to 17 years who experienced

corporal punishment or psychological aggression was 82.3 per cent in Bangladesh in 2012-2013

(BBS, 2015b). According to a report by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 1011 children were victims

of torture, 444 children were victims of sexual harassment and 283 children were killed in 2018

(ASK, 2019).

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Apart from violent crimes, Bangladesh has also witnessed a steady increase in non-violent

crimes such as illicit outflows of money to foreign countries and corruption. Illicit financial

outflows from a country can cause severe damage to the economy by diverting valuable resources

abroad and depriving a nation from tax revenue. It has been estimated that illicit financial outflows

from Bangladesh were as high as USD 9,666 million in 2013 (Kar & Spanjers, Illicit Financial

Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013, 2015).

The proportion of households who paid bribes increased from 42.2 per cent in 2007 to 49.8

per cent in 2017 (TIB, 2018). During the period 2007 to 2017, the incidence of bribery increased

in service sectors such as tax and customs, insurance, electricity, education and health, but

decreased in service sectors such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In 2017, law

enforcement agencies were the most corrupt of all service sectors as 60.7 per cent of all households

reported to have paid bribes during their interactions with law enforcement service providers (TIB,

2018). Issues such as bribery and widespread corruption go against the principle of “Leave No

One Behind”. This is because those who cannot afford to pay bribes are either deprived of essential

public services or able to avail such services after prolonged delays.

SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for

sustainable development

Domestic revenue mobilization is of crucial importance as a means of implementing the

SDGs by 2030 in Bangladesh. However, tax revenue as a percentage of GDP in Bangladesh has

been historically lower than the regional and global average. Tax revenue as a percentage of GDP

increased from 6.6 per cent in 2001 to 8.8 per cent in 2016, much lower than the global average of

14.4 per cent (World Bank, 2019a) (Figure 17). The government’s inability to collect taxes

adequately is depriving the nation of the resources it needs to finance its development. Estimates

suggest that total additional synchronised cost9 of USD 928.48 billion would be required for

implementing the SDGs in Bangladesh during the period 2017-2030 (GED, 2017b). Hence,

improving domestic revenue mobilization through an increase in the tax-GDP ratio is of paramount

significance for implementing the SDGs.

9 Synchronised cost takes into consideration the overlaps among different SDGs while estimating the costs.

Unsynchronised cost does not take into consideration any overlap among different SDGs and represents stand-alone

costs for individual SDGs (GED, 2017b).


April 2021

29

Figure 17: SDG 17.1.1 Tax revenue (percentage of GDP)

Source: Authors’ illustration based on data from Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Database,

World Bank

In addition to domestic resources, Bangladesh also needs to make use of external sources

of finance. Unfortunately, net official development assistance (ODA) received as a percentage of

the Gross National Income (GNI) of the donor countries has fallen from 6.5 per cent in 1990 to

1.4 per cent in 2017 (OECD, 2019). This declining trend of ODA shows that many developed

countries have failed to keep their SDG commitment of providing ODA to Least Developed

Countries (LDCs) such as Bangladesh. It implies that with ODA flows declining, Bangladesh’s

economy must make the transition from being aid-dependent to trade-led in the coming years.

Bangladesh has not been very successful in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

Bangladesh’s poor ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing business survey partly explains the

reasons behind the stagnation, and even decline in FDI over the years. FDI inflows as a percentage

of GDP have increased from 0.3 per cent in 1997 to 1.7 per cent in 2013, before dropping to 0.9

per cent in 2017 (World Bank, 2019a). FDI is crucial for Bangladesh as a source of external

finance and also for employment creation and technology transfer. In fiscal year (FY) 2019,

Bangladesh witnessed a record high net FDI inflow of USD 3232.9 million between the months

of July-March largely driven by Chinese investments (Bangladesh Bank, 2019).

Although FDI has picked up recently, remittances have fallen. Personal remittances

received as a percentage of GDP increased from 3.2 per cent in 1997 to 10.6 per cent in 2012,

before falling again to 5.4 per cent in 2017 (World Bank, 2019a). Bangladesh seems unlikely to

achieve the milestone of having remittances equal to 7.6 per cent of GDP by 2020. One explanation

behind the recent fall in remittances could be that due to the higher cost of sending remittances

through official channels, many workers are choosing to send remittances back home via unofficial

channels. In this case, the regulatory authorities need to make efforts to keep the transaction costs

of remittances as low as possible.

0

2

4

6

8

10

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Per

cen

t

Year


April 2021

Trade has traditionally been a key driver of the economy of Bangladesh. This makes

Bangladesh unique among the LDCs, since few other LDCs have such export-oriented economies.

Between the period 1997 to 2007, Bangladesh share of global exports only increased from 0.07

per cent to 0.09 per cent (CEPII, 2019). However, in the subsequent decade from 2007 to 2017,

Bangladesh share of global exports doubled from 0.09 per cent to 0.18 per cent (CEPII, 2019). As

a consequence of Bangladesh’s strong trade performance, debt service as a percentage of exports

has fallen continuously from 33.7 per cent in 1990 to 3.5 per cent in 2017 (World Bank, 2019a).

This means that Bangladesh is favourably placed to pay off its foreign debts by making use of

foreign currency earned through exports.

The proportion of individuals using the internet has sky-rocketed in Bangladesh in the last

decade or so. In 2006, only 1 per cent of individuals were using the internet whereas by 2016

around 18 per cent of individuals were using the internet (World Bank, 2019a).But, since most

households in Bangladesh do not own a computer (BBS, 2015a) it suggests that internet in

Bangladesh is being predominantly being used through mobile phones. Fixed-broadband

subscriptions per 100 individuals increased more than 149 times, from 0.03 in 2007 to 4.4 in 2017

(World Bank, 2019a). Given the disparities in digital access, there is still a long road ahead in

realizing the dream of a “Digital Bangladesh” and achieving SDG 17.6.

3. Challenges of SDG implementation in Bangladesh

This section examines the five challenges of implementing the SDGs in the context of

Bangladesh, namely: (i) aligning the SDGs with national, sub-national and local-level

development plans; (ii) establishing institutional architectures that can deliver the SDGs; (iii)

mobilising funds; (iv) generating data for monitoring and evaluation; and (v) developing

partnerships for multi-stakeholder participation (Bhattacharya D. , Khan, Rezbana, & Mostaque,

2016) (Bhattacharya, Khan, & Sabbih, 2016).

3.1 Aligning policies

Aligning policies with the SDGs and mainstreaming them into national, sub-national and

local plans is acknowledged as a fundamental challenge in the SDG implementation process

(UNDG, 2017). Most Asian countries have aligned their policies with the SDGs in either one or

more of the following ways: i) matching their existing development plans with the SDGs; ii)

aligning their upcoming development plans with the SDGs; iii) taking steps to address systemic

issues; and iv) adopting SDG agenda and making corresponding changes in laws, rules and

regulations (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020). Bangladesh has made efforts to match its existing

development plans with the SDGs and has also planned to align its upcoming development plans

with the SDGs.


April 2021

31

The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) was formulating its 7th Five Year Plan (7FYP)

(GED, 2015) at the same time when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was being

discussed globally. Therefore, the Bangladesh Planning Commission was able to design the 7FYP

in cognizance of the SDGs (GED, 2018a). This policy coherence between the 7FYP and the SDGs

allowed Bangladesh to begin its SDG journey on a strong footing (GED, 2016).

Analysis of the alignment between SDG targets and 7FYP targets shows that SDG 3 on

Good health and wellbeing has 28.6 per cent of targets fully overlapping with 7FYP targets, which

is the highest degree of overlap among all the SDGs (Khatun, Pervin, & Rahman, 2018). This is

followed by SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy).But 50 per cent of

the targets under SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) do not have any corresponding

targets in the 7FYP (Khatun, Pervin, & Rahman, 2018). The degree of overlap between the 7FYP

targets and targets under SDGs 10 (reduced inequalities) and 14 (life below water) are also quite

low (table 1). The low level of alignment between the 7FYP and the SDGs 10 (reduced

inequalities), 14 (life below water) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) in light of

Bangladesh’s poor performance in achieving them so far (Section 2) makes it difficult for the

country to achieve these SDGs by 2030. The GoB has also conducted its own exercise of alignment

between the SDGs and the 7FYP (GED, 2016), wherein most cases it reports greater level of

policy alignment compared to the evaluation of Khatun, Pervin and Rahman (2018) (see table 1).

Table 1: Proportion of SDG indicators aligned with 7FYP (as percentage of total number of indicators

under each SDG)

GED, 2016 Khatun, Pervin, & Rahman, 2018

SDG Fully

Aligned

Partially

Aligned

Not

Aligned

Not

Relevan

t

Fully

over-

lapping

Partially

over-

lapping

Over-

lapping

in

essence

No

target in

7FYP

Global

in nature

1 28.57 71.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 71.43 14.29 14.29 0.00

2 0.00 25.00 75.00 0.00 0.00 12.50 75.00 12.50 0.00

3 7.69 15.38 69.23 7.69 28.57 42.86 14.29 0.00 14.29

4 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

5 22.22 11.11 66.67 0.00 0.00 66.67 22.22 11.11 0.00

6 75.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 16.67 33.33 50.00 0.00 0.00

7 40.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 20.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 20.00

8 50.00 41.67 0.00 8.33 9.09 27.27 18.18 27.27 18.18

9 62.50 0.00 37.50 0.00 0.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00

10 30.00 40.00 0.00 30.00 0.00 14.29 57.14 14.29 14.29

11 90.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 0.00 16.67 33.33 33.33 16.67

12 9.09 27.27 45.45 18.18 0.00 20.00 40.00 20.00 20.00

13 60.00 20.00 0.00 20.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 0.00 25.00


April 2021

14 0.00 30.00 50.00 20.00 0.00 0.00 42.86 28.57 28.57

15 41.67 16.67 41.67 0.00 0.00 16.67 50.00 16.67 16.67

16 8.33 16.67 75.00 0.00 0.00 20.00 20.00 50.00 10.00

17 52.63 26.32 21.05 0.00 0.00 16.67 11.11 5.56 66.67

Source: Authors’ calculations based on Khatun, Pervin, & Rahman (2018) and compilation from GED

(2016a).

Apart from the 7FYP, most of the SDGs have corresponding policies, acts, strategies,

programmes or plans in Bangladesh that are closely aligned in terms of objectives (table 2).

Table 2: Policies, acts, strategies, programmes or plans of GoB aligned with the SDGs

SDG Policies, acts, strategies, programmes or plans of GoB aligned with the SDGs

1 • • National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS)- 2010-21

• • National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh 2015

• • National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-29)

2 • National Food Policy Plan of Action (2008-2015)

• National Nutrition Policy-2015

3 • National Health Policy, 2011

• 4TH Health Nutrition and Population Sector Program (HNPSP), 2017-22

4 • National Education Policy, 2010

• National Skill Development Policy 2011

• Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-3) 2011-16

5 • National Women Development Policy (NWDP)-2011

• National Child Policy-2011

6 • Sector Development Plan (2011- 2025), Water Supply and Sanitation Sector.

• Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100

7 • Energy Efficiency and Conservation Rules, 2013

• Power System Master Plan 2016

8 • Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, amended in 2013

9 • Industrial Policy 2016

• Road Master Plan (2010-30)

• Bangladesh Public Private Partnership Act 2015

• Revised Strategic Transport Plan 2016

10 • National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh, 2015

• Disabled Persons Rights and Protection Act 2013

• Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy 2016

11 • The Metro Rail Act, 2015

• Bus Rapid Transit Act 2016

12 • Consumer Rights Protection Act 2009

13 • Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) 2008, updated revised 2009

14 • National Shrimp Policy 2014

• Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute Act 2015

15 • • National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS)- 2010-21

16 • Strategic Plan of Controller and Auditor General of Bangladesh (2013-18)

17 • Public Money and Budget Management Act 2009

• Statistics Rule 2014

Source: Authors’ compilation from GED (2016a).


April 2021

33

There is a need for more effective alignment of national action plans and policies to ensure

effective and efficient implementation of the SDGs where progress has been slow. Since the SDGs

represent an interconnected development agenda, it is important to acknowledge the inter-linkages

within the SDGs in order to understand and optimise the synergies and trade-offs involved in

prospective implementation plans (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020).

3.2 Establishing institutional architecture

The GoB has conducted a mapping exercise which links SDG targets to ministries

responsible for implementing them (Table 3). The existing institutional architecture has been

utilised for undertaking an institutional level division of labour. After the adoption of the 2030

Agenda, a number of new coordination committees were created and a Principal Coordinator for

SDGs Affairs was appointed at the Prime Minister’s office to head the Inter-Ministerial SDGs

Implementation and Review Committee in Bangladesh, consisting of secretaries from 20

ministries (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020). An SDG Working Team has also been formed under

the Prime Minister's Office's Governance Innovation Unit (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020).

Three committees have been formed at the subnational level- divisional, district and sub-district

level- for better implementation and coordination of SDGs localization, with representatives from

the government, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), business sector and vulnerable groups

(Government of Bangladesh, 2020).These new institutional arrangements were designed with the

aim of facilitating the effective localization and efficient implementation of the SDGs in

Bangladesh. To improve transparency and accountability in the public sector, ‘Annual

Performance Agreements’ have been put forth which define the objectives of each ministry with

associated performance indicators. However, it remains to be assessed if such measures have been

successful in improving transparency and accountability.

Table 3: Institutions responsible for SDG implementation in Bangladesh

SDG Lead Ministries and Divisions

1 Cabinet Division; General Economics Division; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change,

Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Finance Division

2 Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Food; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of

Industries; Economic Relations Division; Ministry of Commerce; Finance Division

3 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of Home Affairs; Road Transport and Highways

Division; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change;

Economic Relations Division

4 Ministry of Primary and Mass Education; Ministry of Education; Economic Relations Division

5 Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Ministry of Social Welfare

6 Local Government Division; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Water Resources; Economic

Relations Division

7 Power Division; Energy and Mineral Resources Division; Economic Relations Division


April 2021

8 Finance Division; Ministry of Commerce; Ministry of Industries; Ministry of Agriculture; General

Economics Division; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of

Civil Aviation and Tourism; Ministry of Cultural Affairs; Bank and Financial Institutions Division;

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

9 Road Transport and Highways Division; Local Government Division; Ministry of Industries; Ministry

of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of

Agriculture; Economic Relations Division; ICT Division; Posts and Telecommunications Division

10 General Economics Division; Local Government Division; Finance Division; Economic Relations

Division; Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment; Ministry of Commerce; Bank

and Financial Institutions Division; Ministry of Foreign Affairs

11 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Road Transport and Highways Division; Ministry of Railways;

Ministry of Cultural Affairs; Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Local Government

Division; Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Economic Relations Division

12 Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Ministry of

Finance; Ministry of Agriculture; Local Government Division; Ministry of Industries; Implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation Division; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Primary and Mass Education;

Economic Relations Division; Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Finance Division

13 Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; General Economics Division; Ministry of Environment,

Forest and Climate Change

14 Ministry of Water Resources; Ministry of Shipping; Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of

Fisheries and Livestock; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Ministry of Defence

15 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Economic Relations Division; Finance Division;

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

16 Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Local

Government Division; Law & Parliamentary Affairs Division; Bangladesh Bank; Cabinet Division;

Ministry of Public Administration; General Economics Division; Economic Relations Division; Local

Government Division; Ministry of Information

17 Internal Resources Division; Finance Division; Economic Relations Division; Board of Investment;

Bangladesh Bank; Ministry of Science and Technology; Posts and Telecommunications Division;

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; ICT Division; General Economics Division;

Ministry of Commerce; Public Private Partnership Authority Bangladesh; Statistics and Informatics

Division

Source: Authors’ compilation based on data from GED (2016a) & (2018a).

Establishing institutional delivery mechanisms and delegating responsibilities may not be

sufficient for efficient implementation of the SDGs. Good governance of institutions is vital to

ensure the delivery of the SDGs by 2030 (Bhattacharya D. , Khan, Rezbana, & Mostaque, 2016).

In fact, governance can by itself be a challenge for implementing the SDGs (Caiado, Filho,

Gonçalves, Nascimento, & Ávila, 2018), and this challenge is manifested in the forms of collective

action, trade-offs and accountability (Bowen, et al., 2017).Collective action can be induced

through inclusive multi-stakeholder participation. Since the SDGs feature a number of tough trade-

offs, it is critical that choices are made to ensure that no one is left behind. Finally, frameworks

are required to establish transparency and accountability of the institutions involved in

implementing the SDGs (Bowen, et al., 2017). Unless, these three aspects of governance can be

addressed, existing institutional mechanisms will not be successful in achieving the SDGs by 2030.


April 2021

35

Table 4: SDG implementation projects and programmes of GoB, by indicator

SDG

indicator

Ongoing projects and

programmes

New projects and

programmes up to 2020

Projects and programmes

for the period 2021-2030

1.1.1 24 20 15

2.1.1 47 44 49

3.1.1 17 14 4

4.1.1 16 12 31

5.3.1 4 3 0

6.2.1 9 4 6

7.1.1 44G, 21T, 43D 25G, 11T, 22D 20G, 1T, 27D

8.1.1 56 2 6

9.2.1 39 53 23

10.1.1 3 4 2

11.1.1 24 13 0

12.2.2 6 6 0

13.1.1 55 54 27

14.4.1 3 4 2

15.1.1 10 7 6

16.1.1 1 1 1

17.1.1 17 5 3

Source: Authors’ compilation based on data from GED (2018b)

Note: G: electricity generation projects; T: electricity transmission projects; D: electricity distribution

projects

Some key government projects and programmes related to some SDG indicators have been

mapped (table 4). Among the indicators chosen, the largest number of ongoing projects and

programmes were found to be related to SDG 7.1.1, which deals with access to electricity. On the

other hand, SDG 16.1.1 had only one related ongoing project, while SDG 14.4.1 had only 3 related

ongoing projects. Since Bangladesh is not performing well in terms of achieving SDG 14.4.1 and

SDG 16.1.1, the low involvement of the government at the project level is a matter of concern.

More importantly, further research and extensive field surveys are required to determine the actual

impact of these projects and also identify ‘zombie projects’, which drain financial resources

(Sabbih, 2018).

The experience of implementing the SDGs in Bangladesh so far suggests that more success

has been achieved ‘upstream’, marked by a lack of progress in the ‘downstream’ (Khatun, et al.,

2020). Hence, localisation of SDGs has gradually gained importance in the discourse on SDGs

among government officials and policymakers. While, this is a positive sign, steps need to need

taken to reinforce the capacity of local governments to deliver the SDGs. Local solutions must be

devised through identifying local priorities and problems and utilising local knowledge and

resources (Khatun, et al., 2020).

It is difficult for laggard regions to break the vicious systemic loop of underdevelopment.

For regions with special needs, national solutions often do not work. However, with more


April 2021

coordinated efforts and political will, we can achieve more positive results. NGOs, media and other

stakeholders are committed to closely working with the government to monitor progress in

achieving SDGs locally. Better utilization of limited resources, knowledge sharing and

partnerships, and accelerating the pace of implementation pose challenges for localization of the

SDGs in Bangladesh. It is difficult to successfully localize the SDGs in Bangladesh without a good

decentralized local governance structure. It is challenging to transform and materialize a global

commitment such as the SDGs at the local level since social, economic and environmental

problems are specific to the local context and so there is no 'one size suited for all' approach.

3.3 Mobilising funds

Financing is a major challenge for SDG implementation in Bangladesh. The tax-GDP ratio

in Bangladesh in 2016 was 8.8 per cent, compared to the South Asian average of 11 per cent

(World Bank, 2019a). It has been estimated that about one-third of the top 25 per cent earners in

Bangladesh do not pay any income tax (Khan, Kamal, & Talukdar, 2019). Overall, less than 1 per

cent of the people of Bangladesh pay income tax (UNESCAP, 2018a). This is further aggravated

by the high volume of illicit financial outflows originating from Bangladesh. In 2013, illicit

financial outflows from Bangladesh were estimated to be as high as USD 9,666 million (Kar &

Spanjers, 2015).

The total additional synchronised cost of SDG implementation in Bangladesh for the period

FY2017-FY2030 is estimated to be USD 928.5 billion at constant 2015-16 prices (GED, 2017b).

This amount may be as high as 28.1 per cent of the GDP of Bangladesh, if the economic growth

continues business-as-usual. In terms of unsynchronised cost, the most expensive SDG to

implement will be SDG 8, at a total additional cost of USD 440.9 billion at constant 2015-16 prices

during the period FY2017-FY2030 (GED, 2017b). On the other hand, the least expensive SDG to

implement will be SDG 17 (GED, 2017b), since 66.7 per cent of targets under this goal are global

in nature (Khatun, Pervin, & Rahman, 2018). Table 5 summarises the total additional synchronised

SDG financing requirements in Bangladesh for the period FY 2017-2030.

Table 5: Total additional synchronised SDG financing requirements in Bangladesh (in billion USD at

constant 2015-16 prices)

Fiscal Year

SDGs

FY

17

FY

18

FY

19

FY

20

FY

21

FY

22

FY

23

FY

24

FY

25

FY

26

FY

27

FY

28

FY

29

FY

30

TO

TA

L

SDG 1 1.29 1.34 1.39 1.46 1.52 1.6 1.68 1.77 1.87 1.97 2.09 2.21 2.34 2.49 25.02

SDG 2 1.83 1.78 1.63 1.49 1.38 1.27 1.18 1.09 1.02 0.9 0.79 0.7 0.61 0.53 16.21

SDG 3 0.65 1.34 2.09 2.91 3.66 4.48 5.38 6.38 7.47 8.09 8.76 9.5 10.3 11.1

9

82.17


April 2021

37

Fiscal Year

SDGs

FY

17

FY

18

FY

19

FY

20

FY

21

FY

22

FY

23

FY

24

FY

25

FY

26

FY

27

FY

28

FY

29

FY

30

TO

TA

L

SDG 4 0.46 1.16 1.91 2.74 3.49 4.32 5.22 6.22 7.32 7.78 8.28 8.83 9.42 10.0

6

77.21

SDG 5 0.88 0.85 0.83 0.8 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72 0.71 0.69 0.67 0.66 0.64 0.63 10.37

SDG 6 1.53 1.46 1.39 0.91 0.87 0.77 0.74 0.71 0.69 0.58 0.56 0.54 0.53 0.51 11.8

SDG

7+8+9

11.4

5

12.0

9

15.0

4

21.3

3

25.5

2

29.0

2

32.9

6

37.3

8

42.3

1

47.8

3

53.9

9

60.9 68.5

9

77.2

2

535.64

SDG

10

0.35 0.36 0.38 0.4 0.41 0.44 0.46 0.48 0.51 0.54 0.58 0.62 0.66 0.71 6.9

SDG

11

0.21 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.26 0.27 0.28 0.3 0.32 0.33 0.35 0.37 0.4 4

SDG

12

0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.29

SDG

13

5.95 6.17 6.41 6.99 7.32 7.68 8.07 8.5 8.97 9.86 10.4

3

11.0

4

11.7

1

12.4

3

121.53

SDG

14

0.74 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.78 10.48

SDG

15

0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.4 0.4 0.39 0.39 0.38 0.36 0.35 0.34 0.34 0.33 5.36

SDG

16

0.47 0.68 0.88 1.08 1.23 1.38 1.52 1.66 1.78 1.91 2.02 2.13 2.23 2.33 21.31

SDG

17

0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.18

TOTA

L

26.2

8

28.6

2

33.3

5

41.5

3

47.6

2

53.1

5

59.4 66.3

8

74.1 81.6

1

89.6

4

98.6

2

108.

52

119.

65

928.48

Cost -

GDP

Ratio

(Project

ed

GDP

Growth

)

10.2 10.7 12 14.3 15.6 16.6 17.7 18.7 19.8 20.7 21.5 22.3 23.2 24.1

Cost -

GDP

Ratio

(BaU

GDP

Growth

)

10.2 10.7 12.1 14.5 16.1 17.3 18.6 20 21.4 22.7 23.9 25.2 26.6 28.1

Source: Authors’ compilation from (GED, 2017b).

Note: BaU: Business-as-Usual

Since Bangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, the cost of

mitigating the causes and adapting to the consequences of climate change will be monumental.

Implementing SDG 13 in Bangladesh will require a total additional cost of USD 121.5 billion at

constant 2015-16 prices (GED, 2017b). This represents an enormous burden for Bangladesh, given

that most climate finance sources provide funds for mitigation (Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 2019)

whereas Bangladesh requires funds for adaptation.


April 2021

GoB has identified five potential sources of financing the SDGs in Bangladesh (GED, 2017b).

These include: (i) public financing; (ii) private financing; (iii) public-private-partnerships;

(iv)external sources; and (v) non-government organisations. A summary of these financing options

is provided in Table 6.

Table 6: SDG financing options available for Bangladesh (in billion USD)

Time period in fiscal years (FY)

Potential sources of SDG financing FY2017 to

FY2020

FY2021 to

FY2025

FY2026 to

FY2030

FY2017 to

FY2030

Total additional amount of domestic sources 107.72 257.49 430.87 796.09

Total additional amount external sources 22.07 43.15 67.17 132.39

Total additional amount from both domestic and

external sources

129.79 300.65 498.04 928.48

Annual average additional amount from

domestic sources

26.93 51.50 86.17 56.86

Annual average additional amount from

external sources

5.52 8.63 13.43 9.46

of which FDI 2.73 6.45 10.70 6.91

Grants and Aid 2.79 2.17 2.74 2.55


The funding required for implementing the SDGs has been estimated, and potential sources

of finance have been found. Hence, immediate measures need to be taken for improving domestic

resource mobilisation. Moreover, non-financial resources such as transfer of technology, better

market access and favourable international trade regulations, should also be pursued with vigour.

In theory, graduation from the LDC category should have minimal influence on

Bangladesh's development cooperation (CDP, 2020). Development assistance by the World Bank,

the Asian Development Bank (ADB), most United Nations system entities, – The Global Alliance

for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) - the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, most official

development assistance (ODA) from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

- Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) Members (including Canada, the United

Kingdom, the United States and the European Union) or South-South cooperation is not LDC-

specific. After LDC graduation, many partners may undertake fairly small adjustments in

development cooperation with Bangladesh, including marginally less favourable conditions on

Japanese ODA loans and a gradual transition from grants to loans by some partners like Germany

(CDP, 2020). After smooth transition cycles, Bangladesh may end up losing access to a limited

number of funding arrangements allocated for LDCs, such as the LDC Fund for climate change

(CDP, 2020).


April 2021

39

Nevertheless, interviews with experts from the government, private sector, academia and

civil society have revealed that there is widespread speculation that funds will dry up after

Bangladesh’s LDC graduation. The government of Bangladesh has made the commitment towards

fulfilling the commitment for achieving the SDGs while it prepares for LDC graduation. The

government of Bangladesh did not factor in the drop in availability of finance, possible after LDC

graduation, while estimating investment needs for achieving the SDGs. Therefore, financing the

SDGs may prove to be challenging for Bangladesh after its LDC graduation. Bangladesh must

explore all possible avenues for financing sustainable development, including emerging forms of

public-private financing, such as blended finance.

3.4 Generating data

Accurate, reliable and timely data are crucial for monitoring and evaluation of the SDGs,

as well as for ensuring transparency and accountability. National statistical organisations (NSOs)

around the world face challenges related to capacity and funding, along with political interference

(Kindornay, Bhattacharya, & Higgins, 2016).

Bangladesh lag the world average in terms of availability of data on the SDG indicators

(table 7). In the absence of readily accessible, high-quality reliable data, monitoring and evaluating

progress on SDG implementation will be difficult. In this regard, it is critical to strengthen the

statistical capacity of the country in order to be able to successfully monitor progress on SDGs.

Unfortunately, the dollar value of foreign funds made available for strengthening statistical

capacity in Bangladesh has fallen from USD 1.25 million to USD 1.06 million during the period

2006 to 2016 (World Bank, 2019a).

Several important survey reports and datasets have been delayed in recent times, making it

difficult to track progress on the SDGs. Some of these include: Household Income and Expenditure

Survey, Sample Vital Registration Statistics, Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Bangladesh

Education Statistics, Violence Against Women Survey, Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Survey of

Manufacturing Industries, Economic Census, Slum Census and ICT Use and Access Survey.

Table 7: Proportion of SDG data available in Bangladesh compared to global average (as percentage of

total number of indicators per goal, as of May 2019)

SDG Data availability in Bangladesh Global tier classification (as of 4 April 2019)

Readily

available

Partially

available

Not

available

Tier I Tier II Tier III Multiple

tiers

1 21.43 28.57 50.00 21.43 57.14 21.43 0.00

2 23.08 38.46 38.46 61.54 38.46 0.00 0.00

3 48.15 37.04 14.81 92.59 3.70 3.70 0.00

4 9.09 63.64 27.27 18.18 54.55 9.09 18.18

5 71.43 0.00 28.57 7.14 85.71 0.00 7.14


April 2021

6 18.18 18.18 63.64 54.55 45.45 0.00 0.00

7 50.00 16.67 33.33 66.67 16.67 16.67 0.00

8 23.53 47.06 29.41 47.06 47.06 5.88 0.00

9 25.00 25.00 50.00 75.00 25.00 0.00 0.00

10 36.36 9.09 54.55 27.27 63.64 36.36 9.09

11 6.67 20.00 73.33 20.00 53.33 46.67 0.00

12 0.00 0.00 100.00 15.38 23.08 38.46 7.69

13 12.50 12.50 75.00 12.50 25.00 25.00 0.00

14 0.00 10.00 90.00 20.00 50.00 30.00 0.00

15 14.29 35.71 50.00 50.00 28.57 7.14 14.29

16 17.39 21.74 60.87 26.09 69.57 4.35 0.00

17 48.00 20.00 32.00 60.00 16.00 24.00 0.00

Source: Authors’ calculations based on GED and UN data (GED, 2018c), (UN, 2018) & (UN, 2019b)

Note: (i) Tier I: Indicator is conceptually clear, has an internationally established methodology and

standards are available, and data are regularly produced by countries for at least 50 per cent of countries

and of the population in every region where the indicator is relevant; (ii) Tier II: Indicator is conceptually

clear, has an internationally established methodology and standards are available, but data are not regularly

produced by countries; (iii) Tier III: No internationally established methodology or standards are yet

available for the indicator, but methodology or standards are being (or will be) developed or tested (UN,

2019b).

A comparison of the data availability situation in Bangladesh vis-à-vis rest of the world

shows that the percentage of data on SDG indicators per goal which are not available is higher

than the percentage of Tier III indicators for all the SDGs (Table 7) (GED, 2018c) (UN, 2018)

(UN, 2019a) (UN, 2019b). On the other hand the percentage of data on SDG indicators per goal

which are readily available is lower than the percentage of Tier I indicators for 13 out of the 17

SDGs (GED, 2018c) (UN, 2018) (UN, 2019b). Hence, the overall data availability on SDG

indicators in Bangladesh is lower than the global average. More than half of the data on SDGs 10,

12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are not available in Bangladesh. This is a pressing issue, since these are the

SDGs which are at risk of remaining unattained in 2030, as identified in Section 2. Another aspect

relates to the quality of available data and definitional issues. For example, the ‘Quarterly Labour

Force Survey’ counts individuals as employed if they are found to be working for even one hour

per week.

Level of disaggregation in the existing data is not sufficient to provide a comprehensive

picture of the 12 kinds of vulnerable groups in Bangladesh that have been identified through

previous research (Bhattacharya, et al., 2017). In order to improve data availability, GoB currently

has 14 ongoing projects and 25 projects planned upto FY2020 under the Statistics and Informatics

Division. A list of these projects and their associated costs are outlined in Table 8.


April 2021

41

Table 8: Ongoing and planned projects under Statistics and Informatics Division

Ongoing projects Planned projects up to 2020 Planned projects

beyond 2020

# Project Cost

(in

million

BDT)

Project Cost

(in

million

BDT)

Project

1 National Household

Database Project (July 2013

to June 2019)

7274 Population and Housing

Census 2021 Project (July

2018 to June 2025)

11750 Economic Census

2023 Project

2 Improving of Labor

Statistics and Labor Market

Information Project

(January 2015 to June 2018)

110 Household Income and

Expenditure Survey 2019

Project (July 2018 to June

2021)

300 Agriculture Census &

Sample Census 2028

Project

3 Economic Census 2013


2018)

1790 Literacy Assessment Survey

Project for Monitoring SDGs

(January 2018 to July 2019)


Expenditure Survey

Project (2022, 2025,

2028, 2030)

4 Optical Data Archive and

Networking (2nd Phase)

Project (September 2014 to

June 2018)

184 Monitoring the Situation of

Vital Statistics (3rd Phase)


2021)

640 Literacy Assessment

Survey Project (2nd,

3rd, 4th Phase)

5 Monitoring the Situation of

Vital Statistics of

Bangladesh (2nd Phase)


2019)

342 Multiple Indicator Cluster

Survey (MICS) Project

(January 2018 to June 2020)

150 Monitoring the

Situation of Vital

Statistics (3rd Phase)

Project


Expenditure Survey Project

(July 2014 to June 2018)

220 Child and Mother Nutrition

Survey Project (January 2019

to December 2020)

120 Multiple Indicator

Cluster Survey Project

(2nd and 3rd phase)

7 Digitization of BBS

Publications and Online

Secondary Data Collection

Project (April 2015 to June

2018)

734 Integrated Database of

Undocumented Myanmar

Nationals (UMN) Project

(January 2018 to December

2020)

350 Child and Mother

Nutrition Survey

Project (2022, 2025,

2028, 2030)

8 Strengthening the Statistical

Capacity of BBS for

Collecting Data on

Population and

Development (January

2017 to December 2020)

44 Strengthening Capacity

Building for Producing

Environment, Climate Change

and Disaster Statistics (ECDS)

Project (January 2019 to

December 2020)

240 Welfare monitoring

Survey

9 Agriculture (Crop, Fisheries

and Livestock) Census 2018

Project (May 2017 to

December 2020)

3450 Health and Morbidity Status

Survey Project (July 2018 to

June 2019)

367 Justice, Audit and

Citizen Perception

Survey (2020, 2025,

2030)

10 Census of the Former

Enclave Population in

Bangladesh (January 2017

to January 2018)

15 Improving of Labor Statistics

and Labor Market Information

(2nd phase) Project (July 2018

to June 2021)

150 Generation of SDG

data through

innovative sources

(big data, artificial

intelligence, Internet

of things, etc.) Project


April 2021

11 Modernization of National

Accounts Project (April

2017 to June 2020)

110 Survey on Persons with

Disability 2017 Project (July


120 Bangladesh

Environmental

Economic Accounting

(BEEA) Project (2nd

Phase)

12 Handloom Census 2017

Project (June 2017 to

December 2018)

78 Data Conversion, Metadata

and Time Series Data

Compilation Project (January


100 Strengthening

Capacity Building for

Producing ECDS)

Project (2nd Phase)

13 Agriculture and Rural

Statistics Project (July 2017

to December 2018)

40 Development of Statistical

Classifications Project (July


50

14 Modernization and

Strengthening of Statistics

and Informatics Division

Project (April 2017 to June

2018)

33 Quarterly GDP and Link series

and improvement of indices


226

15

Horticulture and Farm Based

Forestry Survey (January 2019

to June 2020)

60

16

Surveys and Studies relating to

GDP rebase 2015-16 Project

(July 2018 to December 2020)

37

17

Develop a comprehensive

database for Chittagong Hill

Tracts

133

18

Establishment of Integrated

Education Information

Management System and ICT

Infrastructure for Education


12285

19

Agriculture Census & Sample

Census 2018

240

20

Strengthening the capacity of

SID Project

35

21

National Strategy for the

Development of Statistics

Implementation Project

8000

22

Capacity building of BBS for

SDGs Monitoring Project

35

23

Population and Housing

Census (2021)

11750

24

National Population Register

Project

15000

25

Civil Registration an Vital

Statistics Project

41

Total cost 14424 Total cost 62251


The government of Bangladesh has recently undertaken a number of data innovations and

collaborations to narrow down the existing data gaps. The government has developed a 'SDG


April 2021

43

Tracker' to map and evaluate progress of SDGs (GED, 2018a). The SDG Tracker is an interactive

web-based data archive that will help monitor the delivery of the SDGs and facilitate predictive

assessments to reach the goals within the specified time frame. Bangladesh has formed a National

Data Coordination Committee (NDCC) to identify data deficiencies and track implementation of

the SDGs (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020). Bangladesh has also established a monitoring and

implementation cell for the SDGs, which is being hosted by the Planning Commission (Rahman,

Khan, & Sadique, 2020). The Implementation and Review Committee is expected to report to the

Cabinet every six months on the state of adoption of the SDGs in Bangladesh (Rahman, Khan, &

Sadique, 2020). The results and priorities of the Development Results Framework, consistent with

the SDGs, would concentrate on tracking and assessment of SDGs coupled with other government

mandated macroeconomic goals and targets (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020). Bangladesh

started hosting a regular SDG Implementation Review Conference beginning in 2018, which

involved various government departments alongside CSOs and foreign development collaborators.

3.5 Developing partnerships

Developing multi-stakeholder partnerships at the global, regional, national and local levels

will be of paramount significance for the successful implementation of the SDGs. Partnerships that

encourage inclusive and active participation of all stakeholders will ensure that the overarching

principle of ‘Leave No One Behind’ is realised.

In order for partnerships to be successful in achieving the SDGs by 2030, it is necessary

for them to strive for the 3ODs: i) open data; ii) open dialogue; and iii) open democracy

(Bunglawala, 2018). Open data refers to data that is freely and easily accessible. Open dialogue

constitutes of public discussions between representatives of the government, civil society, private

sector, workers’ unions, academia, youth and other stakeholder groups. Open data and open

dialogue mutually facilitate and reinforce each other. Such multi-stakeholder partnership model

based on 3ODs provides an optimistic but ideal template for Bangladesh to ensure that the core

commitment of leaving no one behind is met. Table 9 lists some examples of Bangladesh’s SDG

partnerships and commitments, both at the domestic and global levels (UN, 2019c).

Table 9: Some examples of Bangladesh’s SDG partnerships and commitments

Applicable SDGs

# Name of the partnership

or commitment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1. Double the percentage of

births attended by a

skilled health worker

✓ ✓

2. Borderless sustainable

initiatives forum

✓ ✓ ✓

3. Capacity development of

SAS member countries for

✓


April 2021

the preparation of specific

policies to implement goal

14

4. Climate and Clean Air

Coalition (CCAC)

✓ ✓

5. Conservation and

sustainability of fish and

other marine species

✓

6. Development of the

strategic road corridors

will be planned in

coordination with the

development of the

railway and inland

waterway networks to

ensure that the most

appropriate mode is used

for the movement of

people and goods

✓ ✓

7. Global Partnership for

Effective Development

Co-operation (GPEDC)

✓ ✓ ✓

8. IHO Hydrography

Capacity Building

Programme for Coastal

States

✓

9. Management of Aquatic

Ecosystems through

Community Husbandry

Program

✓

10. Nansen Initiative ✓ ✓

11. Reduction of use of plastic

bags

✓ ✓

12. Renewable Energy Policy

of Bangladesh

✓

13. Strengthening Women’s

Ability for Productive

New Opportunities

(SWAPNO) in

Bangladesh

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

14. Sustainability of

mangrove forest and

coastal afforestation

✓ ✓

15. Sustainable Development

at Grass-roots

✓

16. Waste Concern:

Public/Private partnership

and community based

composting in Dhaka,

Bangladesh

✓ ✓

Source: Authors’ compilation from UN (UN, 2019c).

An example of such partnerships with a dedicated focus on SDGs is the Citizen’s Platform

for SDGs in Bangladesh. The Citizen’s Platform is a network of more than 100 NGOs, CSOs and

charitable organisations in Bangladesh that are actively working for implementing the SDGs. The

platform was established with four main objectives in mind: i) to track the implementation of the

SDGs; ii) to sensitise policymakers about SDG implementation challenges; iii) to ensure

transparency and accountability in the SDG implementation process; and iv) to facilitate


April 2021

45

communication and coordination between all stakeholders involved with the SDGs (Citizen's

Platform, 2016).

Table 10: Primary SDG involvement of partners of the Citizen’s Platform

SDG Minimum proportion of platform partners directly involved in activities relevant to

corresponding goal (in percentage)

SDG10 42.86

SDG1 38.10

SDG16 33.33

SDG3 25.71

SDG4 23.81

SDG5 23.81

SDG8 19.05

SDG13 10.48

SDG17 10.48

SDG15 9.52

SDG11 7.62

SDG14 7.62

SDG6 6.67

SDG2 5.71

SDG12 3.81

SDG7 2.86

SDG9 2.86

Source: Authors’ compilation from (Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, 2019).

Table 10 shows that at least 42 per cent of the partner organisations of the Citizen’s

Platform are directly involved in activities relevant to SDG 10 (Citizen's Platform for SDGs,

Bangladesh, 2019). A high level of involvement of the platform partner organisation is also

observed for SDGs 1, 16, 3, 4, 5 and 8. However, very few platform partners were directly involved

with activities relevant to SDGs 2, 7, 9, 11 and 12.

Traditionally, non-state actors in Bangladesh have functioned as influential advocates of

inclusive development. The prime concern of many CSOs and NGOs has been to address the needs

of those who are farthest behind in terms of receiving the benefits of economic development. Thus,

a large part of the activities carried out by CSOs and NGOs has been focused on the “Leave No

One Behind” principle. While some CSOs and NGOs have set up internal SDG teams within their

organisations, others have formed alliances and networks between organisations (Khatun, et al.,

2020).


April 2021

The private sector has also played its part in the SDG implementation process in

Bangladesh, particularly through capacity building of workers and promotion of international

trade. Furthermore, knowledge institutions, such as the vibrant and dynamic research institutions

and think tanks existing in Bangladesh, have carried out awareness raising campaigns and

interfaced SDG-related activities with the government. The SDG Implementation and Review

Committee in Bangladesh also includes two non-state representatives (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique,

2020).

4. Regional priorities, instruments and institutions for SDGs delivery

Many of the SDG targets are not only interconnected, but also transnational (Zhou &

Moinuddin, 2017). There is a growing realization that international collaboration for shared goals

would be needed to deliver the 2030 Agenda (Rahman, Khan, & Sadique, 2020). For example,

goals and targets on climate change, including greenhouse emissions, are not possible to be

achieved without regional and global efforts. While SDG 13 is the specific goal on climate change,

there are many targets and indicators in other goals which are connected to climate change.

(Khatun, 2019).10 Thus, it is not possible to achieve some SDG targets without considering some

other targets. It is not possible for countries to achieve some SDG targets without cooperation and

concerted efforts from other countries in the region and the world.

Bangladesh’s VNR 2020 has identified key areas of international cooperation where

development partners can contribute towards meeting the SDGs (GoB, 2020). These include: i)

providing technical assistance in evaluating the impact of changes in taxation; ii) building the

ability of implementing agencies to enable proper use of funds and relieve bottlenecks in

acquisition and disbursement and speed up the execution of projects; iii) increasing flow of FDI;

iv) leveraging the private sector to develop concrete strategies and recommendations that enable

businesses to drive the achievement of the SDGs; v) tracking debt services in collaboration with

development partners to serve as an early warning mechanism and support the Bangladesh

economy avert any future structural shock; vi) reinforcing South-South cooperation and implement

performance-assessment standards; vii) establishing coalitions with other graduating LDCs or non-

LDC developing countries in various areas of common interests (GoB, 2020). In the context of

finance and technology, global collaboration is needed to adopt the National Social Security

Strategy (NSSS), the Health Financing Strategy (HFS) and the implementation of the national

voluntary pension scheme, comprehensive water resources management, productive domestic

resource mobilization and the adoption of new and commercial agriculture based on smallholder

farmers (GoB, 2020).

10 These are: No Poverty, SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, SDG 6: Clean Water and

Sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy, SDG 8: Decent work and Economic Growth, SDG 9: Industry,

Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 14: Life below water, and

SDG 15: Life on Land.


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47

4.1 Regional priorities for sustainable development

Given the varied levels of past progress and different contexts, different regions of the

world have distinct priorities. The seven policy priorities identified for South Asia include: (i)

generating decent employment through broad based industry-oriented growth; (ii) closing

infrastructure gaps; (iii) ensuring universal access to education and health; (iv) providing universal

social protection and financial inclusion; (v) guaranteeing food security; (vi) establishing gender

equality; and (vii) enhancing environmental sustainability (UNESCAP, 2018a).

Employment creation for South Asia’s young workforce: South Asian countries have

large pools of young workers entering their labour markets each year (UNESCAP, 2018a). As a

result of this youth bulge, these countries are well-poised to reap the dividends from a demographic

dividend (Navaneetham & Dharmalingam, 2012). Conventional economic theory suggests that

transfer of surplus labour from the rural agriculture sector to the urban industry sector results in

structural change of an economy which may be conducive to economic development (Lewis,

1954). Unfortunately, the structural transformation of the South Asian economies has occurred in

such a way that the share of employment in the services sectors has increased at the cost of falling

employment in the agriculture sector. However, in this process, the industry sector has been

circumvented and its vast potential for generating employment has remained largely untapped.

Estimates suggest that industry-driven structural change in South Asia has the potential for

generating 56 million additional jobs and lifting 71 million additional people out of poverty

(UNESCAP, 2018a).

In South Asia, the share of youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) was

estimated to be 27.6 per cent overall in 2019, compared to 21.4 per cent globally (ILO, 2018a).

The situation was more disquieting for females, as the share of female youth NEET was estimated

to be 46.5 per cent for South Asia in 2019, compared to 30.5 per cent globally (ILO, 2018a). In

Bangladesh, the share of youth NEET in 2016-17 was 29.8 per cent, of which 87.0 per cent were

female (BBS, 2018). Therefore, it is essential for the economies of South Asia to leverage the

employment creating potential of the industry sector in order to benefit from a demographic

dividend.

Bridging infrastructure deficits: South Asian countries suffer from huge infrastructure

deficits. In 2015, only 45 per cent of the population had access to improved sanitation in South

Asia, compared to 67 per cent globally (UNESCAP, 2018a). In Bangladesh, 60.4 per cent of rural

population had access to improved sanitation in 2015 (WHO/UNICEF, 2019). In 2014, there were

only 17 internet users per 100 people in South Asia, compared to 40 globally (UNESCAP, 2018a);

while for Bangladesh it was 14 (UN, 2019d). Infrastructure is the common denominator


April 2021

constraining sustainable industrial development in the South Asian countries, making

infrastructure development a prerequisite for achieving the SDGs by 2030.

Ending deprivations and universal access to essential services: South Asia lags the

developed world in ensuring universal access to education, health, food and social protection. In

2017, net secondary school enrolment in South Asia was 59.76 per cent and in Bangladesh was

68.6 per cent (BANBEIS, n.d.), compared to 65.8 per cent globally (World Bank, 2019b). Gross

enrolment in tertiary educational institutions was 23.3 per cent in South Asia and 15.8 per cent for

Bangladesh (BANBEIS, n.d.) in 2017, compared to 37.9 per cent for the world (World Bank,

2019b). In 2011, there were 0.67 hospital beds per 1,000 people in South Asia, and 0.60 hospital

beds per 1000 people in Bangladesh compared to 2.70 in the world (World Bank, 2019b). The

prevalence of under-nourishment in South Asia was 14.8 per cent, while in Bangladesh it was

14.70 per cent in 2017, compared to 10.9 per cent in the world (FAO, 2018c). To ensure that no

one is left behind in South Asia in terms of access to education, health, food and social protection,

countries need to ensure universal provision of these basic services. South Asia needs to address

outdated traditions and cultural practices that fetter the empowerment of women along with pro-

active gender responsive measures to promote economic and political participation of women.

Ensuring environmental sustainability: Although South Asia has low per-capita

emissions relative to the developed world, it is expected to be one of the worst affected regions

with respect to climate change (UNESCAP, 2018a). South Asia accounts for 24.35 per cent of all

deaths caused by natural disasters in the world, of which the share of Bangladesh is 6.97 per cent

(Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network, 2017). Research has shown that solid waste

management is linked to 12 out of the 17 SDGs, and practising the philosophy of ‘Reduce, Reuse

& Recycle’ (3R) may improve the health outcome and living conditions of approximately 3 billion

people worldwide, while also facilitating climate change mitigation (Rodic & Wilson, 2017).

Sustainable production and consumption patterns must be encouraged for environmental

sustainability, with focus on renewable energy and more environmentally responsible and

sustainable practices.

In addition to these shared regional priorities, various other issues of regional nature are

critically important for implementing the SDGs in South Asia, from Bangladesh’s perspective.

These include: (i) the influx of more than one million Rohingyas from Myanmar into Bangladesh

(SDG 10.7); (ii) the cross-border drug trafficking from Myanmar into Bangladesh (SDG 3.5) ; (iii)

the equitable sharing of rivers that flow from India into Bangladesh (SDG 6.6); (iv) the protection

of endangered species of birds and animals in the Sundarbans to prevent their extinction (SDG

15.5); and (v) the evolving regional security risks and terrorism threats (SDG 16.a).


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4.2 Regional instruments and institutions

The regional priorities for SDG implementation in South Asia can be addressed by making

use of various connectivity related aspects as regional instruments. These instruments can provide

the means of implementation for achieving the SDGs in South Asia. In this context, there are five

key kinds of connectivity that need to be considered: (i) trade connectivity; (ii) investment

connectivity; (iii) transport connectivity; (iv)institutional connectivity; and (v) knowledge

connectivity (Rahman, 2018).

Trade connectivity refers to liberalisation of international trade in goods and services,

coupled with promotion of trade facilitation and reduction of non-tariff barriers. The existing

regional institutional mechanisms, such as South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), South Asian

Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS), Bay

of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and

Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) are suitable for the

purpose of increasing trade connectivity in South Asia. Countries could make greater use of

existing United Nations standards and conventions on trade facilitation to streamline, facilitate and

digitalize their trade procedures and operations, including ESCAP’s Framework Agreement on

Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, 2020b).

Bangladesh has ratified the agreement in 2020.

Historically, the major markets for Bangladesh’s exports have been Europe and North

America. During the 40-year period between 1979 to 2019, 46.4 per cent of all of Bangladesh’s

exports went to the European Union (EU) whereas only 2.6 per cent went to South Asian countries

(IMF, 2020b). The ready-made garments (RMG) industry of Bangladesh has benefitted

considerably from trade-related international support measures (ISMs) such as duty-free quota-

free (DFQF) market access and LDC specific preferential rules of origin offered by the EU

(European Commission, 2018a) (European Commission, 2018b). As a result, Bangladesh’s

exports to the EU increased by more than 9 times during the period 1999 to 2019, compared to a

roughly 3-fold increase in exports to USA during the same period (IMF, 2020b). Over the past

fifteen years from 2005 to 2019, there was robust growth in Bangladesh’s exports to India,

although growth of Bangladesh’s exports to its other South Asian neighbours was modest.

Bangladesh’s exports to India accounted for only 2.7 per cent of its total exports in 2019, while

exports to all South Asian countries accounted for a meagre 3.06 per cent of total exports (IMF,

2020b).

Over the years, China and India have been Bangladesh’s top import partners. During the

40-year period between 1979 to 2019, 17.4 per cent of all of Bangladesh’s imports came from

China, while 13.3 per cent came from India (IMF, 2020b). In 2019, 13.8 per cent of all of


April 2021

Bangladesh’s imports came from South Asia, of which 12.5 per cent came from India and the

remaining 1.3 per cent came from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan combined (IMF, 2020b).

Estimates using gravity modelling has shown that South Asia’s export potential was three

times its level of actual exports in 2019 (World Bank, 2019c). In 2007, Bangladesh’s trade

potential was 3.4 times its actual trade with India (Rahman & Ara, 2010). In 2016, while India’s

export potential to Bangladesh was 6.4 times its actual exports, Bangladesh’s export potential to

India was a staggering 54.8 times its actual exports (De, 2020). Using a computable general

equilibrium (CGE) framework, it is seen that unilateral trade liberalisation in five South Asian

countries may increase Bangladesh’s real GDP by 1.4 per cent and aggregate employment by 6.2

per cent (Raihan, 2020). It is found that 93.1 per cent of Bangladesh’s trade potential and 67.1 per

cent of South Asia’s trade potential remained unexploited in 2014 (UNESCAP, 2018b). Thus,

Bangladesh can reap substantial gains from increased trade connectivity in South Asia. In fact, it

has been estimated that elimination of tariffs in South Asia would lead to welfare gains for

Bangladesh equivalent to 0.25 per cent of its GDP and a 40 per cent reduction of trade costs in

South Asia would lead to welfare gains for Bangladesh equivalent to 7.99 per cent of its GDP

(Kumar & George, 2020). Such gains can have significant implications for implementing the SDGs

in the country, including through generating investible resources for SDG aligned sectors.

Investment connectivity refers to the transnational alignment of business regulations,

accompanied by increased adoption of agreements and policies that promote cross-border

investment. Regional institutions that are well placed to promote investment connectivity in South

Asia include the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), South Asian Regional Standards Organisation

(SARSO), South Asia Comprehensive Economic Partnership (SACEP), ADB and Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Since independence, most FDI in Bangladesh has come from outside the South Asian sub

region. For example, of the total net FDI inflows in the past twenty years from 1999 to 2019, 13.03

per cent came from UK, 9.8 per cent came from USA and 8.8 per cent came from Singapore, while

only 6.4 per cent came from India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka combined (Bangladesh Bank,

2019). In April 2018, Alipay, a concern of China's e-commerce and tech giant Alibaba Group,

bought 20 percent stakes in bKash, Bangladesh's largest mobile financial service provider (The

Daily Star, 2018). China’s investment in Belt and Road Initiative projects has usually been in the

range of USD 100 million to USD 1 billion. (American Enterprise Institute, 2019). In 2019,

Bangladesh received ten times more FDI from China than from India (Bangladesh Bank, 2019).

Nevertheless, net FDI inflow from India into Bangladesh has increased 20-fold from only

USD 5.67 million in 2009 to USD 113.70 million in 2019 (Bangladesh Bank, 2019). In 2018-19,

17 fully Indian or India-Bangladesh joint venture projects were registered in Bangladesh, whose

proposed investment amounted to USD 40.94 million and which were expected to create


April 2021

51

employment opportunities for 1,745 individuals (BIDA, 2019). Bringing Indian investment in

sectors where with good export prospects can boost Bangladesh’s export supply capacity and raise

its exports to India and the rest of the world (De, Raihan, & Kathuria) (Pitigala, Malouche, &

Kathuria, 2016). Unfortunately, only 11.68 per cent of net FDI inflow from India was in the textiles

and RMG sector of Bangladesh in 2019 (Bangladesh Bank, 2019). Bangladesh has allocated 105

acre land at Mongla (BEZA, 2020a) and 447 acres land at Kushtia (BEZA, 2020b) to India for the

development for economic zones. There are also plans for allocating land to India for the

development of an economic zone in Mirsarai (BEZA, 2020c).

Bangladesh continues to face obstacles to investing in India. Bangladeshi investment in

India was banned up to December 2007 (The Daily Star, 2007) and even after the ban was lifted,

India continued to impose stringent regulations on Bangladeshi investors which required them to

obtain prior approval from the Indian government (The Financial Express, 2020). Bangladeshi

products are popular in the Seven Sister States of North-East India (The Daily Star, 2008), whose

only means of connectivity with the rest of the country is via an arduous 1,645 kilometre journey

through the “chicken’s neck”. The potential for Bangladeshi investment in North-Eastern states of

India became evident when Pran, a Bangladeshi company, invested around USD 14 million to set

up a factory in Tripura (Kathuria & Rizwan, 2020).

The difference between the infrastructure investment need and the current trends of

infrastructure investment in Bangladesh is predicted to be more than 1 per cent of GDP (Global

Infrastructure Hub, 2019). Sectoral decomposition of infrastructure investment needs shows that

the greatest need for investment in Bangladesh are in the energy and transport sectors. Predictions

show that in 2040, infrastructure investment needs of the energy and transport sectors will be

around 1.5 percent and 1 percent of GDP (Global Infrastructure Hub, 2019). Thus, Bangladesh

stands to gain from greater investment connectivity in South Asia, which will be able to partly fill

in the investment gaps in the country.

Transport connectivity refers to the establishment of multi-modal, seamless, efficient,

hassle-free and cost-effective transportation networks (Rahman M. , 2017). A number of regional

institutional structures and agreements can facilitate transport connectivity in South Asia, such as

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement

(BBIN-MVA), Asian Highway (AH) and Trans-Asian Railway (TAR).

As of 2003, Bangladesh had the highest road density among all South Asian countries,

although its proportion of paved roads as a percentage of all roads was the lowest (ADB, 2014).

Survey findings have shown that the quality of Bangladesh’s roads was perceived to be the second

worst in South Asia, behind only Nepal, with a value of 3 on scale where 1 indicated worst quality

and 7 indicated best quality (Sustainable Mobility for All, 2017). As of 2016, Bangladesh had only

18 registered vehicles per 1,000 people, which was the lowest among all South Asian countries


April 2021

(ADB, 2019). Progress in the construction of the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh has been slow. The

Padma Bridge project had already witnessed a cost overrun of 183.3 per cent and a time overrun

of 42.9 per cent, as of 2018 (CPD, 2018a). In contrast, the Crimean Bridge in Russia, which is

almost 3 times longer than the Padma Bridge, was completed in roughly one-third the time that

has been proposed for completing the construction of Padma Bridge (SGM-Most LLC, 2020).

Apart from the poor state of its internal road transportation infrastructure, Bangladesh has hitherto

made little progress in connecting its roads with its neighbouring countries. During the 11th BCIM

Forum in 2013, a car rally was held which started in Kolkata, passed through Dhaka, Silchar,

Imphal, Mandalay and Ruili, before finishing in Kunming (MEA, 2013). This car rally

demonstrated the potential for road transport connectivity between South Asia and South East

Asia. Unfortunately, the stalemate in BCIM has deprived Bangladesh and India from substantial

economic gains. It has been estimated that increased investment in transport and communications

infrastructure connectivity in Asia during 2010-2020 could lead to 15.6 per cent increase in real

income in Bangladesh and a 12.2 per cent increase in real income in India in 2020 (Zhai, 2012).

Reducing transport costs in South Asia could lead to an increase in household welfare in

Bangladesh equivalent to 2.9 to 4.1 per cent of Bangladesh’s 2004 GDP, depending on the number

of countries of South Asia that are involved (Gilbert & Banik, 2012).

Like most of the South Asian countries, Bangladesh has a relatively high density railway

network. Although the total length of railway lines in the country has increased over the years,

missing links in critical areas mean that the potential economic gains from using the network as a

continuous system remain unutilised. For example, progress in the construction of the Dohazari-

Gundum railway line, which is part of the TAR, has been significantly behind time. It has been

estimated that even in the best case scenario, only 26.3 per cent of the railway line could be

completed by June 2019 even though the time period of the project is from 2010 to 2022 (CPD,

2018a). Other missing links beyond the national boundaries in the TAR are also affecting

Bangladesh. For example, missing railway links between Kalay-Jiribam in Myanmar and India,

and between Lashio-Dali in Myanmar and China are depriving Bangladesh of greater railway

connectivity with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and China

(UNESCAP, 2019). Bangladesh also stands to gain from increased railway connectivity with India.

For instance, at least 3 weeks of transportation time could be reduced if containers could be carried

from Dhaka to Delhi directly through railways instead of taking the maritime route (Rahmatullah,

2009).

Lack of adequate seaport facilities have stifled the economic growth of Bangladesh,

reduced the competitiveness of its exports, and hampered its connectivity with its South Asian

neighbours and the rest of the world. The average turnaround time at Chittagong seaport was 3.23

days in 2012, compared to the South Asian average of 2.08 days (Dappe & Suarez-Aleman, 2016).

In 2018 Bangladesh ranked at 150 out of 156 countries in the world, in terms of median time spent

at seaports by container ships (UNCTAD, 2019). If the seaport facilities in Bangladesh were as


April 2021

53

efficient as those in Sri Lanka, then Bangladesh’s exports to the United States could increase by

0.5 per cent (Dappe & Suarez-Aleman, 2016). Bangladesh has not built any new seaport after its

independence and since it does not have any deep-sea port of its own, it must use smaller vessels

to get cargo in and out which can cost an additional USD 15,000 per day (Pearson, 2015). 11

In 2016, electricity shortage in Bangladesh caused losses equivalent to 5 per cent of GDP

(Zhang, 2019). It has been shown that a 10 per cent electricity shortage decreases the productivity

of firms by 4.8 per cent in the manufacturing sector and by 5.3 per cent in the services sector

(Zhang, 2019). Bangladesh is endowed with around 10 per cent of South Asia’s natural gas

(SAARC Energy Centre, 2017) (World Energy Council, 2016), which explains why almost 99 per

cent of its electricity production was from combustible fuels and only 1 per cent was from

renewable sources in 2016 (ADB, 2019). Hence, there is a need to make Bangladesh’s energy mix

more environment-friendly in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate

change. In this regard, Bangladesh has much to learn from its South Asian neighbours. For

instance, Bhutan and Nepal, which collectively have around 22 per cent of South Asia’s

hydropower potential (SAARC Energy Centre, 2017) (World Energy Council, 2016), produce

almost all of their electricity from renewable sources (ADB, 2019). Although Bhutan exports

nearly 20 per cent of its electricity (ADB, 2019), Bangladesh has yet to start its import from the

country. With the potential of being able to shift its import basket to cleaner fuel sources such as

through greater hydropower imports from Bhutan, Bangladesh can positively affect the

environmental sustainability in South Asia through reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Institutional connectivity refers to the harmonisation and coordination of institutions

across countries. The SAARC Development Fund, SAARC Agriculture Centre SAARC Food

Bank and SAARC Forestry Centre are some of the initiatives for improving institutional

connectivity in South Asia.

The SAARC Food Bank, which was set up in 2007, was intended to act as a regional food

security reserve, provide regional support to national food security efforts, foster country

partnerships and regional integration, and solve regional food shortages through collective action

(Rahman, Bari, & Farin, 2017). The SAARC Food Bank initially started with a reserve of 243,000

metric tonnes, where Bangladesh’s contribution was 40,000 metric tonnes, which was 16.5 per

cent of the total (Rahman, Bari, & Farin, 2017).. In 2011, each of the SAARC countries doubled

their SAARC Food Bank reserve commitments (Rahman, Bari, & Farin, 2017). Food security is a

development priority for a land scarce, over-populated country like Bangladesh, which is highly

11 Bangladesh’s efforts to build a deep-sea port at Sonadia with the support of China was blockaded by political

pressure from India, Japan and USA (Shepard, 2016) (Mooney, 2016) (Islam M. , 2019) (Rahman A. , 2019). If

Bangladesh went ahead with the project as initially planned, then by 2020 the first phase would be complete and

Sonadia deep-sea port would be capable of handling 74.1 million tonnes of cargo per year (Saha, 2010), which is more

than the amount of cargo handled by Chittagong port in 2016-17 (Chittagong Port Authority, 2019).


April 2021

vulnerable to climate change and often affected by natural disasters. Therefore, Bangladesh’s

membership in a regional food security support mechanism such as the SAARC Food Bank may

be beneficial for the country since it provides a means of emergency food supply. Apart from its

involvement in the SAARC Food Bank, Bangladesh also imports food grains from South Asian

countries such as India and Pakistan. In 2014, Bangladesh imported 873,884 tonnes of rice and

1,338,106 tonnes of wheat from India (Rahman, Bari, & Farin, 2017).

Bangladesh is a riverine country, and 54 out its 57 trans-boundary rivers are shared with

India (Joint Rivers Commission, 2019). Since India has not ratified the Convention on the Law of

the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (United Nations, 1997), it is critical for

Bangladesh as a lower riparian country to continue negotiations on river sharing with India, and

also with other upper riparian countries in the region, to protect its national interests, address

adverse socio-economic and environmental damages related to this and achieve the SDGs.

For instance, studies have shown that the gains from multilateral cooperation on the

development and utilisation of water in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin could be mutually

beneficial for all the co-riparian countries and the total gains from such cooperation would exceed

the gains possible through separate bilateral cooperation between the countries (Ahmad, Verghese,

Iyer, Pradhan, & Malla, 1994) (Adhikary, et al., 2000) (Ahmad, Ahmed, Khan, & Rasheed, 2001).

Therefore, regional cooperation that includes all the riparian countries, namely Bangladesh,

Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, is required to adopt a ‘whole of river basin’ approach to address

the longstanding issues related to trans-boundary rivers in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna

basin. Such regional cooperation is urgently required since the cost of non-cooperation is high for

each country and the region as a whole (Ahmad & Ahmed, 2005) and nearly all South Asian

countries will have areas under serious and life-threatening water stress by 2025 (Office of the

Director of National Intelligence, 2012) (Huda, 2017). Regional cooperation on water related

issues in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin would be conducive towards the achievement of

almost every target under SDG 6 (ensure availability and sustainable management of water and

sanitation for all), as well as several other targets under a number of other SDGs, for all the

countries in South Asia.

Knowledge connectivity refers to the transfer of technology and sharing of best practices.

South Asian institutional arrangements such as Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS),

South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation Information Highway (SASEC IH), Centre for

Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA), Centre for Sustainable

Agricultural Mechanisation (CASM), Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning System

(RIMES) and Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management

(APDIM) can enhance knowledge connectivity within South Asia. There is immense scope for

regional cooperation in South Asia based on knowledge connectivity in several key areas, such as

digital connectivity, disaster risk reduction and counter-terrorism.


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55

South Asia had the lowest internet penetration among the regions of the world in 2017

(Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2017). Within the South Asian countries, Bangladesh’s internet

penetration was among the lowest in 2017 and its growth of internet penetration during 2010-2016

was also the slowest (ITU, 2017). Bangladesh is connected to only two submarine cables, which

is the lowest number in the Bay of Bengal region (Chatterjee, 2020). As a result, the country cannot

meet its internet bandwidth demand and imports bandwidth from India (Husain , 2017). Research

has shown that for the years 2011-2017, in a sample of 18 Asia-Pacific countries including

Bangladesh, a 10 per cent increase in fixed broadband penetration leads to 1.63 per cent increase

in GDP per capita, on average (ITU, 2019). On the other hand, for the years 2011-2017, in a sample

of 24 Asia-Pacific countries including Bangladesh, a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband

penetration leads to 0.51 per cent increase in GDP per capita, on average (ITU, 2019).

Unfortunately, there is a widening digital divide among the countries of the Asia-Pacific region

when it comes to broadband internet penetration (UNESCAP, 2017). Weak fibre-optic

connectivity has contributed to bandwidth inequality, low capacity, high cost and unreliability of

broadband internet in South Asia and has limited the region’s economic growth, social

development and inclusiveness (UNESCAP, 2016a).

In view of this digital divide, the AP-IS launched by UNESCAP member countries in 2015

presents an opportunity for the countries of South Asia to collaborate among themselves to realise

the economic gains from increased internet coverage, speed and stability.12 The AP-IS Regional

Cooperation Framework Document outlines several areas of cooperation among countries, which

include : i) identifying, coordinating, deploying, expanding and integrating the regional backbone

network; ii) establishing a sufficient number of internet exchange points (IXPs); iii) conducting

regional social and economic studies; iv) enhancing ICT infrastructure resilience; v) designing and

streamlining ICT-related regulations and policy frameworks; vi) building capacity; and vii)

developing funding mechanisms based on public-private partnerships (UNESCAP, 2016b). Such

cooperation will be conducive towards the achievement of various SDG targets across several

Goals.13

12 The AP-IS project aims to increase the access, availability and affordability of broadband Internet in Asia and the

Pacific, through improving the region's existing internet infrastructure across four pillars: i) physical infrastructure

development; ii) internet traffic and network management; iii) promoting e-resilience and iv) broadband for all

(UNESCAP, 2016a). 13 Specific SDG targets include SDG target 4.4 (by 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who

have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship),

SDG target 5.b (enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology,

to promote the empowerment of women), SDG Target 9.c (significantly increase access to information and

communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed

countries by 2020), SDG target 17.6 (enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international

cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed

terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level,

and through a global technology facilitation mechanism), and SDG target 17.8 (fully operationalize the technology


April 2021

In the face of increased vulnerability to natural disasters faced by South Asian countries

due to anthropogenic climate change, the countries in South Asia and larger Asia and the Pacific

region realised that regional cooperation through improved knowledge connectivity would be

crucial for disaster risk reduction. In this context, the APDIM was established by the UNESCAP

member countries in 2015, to reinforce disaster resilience through knowledge sharing (APDIM,

2020). In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, several countries in South and South

East Asia and Africa came together to form the RIMES for Africa and Asia. The RIMES generates

early warning information on multiple hazards and communicates this information to its member

countries (RIMES, 2020). Regional cooperation through such knowledge connectivity may be

conducive towards the accomplishment of several SDG targets. 14

Countries of South Asia can share knowledge and coordinate among themselves to fight

terrorism in the region. During 1970 to 2017, 24.75 per cent of all terrorist incidents and 24.60 per

cent of all fatalities from terrorism occurred in South Asia, making it the most dangerous and

deadly region in the world, after the Middle East and North Africa (START, 2018). In South Asia,

the perception of terrorism as a common security threat is yet to evolve (Wolf & Casaca, 2014).

Research has shown that there exists a strategic rationale for international cooperation for counter-

terrorism, and by sharing intelligence and security resources amongst themselves, countries may

be better prepared to face security threats such as terrorism and extremism (Saadat, 2020).

4.3 Towards a model of regional cooperation

In order to address the seven policy priorities as identified for South Asia and to

successfully implement the SDGs, a Five-connectivity Model of Regional Cooperation can be

proposed s (Rahman M. , 2018) (UNESCAP, 2018a) (UNESCAP, 2018b). Figure 18 shows that

the outermost pentagon on the model contains the seven regional priorities for South Asia.

bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and

enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology). 14 These targets include SDG target 1.5 (by 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations

and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and

environmental shocks and disasters), SDG target 2.4 (by 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and

implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems,

that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and

that progressively improve land and soil quality), SDG target 3.d (strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular

developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks), SDG

target 11.5 (by 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially

decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-

related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations), SDG target 11.b (by 2020,

substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and

plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and

develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster

risk management at all levels), SDG target 13.1 (strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards

and natural disasters in all countries), and SDG target 13.3 (improve education, awareness-raising and human and

institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning).


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57

Following this, the next pentagon contains the regional institutions that need to be utilised for

addressing the seven priorities. The next pentagon, which forms the heart of the model, shows the

five kinds of connectivity that will act as regional instruments deployed by the corresponding

regional institutions. The inner-most pentagon shows the relevant SDGs that can be achieved

through the respective regional institutions and regional instruments. Finally, at the very centre of

the model sits SDG 17 which will be the core SDG for such a regional framework. Using the Five-

connectivity Model of Regional Cooperation, it is possible to address all the seven regional

priorities facing South Asia, as well as expedite the implementation of all 17 SDGs. Given the

interconnected and indivisible nature of the SDGs, the Five-connectivity model inherently has

some spillovers between the SDGs, along with inter-linkages between the different kinds of

connectivity. For instance, improving transport connectivity could lead to an improvement in trade

connectivity.

Figure 18: Five-connectivity model of regional cooperation for South Asia

Source: Authors’ illustration based on (Rahman, 2018), (UNESCAP, 2018a; 2018b).

SDG 1, 3, 4,

8, 10, 16

SDG 17

Employment, infrastructure, education, health,

social protection & inclusion

ACU, SARSO, SACEP,

ADB, AIIB

Investment

connectivity


April 2021

Addressing existing problems and realizing SDGs in South Asia requires effective

international coordination, and setting up a framework for regional monitoring and review

(Bhattacharya & Rezbana, 2016a). An efficient regional monitoring and evaluation system will

promote the progress of SDGs at both the national and regional levels by guiding the process of

development policy making, raising accountability and increasing participation. SAARC has the

option to scale-up the regional approach to SDGs by considering an integrated implementation

strategy, and a framework for regional evaluation and follow-up (Bhattacharya & Rezbana,

2016a). In this context, a Group of Eminent Persons, as well as other expert groups and

committees, may be established by SAARC to monitor and review SDG progress and recommend

policies for more effective and efficient implementation (Bhattacharya & Rezbana, 2016a).

Bhattacharya and Rezbana (2016b) outline the various approaches and modalities that could

facilitate regional cooperation and support the delivery of the SDGs in South Asia. Table 11 shows

these approaches and modalities, in light of the proposed Five Connectivity Model of Regional

Cooperation for South Asia.

Table 11: Approaches and modalities to operationalise the five connectivity model of regional

cooperation for South Asia

SDG Approaches and modalities Type of

connectivity

1 Improving the efficiency of existing SAARC poverty alleviation projects and the

SAARC Development Fund

Institutional

Strengthening economic integration by extending regional arrangements such as

South Asian Free Trade Area and South Asia Trade in Services Agreement

Trade

2 Ensuring efficient use of SAARC Food Bank and SAARC Seed Bank Institutional

Utilising regional expertise on agricultural technologies Knowledge

Removing roadblocks to free trade, and liberalising trade in food grains Trade

3 Using regional research and technology support for the fighting against infectious

diseases

Knowledge

Initiating regional awareness-raising programmes Knowledge

4 Making institutions such as the South Asian University stronger Knowledge

Providing more scholarships and exchanges for students Knowledge

5 Facilitating cross-border collaborations between civil society organizations, via

SAARC

Institutional

Raising awareness on gender-related issues across the region Knowledge

6 Beginning multilateral, multi-track and multi-stakeholder “whole of basin”

cooperation for water resources management and river sharing and establishing a

Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin Joint Commission consisting of all riparian

countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal

Institutional

7 Communicating latest information and best practices in renewable energy, energy

conservation and efficient use of energy

Knowledge

Creating a regional energy grid, encouraging energy trade and building cross-border

pipelines

Trade,

investment

8 Discussing national macroeconomic policies for the greater good of the region Knowledge

Reforming business rules to promote cross-border investment within a system of

mutual cooperation to improve intra-regional trade

Investment,

trade

9 Coordinating regional infrastructural investment to enhance transport connectivity Transport,

investment


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59

SDG Approaches and modalities Type of

connectivity

Harmonising rules and regulations across the region to improve transport, trade and

investment connectivity

Transport,

trade,

investment

10 Increasing regional coordination on trade and investment to provide opportunities for

left-behind groups and address rising inequalities

Trade,

investment

Transitioning towards South Asian economic union to in order to bring backward

areas at par with the region as a whole

Trade,

investment,

institutional

11 Addressing intra-regional migration across South Asia through coordination at

SAARC

Transport,

institutional

12 Exchanging information and ideas on sustainable production and consumption, as

well as frugal innovations

Knowledge

13 Pooling resources for disaster risk reduction and disaster relief Institutional

Enhancing knowledge sharing through regional early warning systems reduce loss of

lives from natural disasters

Knowledge

14 Cooperate and coordinate across the region to ensure sustainable use of marine

resources in the Bay of Bengal

Institutional

15 Implementing regional strategies to preserve biodiversity, protect critically

endangered species and prevent exploitation of rivers

Institutional

16 Sharing intelligence and security resources across countries to fight the common

threat of terrorism

Knowledge

17 Designing a regional monitoring and review mechanism to track the progress of SDG

implementation in countries across the region

All

Raising the level and frequency of involvement and cooperation in regional

organisations

All

Source: Authors’ compilation based on information from Bhattacharya and Rezbana (2016b)

As can be seen, the regional institutions and instruments required to address the regional

priorities and achieve the SDGs already exist for South Asia. Unfortunately, not a single proper

SAARC summit has been held since the beginning of the SDG era, reflective of the difficult

political situation in South Asia which can stall the implementation of SDGs nationally and at the

regional level. Lack of regional cooperation in implementing, monitoring and reviewing the MDGs

was one of the prime reasons behind its slow progress and incomplete fulfilment (Bhattacharya &

Rezbana, 2016b). Thus, unless the countries of South Asia can set aside their differences and work

together to address common priorities, the SDGs may not be achieved in South Asia by 2030. As

the founding member of SAARC, Bangladesh can play an important role in reviving regional

dialogue in South Asia through prudent diplomacy and a multilateral, inclusive approach to the

discussions by engaging countries in South Asia and beyond.

5. COVID-19 and the SDGs in Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started off as a public health emergency, has rapidly

escalated all over the world and evolved into the most devastating human crisis of recent times.

COVID-19 has substantially disrupted the implementation of most SDG targets, deviating the

progress of some and completely reversing many development accomplishments that took decades


April 2021

to achieve. While all sectors of the economy and sections of the society have been affected by the

pandemic, the poorest and most vulnerable have been the hardest hit. As a result, those who were

already left behind have been pushed farther behind by COVID-19. Government efforts to tackle

the spread of the virus have involved a wide range of prohibitive measures such as increased

surveillance, physical distancing, contact tracing, business shutdowns, public transport

suspensions, border closures, travel bans, general holidays, lockdowns, curfews and fines and

imprisonment for violators of restrictions. Thus, the increase in economic inequalities and

concentration of economic power along with stringent, restrictive measures due to the COVID-19

pandemic will make it more difficult to realise the pledge of the SDGs to “leave no one behind”.

COVID-19 has bluntly exposed the weaknesses of healthcare systems around the world, even in

the most developed nations. It has brought to the forefront the systemic weaknesses of lack of

adequate public investments in health, human wellbeing and welfare, which severely constrained

the capacities of healthcare systems to deal with a crisis of such magnitude.15

5.1 Impact of COVID-19 on the progress of the SDGs in Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to push millions of people in Bangladesh into

poverty and aggravate inequalities, thus reversing the incremental progress made over several

decades in a matter of only few months. The economic slowdown and supply-chain disruptions

caused by the pandemic will worsen the extent of malnutrition and hunger for many people in

Bangladesh. Women and girls are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

due to a surge in domestic violence, additional care work owing to the closure of schools and day-

care centres and exposure on the front lines in fighting the virus. For Bangladesh, the socio-

economic fallout from COVID-19 will be multidimensional in nature and massive in magnitude.

Given the global context, this section assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress

of the SDGs in Bangladesh, based on available evidence.

5.1.1 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 1 (No poverty)

Simulations under a CGE modelling framework has shown that 11.73 million additional

people may be pushed below USD 1.90 per day in Bangladesh in 2020 due to the COVID-19

pandemic (UNESCAP, 2020a). This implies that the number of people living below USD 1.90 per

day will increase by 50.17 per cent in 2020 compared to 2016 and as many as 35.11 million people

or 20.95 per cent of the population may be living below USD 1.90 per day in 2020, compared to

only 14.80 per cent in 201616. Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)’s research has shown that

15 In contrast to public spending on human wellbeing and social welfare, global military spending in 2019 was

estimated to be USD 1,917 billion, which was equivalent to 2.2 per cent of global GDP or USD 249 per person (SIPRI,

2020). South Asia spent USD 88.1 billion on the military in 2019, which was 6.4 per cent higher than its military

spending in 2018 (SIPRI, 2020). 16 Authors’ calculations using data from World Development Indicators (World Bank, 2019b)


April 2021

61

negative shocks on household consumption due to COVID-19 in the range of 9 to 25 per cent may

lead to increase of national upper poverty rate from 24.3 per cent in 2016 to 35.0 per cent in 2020

(CPD, 2020b).

5.1.2 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 2 (Zero hunger)

The World Food Programme (WFP) has identified Bangladesh as one of the four South

Asian countries that are at high risk of food insecurity due to COVID-19, with 24.2 million people

facing chronic food insecurity and 1.3 million people facing acute food insecurity (Husain,

Sandstrom, Greb, Groder, & Pallanch, 2020). As much as 32 per cent of the rural households in

Bangladesh had to reduce their food consumption due to a deadly combination of high food prices

and low incomes (UNESCAP, 2020a). Since the start of the pandemic in Bangladesh, 41 per cent

of households below the national lower poverty line reduced their food consumption and the

number of households below the national lower poverty line that were having three meals per day

decreased by 25 per cent (Rahman & Matin, 2020). Moreover, even the vulnerable non-poor

households in Bangladesh had to reduce their per capita food expenditure by 23 per cent due to

COVID-19 (Rahman & Matin, 2020).

5.1.3 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 3 (Good health and wellbeing)

The existing healthcare infrastructure in Bangladesh was unprepared to deal with a crisis

of the magnitude of that of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2017, there was one hospital bed for

every 1,196 individuals in the country (BBS, 2019c). Apart from the lack of infrastructure and

equipment, healthcare facilities in Bangladesh were also not staffed with adequate numbers of

healthcare service providers. As of 2018, there was 1 registered physician for every 1,581

individuals in the country (BBS, 2019c). Among the healthcare facilities in Bangladesh, 28 per

cent had specialists17, 59.1 per cent had general practitioners18 and 79.7 per cent had nurses, as of

2017 (NIPORT, ACPR, and ICF, 2018).

COVID-19 may have adverse impacts on a number of indicators under SDG 3. It has been

estimated that COVID-19 may cause under five mortality to rise by 9.8 per cent to 44.8 per cent

per month and maternal mortality to increase by 8.3 per cent to 38.6 per cent per month over a

period of six months in 118 low and middle income countries (UN, 2020). The COVID-19

17 Specialist (consultant) medicine [including cardiology], specialist (consultant) general surgery, specialist

(consultant) obstetrics/gynaecology, specialist (consultant) paediatrics, specialist (consultant) psychiatry, specialist

(consultant) anaesthesia or any other specialist not listed above.

18 Medical officer (MBBS) (any non-specialist doctor, including assistant surgeon, emergency medical officer (EMO),

indoor medical officer (IMO), maternal and child health/family planning medical officer (MCH/FP), residential

medical officer (RMO), regardless of designation or title) or medical officer—anaesthetist or dental surgeon.


April 2021

pandemic has disrupted immunization campaigns worldwide and at least 24 million people remain

at risk of missing out on vaccinations for polio, measles, typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, rotavirus,

human papillomavirus, meningitis A and rubella in 21 lower-income countries (UN, 2020).

5.1.4 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 4 (Quality education)

In Bangladesh, school closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have left 40 million

students out of school for more than 6 months, as of September 2020 (Kamal, 2020). Since only

5.6 per cent of households in Bangladesh had a computer in 2019 (BBS & UNICEF, 2019), an

estimated 37.76 million students would not have access to online learning opportunities during the

pandemic19. Since school closures in March, only 25 per cent of children in rural areas of

Bangladesh have watched TV classes, while only 2 per cent of children in rural areas of

Bangladesh have watched online educational programmes (Asadullah, Bhattacharjee, Tasnim, &

Mumtahena, 2020). School closures due to COVID-19 have deprived 2.96 million children in

Bangladesh (WFP, 2020) and 379 million children worldwide (UN, 2020) from school meals,

which has adversely affected their health and made them more susceptible to disease.

5.1.5 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 5 (Gender equality)

In South Asia, 37 per cent of women reported suffering from domestic violence and in

Bangladesh 49 per cent of women and girls reported feeling safety and security risks since the

imposition of lockdowns and general holidays (UNESCAP, 2020a). In Bangladesh, 55 per cent of

women and 44 per cent men reported an increase in the time spent to do unpaid domestic work

while 58 per cent of women and 56 per cent of men reported an increase in the time spent to do

unpaid care work since the start of the pandemic (UN Women, 2020).

5.1.6 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation)

Frequently washing hands with running water and soap is widely acknowledged to the one

of the most cost-effective, simple and effective ways of curbing the transmission of the

coronavirus. Unfortunately, according to Bangladesh’s National Hygiene Survey 2018, only 15

per cent people were aware of need for washing hand using soap and water before feeding baby,

while around 36 per cent people were aware of need for washing hand using soap and water before

preparing or serving food- reflecting the poor general awareness about basic hygiene (BBS, 2020).

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh also faced the most prolonged

flooding in more than a decade. As of 14 August 2020, floods had inundated 33 districts of the

country, killing 44 individuals and affecting more than 5 million people (CPD, 2020a). The flood

19 Authors’ calculations using data from Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 (BBS & UNICEF, 2019)


April 2021

63

also damaged more than 1,900 schools (CPD, 2020a) leaving 807,467 children without access to

education (FloodList, 2020). One of the major reasons behind this, is Bangladesh’s inability to

operationalize SDG target 6.5, which calls upon countries to “implement integrated water

resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation”.

5.1.7 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy)

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the accessibility, affordability and

availability of sustainable energy is immensely important in order to ensure that healthcare services

can be provided efficiently and communication links can be maintained constantly. In Bangladesh,

the overall power sector reported an overcapacity rate of 62.5 per cent in March 2020 (Moazzem

& Shibly, 2020) due to a sharp fall in electricity demand as economic activities dwindled during

the pandemic. Such overcapacity not only represented a misallocation of resources, but also

created a huge fiscal and financial burden for the country.

5.1.8 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth)

Although the government has declared that the real GDP growth in fiscal year 2020 was

5.2 per cent (Kamal, 2020), several national and international organisations have projected much

lower figures. For example, as of June 2020, real GDP growth for Bangladesh in 2020 has been

estimated to be 1.6 per cent by the World Bank (World Bank, 2020a), 2.5 per cent by CPD (CPD,

2020b), and 3.8 per cent by IMF (IMF, 2020a). Earlier in April 2020, the World Bank had

forecasted that on a disaggregated level, real growth for the Bangladesh economy in 2020 will be

3.5 per cent for the agriculture sector, 2 per cent for the industry sector and 3.5 per cent for the

services sector (World Bank, 2020b). At this rate, the agriculture sector would create 0.10 million

more jobs, whereas the industry and services sectors would create 0.21 million and 0.9 million less

jobs respectively, compared to 2018-19, assuming that employment to GDP elasticity would

remain equal to that between 2015-16 and 2016-17 and the level of employment would be equal

to that in 2016-17 (Table 12). This suggests that the economic slowdown caused due to COVID-

19 may reduce employment in services and industry sectors, but create jobs in the agriculture

sector, which would reverse decades of gradual structural transformation and stall the development

of the economy. As of April 2020, 71 per cent of urban slum dwellers and 55 per cent of the rural

poor in Bangladesh had no jobs due to COVID-19 (Rahman & Matin, 2020).


April 2021

Table 12: Potential number of jobs lost (in million) due to slower economic growth under different

economic growth scenarios

Scenario Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3

Assumed

growth

World Bank forecasted

economic growth for 2020





Agriculture -0.10 -0.19 -0.19

Industry 0.21 0.18 0.13

Services 0.90 1.20 1.14

Source: CPD compilation and calculations using data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and World Bank

(BBS, 2019a) (BBS, 2018) (World Bank, 2020b)

Note: i) 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑗𝑜𝑏𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 = (𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑗𝑜𝑏𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 2018 −

19) − (𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑗𝑜𝑏𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑡ℎ); ii) Negative potential number of jobs lost

indicates potential jobs created; iii) Assuming that employment to GDP elasticity is equal to that between

2015-16 and 2016-17; iv) Assuming that level of employment equal to that in 2016-17

5.1.9 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure)

Manufacturing in Bangladesh has also taken a blow since the start of the pandemic, which

has led to serious repercussions throughout the economy. United Nations Department of Economic

and Social Affairs (UNDESA) estimates indicate that Bangladesh’s RMG exports in April 2020

fell by 80 per cent compared to April 2019, and 1 million RMG workers, who were largely women,

were either fired or furloughed (UNDESA, 2020). Bangladesh’s RMG export orders valued at

more than USD 3 billion were cancelled due to the pandemic (UNESCAP, 2020a). On 22 March

2020, US clothing retailing giant Kohl cancelled orders worth USD 50 million from Bangladeshi

garment factories, but then paid out USD 109 million in dividends to its shareholders on 1 April

2020 (McNamara, 2020). Consequently, Vietnam overtook Bangladesh and became the second

largest exporter of RMG in the world in 2020 (Uddin, 2020). Estimates suggest that COVID-19

may cause losses equivalent to USD 302 billion to 400 billion for airlines around the world in 2020

(UN, 2020). Airlines in Bangladesh suffered from losses equivalent to BDT 13.61 billion in March

and April 2020, due to suspension of flights amidst the pandemic (Hoque, 2020).

5.1.10 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities)

CPD’s research has shown that negative shocks on household consumption due to COVID-

19 in the range of 9 to 25 per cent may lead to increase in Gini coefficient of income inequality in

Bangladesh from 0.48 in 2016 to 0.52 in 2020 (CPD, 2020b). Rapid response telephonic surveys

have shown that between February and April 2020, households below the national lower poverty

line experienced a 73 per cent fall in income, households below the national upper poverty line

experienced a 75 per cent fall in income and vulnerable non-poor households experienced a 66 per

cent fall in income (Rahman & Matin, 2020).


April 2021

65

COVID-19 has exacerbated the existing inequities in access to healthcare in Bangladesh.

As of 30 June 2020, six out of the top ten poorest districts of Bangladesh did not have any COVID-

19 testing centres (Rahaman, Mahmud, & Mallick, 2020). COVID-19 may worsen the

repercussions of the digital divide, especially in terms of access to learning opportunities. In 2019,

only 0.4 per cent of households from the poorest wealth index quintile in Bangladesh had a

computer, compared to 21 per cent of households from the richest wealth index quintile who had

a computer (BBS & UNICEF, 2019).

5.1.11 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)

Since Bangladesh has one of the highest proportion of urban population living in slums in

South Asia (UNESCAP, 2020a), it must remain especially vigilant to ensure that the coronavirus

does not strike in the slum areas and then spread like wildfire. As many people were forced to

remain indoors for prolonged periods of time due to lockdowns, the importance of having inclusive

and accessible green open spaces in cities has resurfaced (SDG target 11.7). Unfortunately Dhaka

has only 8.5 per cent tree-covered land and only 0.0002 metres squared of green park per capita,

whereas ideally a city should have 20 per cent tree-covered land and 9 metres squared of green

park per capita (Rahman & Zhang, 2018).

5.1.12 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production)

COVID-19 has led to a surge in unsustainable production of single use plastics and

synthetic materials which have been utilised for making personal protective equipment (PPE) such

as body suits, masks and face shields. Between 26 March 2020 and 25 April 2020, around 14,165

tonnes of single use plastic waste was generated in Bangladesh, which included 455 million

surgical masks, 1,216 million polyethene hand gloves, 189 million surgical hand gloves and 49

million bottles of hand sanitizer (ESDO, 2020).

5.1.13 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 13 (Climate action)

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused a precipitous fall in economic activity which

has subsequently led to a decline in greenhouse gas emissions. Satellite data for Bangladesh has

shown that between 1 February 2020 and 30 May 2020, the average concentration of nitrogen

dioxide fell by 40 per cent and the average concentration of sulphur dioxide fell by 43 per cent,

compared to the same time period in 2019 (Islam, Tusher, Roy, & Rahman, 2020). But the decrease

in pollution due to lockdowns in 2020 would have only a limited effect without more reductions

in emissions year-on-year (Betts, et al., 2020).


April 2021

In the midst of the pandemic, climate vulnerable populations became more vulnerable due

to COVID-19 and their ability to absorb shocks was compromised. On 20 May 2020, Super

Cyclonic Storm Amphan hit 19 southern districts of Bangladesh, killing 26 people and affecting

2.6 million others (NAWG, 2020). Primary estimates suggest that the economic loss due to

Amphan would be equivalent to at least BDT 11 billion (or approximately 130 million USD) (Roy,

Hasan, & Alamgir, 2020).

5.1.14 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 14 (Life below water)

Lockdown restrictions, fall in incomes, fear of wet fish markets and limited opening market

opening hours have halved the demand for fish in urban areas of Bangladesh, which has affected

more than 5 million households which depend on aquaculture production as the source of their

livelihood (FAO & WorldFish, 2020). Nevertheless, the slowdown in economic activity due to the

pandemic has provided a rare opportunity for aquatic life to recover from anthropogenic damage

and disturbance. In Bangladesh, endangered species of fish, such as the Bengal loach, have been

caught in large numbers in 2020 after more than a decade (Deshwara, 2020).

5.1.15 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 15 (Life on land)

In Bangladesh, 31,172 wild animals, birds and reptiles were seized between July 2012 and

October 2019, and the illegal wildlife trafficking market is worth around BDT 100 million

(approximately USD 1,178,812) per year (Chowdhury, 2020). With increased demand for

pangolins from Bangladesh, between 2010 and 2014 pangolins were virtually eradicated from the

Chittagong Hill Tracts (Trageser, et al., 2017). As of January 2016, one kilogram of pangolin

scales were sold for as much as USD 500 in Bangladesh (Trageser, et al., 2017)..

5.1.16 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions

Emergency circumstances such as during the ongoing pandemic, may provide a conducive

environment for vested interests to exploit public funding for private benefit, making it important

to consider and minimize vulnerabilities to abuse and misuse (Wendling, Alonso, Saxena, Tang,

& Verdugo, 2020). The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has warned that fraudulent claims on

government stimulus funds may be made by individuals presenting themselves as legitimate

companies seeking assistance (FATF, 2020). Hence, the pandemic will make it harder for countries

like Bangladesh to achieve SDG target 16.5, which calls upon countries to “substantially reduce

corruption and bribery in all their forms”.


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67

5.1.17 Impact of COVID-19 on SDG 17 (Partnership for the goals)

As international trade tumbles in the aftermath of the coronavirus contagion, countries like

Bangladesh will experience the after-effects. For example, according to UNCTAD, a 2 per cent

reduction in China’s exports of intermediary goods to Bangladesh would decrease Bangladesh’s

exports by USD 16 million (UNCTAD, 2020). Remittances contribute to 12 per cent of the GDP

of Bangladesh and migrant workers constitute of 9 per cent of the total active workforce of

Bangladesh (Ali M. A., 2014) (BMET, 2020) (Karim., 2020) (Mannaan & Farhana, 2014). Around

13 million Bangladeshi migrant workers (MoEWOE, 2019) send back USD 15 billion per year on

average (BMET, 2020) (Mannaan & Farhana, 2014). As of 12 May 2020, 666,000 Bangladeshi

migrant workers were sent back home, and two million more were under the risk of deportation

(Noman, 2020). Around 87 per cent of the returnees had no source of income (Bangladesh Post,

2020) and were offered a meagre USD 60 one-time payment from the government (Karim, Islam,

& Talukder, 2020).

For LDCs such as Bangladesh, international support will play a vital role in responding to the

coronavirus pandemic. As of 20 September 2020, Bangladesh received 3,367.18 million USD in

bilateral funding, 37,857.29 million USD in government-to-government funding, 43,093.23

million USD in multilateral funding, 4.51 million USD in NGO and CSO funding, 611.90 million

USD in philanthropic funding and 3.90 million USD in private sector funding for COVID-19

(DEVEX, 2020). It has been estimated that “Bangladesh Inter-sectoral COVID-19 Response Plan

2020” will require 205.93 million USD in funding of which only 45.26 million USD or 22 per cent

was received till 29 September 2020 (FTS, 2020).

5.2 Measures taken by the government to counter the impacts of COVID-19

The government of Bangladesh has announced many forms of liquidity support and fiscal

stimulus for producers, exporters as well as small, medium and large factories and business

enterprises to boost the domestic economy and cope with the evolving COVID-19 scenario. Such

support and stimulus provides timely and much needed assistance in mitigating the repercussions

of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, such liquidity support will be channeled through the

banking sector which faces challenges such as high volume of non-performing loans (NPL), poor

governance, major scams, growing number of private commercial banks and restricted autonomy

of the Central Bank (CPD, 2018b).

5.2.1 Liquidity support offered by the government

As the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy in Bangladesh is becoming

apparent in several ways, the government has proposed a variety of relief packages for the affected


April 2021

both local and export-oriented businesses and vulnerable groups. These packages are meant to

boost public spending, expand social security net coverage and improve cash availability for the

immediate, medium, and long term. A summary of the COVID-19 relief packages announced by

the government are outlined in Table 14.

Bangladesh’s fiscal stimulus package is a meagre 19.28 per cent of its total COVID-19

relief funds or only 0.83 per cent of its GDP (Table 14), and falls far short of the 11 per cent of

GDP that is estimated to be required to mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19

(UNESCAP, 2020a). Although the liquidity support and fiscal stimulus packages for COVID-19

began to be announced from 25 March 2020 onwards, even after more than six months, the pace

of fund disbursement appears to be slow. (Table 14).

Table 13: COVID-19 funds announced by the Government

Allocation Disbursement

Name of the Package Type In million

USDi

As share of

total

COVID

funding

As share of

GDPii

Share of

funds

disbursed

(in %)

Number of

recipients

Special fund for salary support

to export oriented

manufacturing industry workers

Liquidity

support 595 4.120 0.178 100 3,500,000

persons

Providing working capital

facilities for the affected large

industries and service sector

organizations

Liquidity

support 4,762 32.962 1.426 71iii

2,549iii

entities and

1,500,000ii

persons

Providing working capital

facilities to small (including

cottage industries) and medium

enterprises

Liquidity

support 2,381 16.481 0.713 32iii

41,069iii

persons

(94% male;

6% female)

To increase the facilities of

Export Development Fund

introduced by Bangladesh Bank

Liquidity

support 1,518 10.507 0.454 81iii 2,379iii

entities

Pre-shipment Credit Refinance

Scheme

Liquidity

support 595 4.120 0.178 1 9 persons

Agricultural Refinancing

Scheme

Liquidity

support 595 4.120 0.178 45iii

89,934iii

persons

Refinancing scheme for low-

income farmers and small

traders

Liquidity

support

357 2.472 0.107 22iii

1,00,227iii

persons

(6% male;

94%

female)

Creation of jobs through loans

(through Village Savings Bank,

Employment Bank, Expatriates’

Welfare Bank and Palli Karma

Sahayak Foundation)

Liquidity

support

381 2.637 0.114 31iv N/A

Government subsidy for interest

waiver of deferred bank loans

for the month of April-

May/2020

Liquidity

support 238 1.648 0.071 N/A N/A

Credit gurantee scheme for

small and medium enterprises

sector

Liquidity

support 238 1.648 0.071 N/A N/A

Total liquidity support

11,660 80.715 3.491


April 2021

69

Allocation Disbursement

Name of the Package Type In million

USDi

As share of

total

COVID

funding

As share of

GDPii

Share of

funds

disbursed

(in %)

Number of

recipients

Special honorarium to doctors,

nurses and health workers

Fiscal

stimulus 12 0.082 0.004 N/A N/A

Health insurance and life

insurance

Fiscal

stimulus 89 0.618 0.027 2v

42v persons

(41 male; 1

female)

Distribution of free food items Fiscal

stimulus

298 2.060 0.089 43vi

2,34.00,000v

i households

(70% male-

headed;

30%

female-

headed)

Distribution of rice at the rate of

BDT 10 per kilogram

Fiscal

stimulus 92 0.635 0.027 100 N/A

Distribution of cash among the

targeted population

Fiscal

stimulus

150 1.037 0.045 70vii

34,97,353vii

households

(75% male-

headed;

25%

female-

headed)

Increase the coverage of the

allowance programmes

Fiscal

stimulus 97 0.672 0.029 3viii

156,218viii

persons

Construction of houses for

homeless people

Fiscal

stimulus

254 1.755 0.076 N/A

9,039

households

(62% male-

headed;

38%

female-

headed)

Procurement of Boro paddy/rice

(additional 0.2 million metric

tonnes)

Fiscal

stimulus 102 0.709 0.031 N/A N/A

Support for farm mechanization Fiscal

stimulus 383 2.653 0.115 5 N/A

Agricultural subsidies Fiscal

stimulus 1,131 7.828 0.339 76vii N/A

Social safety net programme for

unemployed and poor workers

of export-oriented ready-made

garments, leather and footwear

sectors

Fiscal

stimulus

179 1.236 0.053 N/A N/A

Total fiscal stimulus

2,786 19.285 0.834

Total COVID-19 funding

14,446 100 4.325

Source: Authors’ compilation based on data from the Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh

(MoF, 2020) .

Note: i) Assuming an exchange rate of USD 1 equal to BDT 84, as per national budget documents of

FY2021; ii) Assuming that GDP is equal to USD 334,000 million, as per the GDP for FY2020 in the

national budget documents of FY2021; iii) Till 31 October 2020; iv) Till 7 August 2020; v) Till 4

November 2020; vi) Till 30 September 2020; vii) Till October 2020; viii) Till June 2020; xi) N/A implies

no data was available at the time of writing.


April 2021

5.2.2 Challenges in implementing COVID-19 support packages

More than 82 per cent of Bangladesh's COVID-19 related funds constitute of repayable

loan (Table 14). Therefore, banks are expected to play a central in the operationalization of the

COVID-19 related liquidity support packages announced by the government. However, what

remains to be seen is whether the commercial banks, who are supposed to be the providers of more

than BDT 500 billion of liquidity support (Haque, 2020), have adequate liquidity themselves. The

liquidity crisis may worsen if the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the economy and if

business activities diminish.

The varying speed of implementation of the various liquidity support packages has created

an unequal turnaround as bigger firms have rebounded more strongly, owing to quick access to

liquidity packages, while smaller firms have been left behind. In a “k” shaped economic recovery

curve, the COVID-19 recovery path splits in two directions: large firms and public-sector

institutions with direct access to government and central bank stimulus packages will make some

areas of the economy recover fast but leave behind small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),

blue-collar workers, and the dwindling middle class.

The transparency and accountability of Bangladesh’s COVID-19 stimulus plan will be the

key to its successful operationalization and implementation. Hence it is critical to make sure that

the beneficiaries are selected based on clear, objective and quantitative criteria and vested interests

are not allowed to intervene. Therefore, it is urgently required for the government and central bank

to design and implement appropriate transparency and accountability mechanisms for all the

COVID-19 related liquidity support packages and carry out continuous monitoring and evaluation

ensure that the funds are utilized properly.

5.3 Effect of COVID-19 on regional cooperation in South Asia: Areas of cooperation and a

shared future pathway

A number of longstanding issues in South Asia need to be revisited and resolved if the

region is serious about building back better after COVID-19. These include: i) low intra-regional

trade; ii) barriers to intra-regional investment; iii) poor transportation network connectivity; iv)

food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition; v) inequitable sharing of trans-boundary rivers; vi) low

internet penetration and unpreparedness for 4IR; vii) threat of natural disasters due to climate

change; viii) regional tensions from nuclear arms race; xi) security risks posed by terrorism. While

global trade and investment have fallen during the pandemic, the low levels of intra-regional trade,

the high barriers to intra-regional investment and poor transportation network connectivity have

made it difficult for the South Asian nations to make use of markets in their neighbouring

countries.


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71

In this regard, the previously mentioned Five Connectivity Model for Regional

Cooperation in South Asia could provide the broad framework for the countries of the region to

collaboratively chart out a shared future pathway. In the face of falling global trade, increased

trade connectivity within South Asia could keep exports afloat and protect the livelihoods of

workers. As the worldwide foreign investment landscape undergoes a reshuffling due to the

pandemic, the countries of South Asia could attract greater investment opportunities from both

within the region, as well as beyond the region, by improving their investment connectivity and

reducing barriers to doing business. Greater transport connectivity in South Asia would be

necessary in order maintain a steady supply of food, medicines and medical equipment during the

pandemic, and to lay the foundation for higher volume of trade and tourism after the pandemic.

South Asia already has the necessary institutions in place to take the region at a higher level of

cooperation and integration. The newly established SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund could

be utilised to partly provide basic support to those who have been pushed into poverty due to

COVID-19, in addition to using national resources. The SAARC Food Bank could be used to

ensure adequate food supply and reallocate food supply to impoverished regions.

In this regard, revisiting cooperation in the BCIM corridor could play a vital role in building

a stronger post-COVID South Asia, since improved infrastructure networks and increased

international trade would be mutually beneficial for all countries in the region. Coordinating

regional infrastructural investment in the BCIM corridor would enhance transport connectivity and

pave the way for harmonising rules and regulations across the region to improve transport, trade

and investment connectivity. Increased trade and investment, along with improved transport

connectivity would make it easier to create a regional energy grid, encourage energy trade and

build cross-border pipelines.

As COVID-19 is a completely new virus, it has brought along with it a new set of

challenges and a whole “new normal”. Therefore, the countries of South Asia need to maintain

high levels of knowledge connectivity so that data regarding new outbreaks, best practices in

clinical treatment protocols, knowledge regarding disaster risk reduction strategies, as well as

research related to the development of COVID-19 vaccines is shared rapidly among the countries

(SAARC Disaster Management Centre, 2020). Therefore, it is absolutely essential to collaborate

across the region to develop and distribute vaccines for COVID-19. Several Indian biotech

companies are working with various international vaccine developers and it is India’s moral duty

to share this vaccine at an affordable price to all the countries in South Asia on a “neighbourhood

first” priority basis.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has also presented the South Asian countries with

an opportunity to revisit their education systems and redesign their educational curricula so that it

is more suitable for online teaching and more compatible with the demands of the modern labour


April 2021

markets. Knowledge connectivity could also be harnessed to build computer literacy and digital

skills in order to prepare the people of South Asia for the fourth industrial revolution. With greater

knowledge connectivity, the South Asian nations could also join forces to create a regional

campaign to raise awareness on gender based violence against women which has surged amidst

the lockdowns.

Thus, if South Asian countries focus on strengthening these five connectivity, then not only

can they accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, but they can also reduce the adverse impacts of

the pandemic in the region. If the countries of South Asia integrate with each more closely and

harmonise their national macroeconomic policies for the greater good of the region, then it may

be possible to transition towards a South Asian economic union to in order to bring backward areas

at par with the region as a whole.

Nevertheless, it must be kept in mind that COVID-19 has delivered a deadly blow to South

Asia, and it is unlikely that any South Asian country, or even any country in the world, will be able

to achieve all of the SDGs by 2030. All LDCs across the world, including the South-Asian LDCs,

have experienced a rapid reversal of hard-earned development milestones due to the COVID-19

pandemic. In this context, the South Asian LDCs, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, should join

together along with other LDCs in the rest of the world in order to persuade the United Nations

Committee for Development Policy (UN-CDP) to defer the graduation process of all LDCs in the

upcoming triennial review in February 2021, in view of the damage done due to COVID-19. It is

evident that the significant setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic means that achieving the

SDGs by 2030 will be virtually impossible for any country. Therefore, the countries of South Asia

should call upon the UN to rethink the 2030 deadline for the SDGs and consider an extension till

2045 to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the UN.

6. Conclusion

Bangladesh has made commendable progress in implementing SDGs 1 (zero poverty), 3

(good health), 4 (quality education), 7 (clean energy) and 8 (decent work and economic growth)

and is well placed to achieve some of these SDG targets by 2030. Progress has been steady in

implementing SDGs 2 (zero hunger), 5 (gender equality), 6 (clean water and sanitation), 9

(industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities) and 17 (partnership for the goals),

and targets under these SDGs will require some policy intervention to steer them towards

achievement by 2030. However, Bangladesh is not performing well in case of SDGs 10 (reduced

inequalities), 12 (responsible production and consumption), 13 (climate action), 14 (life below

water), 15 (life on land) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). Achievement of these SDGs

by 2030 in Bangladesh will require radical policy changes and significant efforts from all involved

stakeholders. In terms of the three pillars of sustainable development, Bangladesh has made the

greatest progress in economic goals, whereas goals which are environmental and social have

showed little signs of improvement.


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73

Successful implementation of the SDGs is dependent on adequate alignment of policies

with the SDG targets. While the government of Bangladesh has attempted to align many targets

of the SDGs with the objectives of the 7th FYP, some important goals were excluded such as SDG

4 on quality education. Hence goals and targets which are not aligned yet, should be aligned with

national medium term policy such as the forthcoming 8th FYP and also with other sectoral plans.

The government should have a time-bound commitment in aligning the rest of the SDG targets

along with proper coordination of relevant ministries and divisions to expedite the process of SDG

implementation.

Strong institutional framework is a precondition for successful implementation of the

SDGs. Despite several measures taken by the government stronger inter- ministerial coordination

and monitoring is needed. Achievements on SDGs by various ministries and divisions should be

reported regularly in the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) format, which should be made

available to the public for feedback.

Domestic resource mobilisation must be improved to strengthen the means of

implementing the SDGs. More specifically, revenue-GDP ratio must be increased through

administrative reforms, efficiency measures and through digitization. At the same time, external

sources of finance such as ODA, FDI, South-South cooperation and other innovative sources such

as blended finance must also be leveraged to complement domestic resources. Along with financial

resources, effective technology transfer and increasing market access for Bangladeshi goods and

services into the markets of developed countries should be explored.

Progress on generating new and adequate data through surveys or from administrative

sources has been very limited. Capacities and resources allocated to national statistical

organisation such as the BBS and related organisations, must be strengthened to address the data

gaps on the SDGs. Availability of regular disaggregated data on the status of marginalised people

are crucial for undertaking measures towards improving their situation in the spirit of the theme of

the SDGs to “Leave No One Behind”.

Institutionalisation of partnership among various players for SDG implementation has not

happened. Engaging the private sector in SDG implementation is essential, in terms of financing

the SDGs and undertaking critical investments in SDG aligned sectors. The role played by the non-

state actors, including CSOs in SDG implementation must be acknowledged and encouraged.

Discussions on various dimensions of SDGs implementation should also be held among the law

makers and policy makers in the national parliament for greater transparency and accountability

on actions.


April 2021

Even though the SDGs are implemented nationally, for effective and complete

implementation of these global goals and targets, there is a strong rationale for cooperation among

South Asian countries. Given their common challenges and shared priorities, SDGs provide a

robust and neutral framework for greater South Asian cooperation for achieving inclusive, resilient

and sustainable development. Unfortunately, some of the existing South Asian institutional

mechanisms and subregional organizations for cooperation could not be successful due to lack of

political will and the current geo-political context. But issues such as climate change, clean energy,

infrastructure, and security have regional and global dimensions. Moreover, SDG 17 provides the

means of implementation which urges on partnerships including, through finance, trade and

technology. Regional cooperation underpinned by the proposed Five-Connectivity Model can

contribute towards SDG implementation in South Asia.

As COVID-19 poses a common threat to humanity and jeopardizes the achievement of the

SDGs, it is time for the countries in South Asia to set aside their differences and join forces in

solidarity for restoring global prosperity. In this context, there is no better framework for guiding

the international partnership for the post-pandemic recovery than the SDGs. The ambitious SDG

targets for transforming our world are more relevant now than ever before. Most countries which

are looking to build back better after the pandemic and plan for a green recovery are already aiming

for objectives which are well-aligned with the SDGs. Unfortunately, the significant setback caused

by the COVID-19 pandemic means that achieving the SDGs by 2030 will be virtually impossible

for any country. Therefore, the United Nations should rethink the 2030 deadline for the SDGs and

consider an extension till 2045 to coincide with the centenary of its founding.


April 2021

75

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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SDGs IN BANGLADESH: DOMESTIC