Key leaders and stakeholders in Sudurpashchim have called for urgent and coordinated efforts to bridge the financing gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
This call for action was made during a consultation organized jointly by UNDP and the Provincial Policy and Planning Commission, Sudurpashchim. The event witnessed robust engagement, with nearly the entire Cabinet of Ministers in attendance, including the Chief Minister, five Cabinet Ministers, the Principal Secretary, and high-ranking government officials.
Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, who presided over the consultation, stressed the critical importance of international support in bridging the substantial financing gap hindering the province’s progress towards the SDGs. He acknowledged the ambitious goals set by the province, including reducing the poverty rate, improving education, addressing climate change, and other key areas.
“We have only seven and a half years left to meet the SDGs. The resource gap should not deter us. We must maximize the use of allocated resources and advocate for our cause on international platforms. I call upon all stakeholders to join hands with Sudurpaschim Government, and I assure full government support.” — Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah
The consultation saw an active participation of over 125 representatives from various sectors, including government officials, civil society leaders, local government representatives, academic institutions, UN agencies, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), private sector entities, and members of the media.
As the halfway mark of the SDG journey approaches, the consultation was organized to assess the progress made thus far, identify ongoing challenges, and chart a course for achieving critical SDGs by 2030. Minister for Economic Affairs Naresh Kumar Shahi, Minister for Internal Affairs and Law Shiva Raj Bhatta, Minister for Social Justice Jhappad Bahadur Saud, Minister for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives Rameshwor Chaudhary were among the participants in the consultation.
Mohan Dev Bista, Vice Chair of the Province Policy and Planning Commission, expressed the province government’s commitment to incorporating the recommendations from the consultation into its policies and plans. He emphasized Sudurpaschim’s unique position, special needs and priorities.
“For Sudurpaschim, agriculture is the major priority, followed by tourism, infrastructure development and human resources development. We have adopted our five-year plan focusing our limited resources in these sectors, which are the primary drivers of our economic growth. I urge international development partners, including UN agencies to collaborate on a ‘special package program’ for the development of the Sudurpashchim province to help realize our vision outlined in our five-year plan,” said Bista.
Dharma Swarnakar, UNDP’s Economic Advisor, emphasized the central role of financing in achieving the SDGs and urged swift action by the government, private sector, and development partners to address the financing gap. “Besides addressing the financing gap, it is equally important to ehnance the government capacity to spend the available resources aligned with the SDGs,” he said. According to the SDG Costing and Financing Report published by the National Planning Commission, Nepal currently faces an annual financing gap of approximately US$ 5 billion, with infrastructure development and human resources identified as key priorities.
UNDP and other UN agencies, jointly with the National Planning Commission and Province Governments have been organizing a series of consultations across all provinces to take stock of the progress and chart out a strategy to accelerate the achievement of SDGs. The recommendations from provincial consultations will feed into a “national vision” to accelerate the SDGs in the next seven and half years. Once adopted by the Government, the national vision will also be presented at the global UN SDG Summit in New York in September.