Bangladesh ranked among top 3 countries for sustainable development

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh ranks as one of the top performers in a new report on sustainable development at a time when the global economy is languishing amid weak performances in most economic indicators.

According to the Sustainable Development Report – 2021 launched Monday by the Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN), the other two countries that have improved the most in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Index are Ivory Coast and Afghanistan.

“Before the [coronavirus] pandemic hit, significant progress had been achieved on the SDGs in many regions and on many goals – especially in East and South Asia, which has progressed more on the SDG Index than any other region,” the report said.

“At the national level, Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire and Afghanistan have improved the most on the SDGs Index since 2015,” it added.

The United Nations adopted the SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, in 2015 with a specific target of ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring peace and prosperity for all people across the world by 2030.

The 17 main global targets to achieve under the SDGs include no poverty; zero hunger; good health and wellbeing; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reducing inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; protection of life below water; ensuring sound and dignified life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions and developing partnership.

According to the report, Bangladesh is ranked 109th with an overall score of 63.5 in the 2021 SDG index, while Finland ranks first with a score of 85.9. The four other countries in the top five positions are Sweden (85.6), Denmark (84.9), Germany (82.5) and Belgium (82.2).

In South Asia, Bhutan (70) is in 75th position, Maldives (69.3) in 79th, Sri Lanka (68.1) 87th, Nepal (66.5) 96th, India (60.1) 120th, Pakistan (57.7) 129th and Afghanistan (53.9) 137th.

- Bangladesh’s main strength

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Abu Ahmed, professor of economics at Dhaka University, said the progress of Bangladesh has been possible mainly due to two factors, including the flow of remittances and continuation of exports.

He said that after the global coronavirus pandemic hit, all money sent by a huge number of Bangladeshi migrants abroad (nearly 10 million) has entered the country through proper channels instead of through illegal hundis or other paths.

A hundi is an informal channel for transferring money that is normally used to avoid government charges or fees.

Before the pandemic, Bangladeshi migrants frequently traveled back home, and very often they carried cash directly. But after the pandemic, most of them were forced to send money through proper government systems and as a result, the flow of remittances has increased.

According to a World Bank report, Bangladesh became the eighth largest remittance earner in the world as expats sent a record $21.75 billion in 2020, an increase of 18.4% from the previous year.

Ahmed said that with nine years left to achieve its SGDs, Bangladesh must pay attention to its human resources and main export sector, the readymade garment (RMG) industry.

Bangladesh’s Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal during the country's annual budget speech in early June this year also claimed that the country has been able to attain real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.2%, which is the highest in Asia.

Ahmed warned, however, that the pandemic might have further adverse impacts on the global economy in the future and it might also affect Bangladesh’s labor market abroad and RMG sector.

He urged the government to pay more attention in producing skilled manpower and strengthening all other potential sectors like jute, leather, medicine and frozen fish along with the RMG industry to address the coming challenges from the global pandemic.

According to another World Bank report released in April this year, Bangladesh’s poverty rate rose by 7.0 percentage points to 30% in the last fiscal year, mainly due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on the labor market and loss of jobs.

- First decrease of SDGs

Citing the global pandemic as a “setback” for sustainable development, the report said that “for the first time since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, the global average SDG Index score for 2020 has decreased from the previous year.”

It pointed out that the pandemic has impacted all three dimensions of sustainable development -- economic, social and environmental -- and marked it as “a decline driven to a large extent by increased poverty rates and unemployment following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The report said “the highest priority of every government must remain the suppression of the pandemic, through non-pharmaceutical interventions and global access to vaccines.”

Referring to the vulnerability of needy countries amid the pandemic, the report noted that “while the governments of high-income countries have borrowed heavily in response to the pandemic, low-income developing countries (LIDCs) have been unable to do so because of their lower market creditworthiness.”

The report, however, recommends four key ways to increase the fiscal space of the LIDCs that include improving global monetary management, notably improving liquidity for the LIDCs; improving tax collection supported by several global tax reforms; and increasing financial intermediation by the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to support long-term development financing and debt relief.

- Climate change needs simultaneous care

The report also warned that for the sustainable protection of the globe, the impacts of climate change must be addressed simultaneously along with the pandemic.

“Damages to ecosystems and nature may lead to the emergence of other zoonotic diseases and pathogens; possibly with a much higher case fatality rate next time,” it said.

“Climate change has already led to a sharp rise in natural disasters, including droughts, typhoons, the impact of rising sea levels, and heat waves,” it added.