Coming Soon: SDSN Pakistan
Pakistan ranks 126 out of 156 countries on SDSN’s SDG Index and is a priority country for action by the SDSN. Pakistan has several strong universities, many of them known for their engineering disciplines, crucial to promoting solution initiatives for some of the most critical challenges of the country. After working for several months with Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, the Network’s Strategy Council was thrilled to approve the establishment of a National SDSN in Pakistan, hosted by the Institute for Global Health and Development at the Aga Khan University.
As host, AKU’s Institute for Global Health and Development will be the home of SDSN Pakistan, working together nationwide with academia, think tanks, government, industry, and civil society. As a private university with a public purpose, AKU is empowered by its Chancellor to deliver on a mandate in close alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. AKU is a member of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a consortium of programs and institutions – most of which date back over 60 years, and some over 100 years. The University, with its AKDN partners, is working towards many of these same goals as laid out in September 2015 by the UN.
Pakistan’s commitment to the SDGs is firm. It was the first country to adopt Agenda 2030 through a unanimous resolution of the national Parliament. A dedicated SDGs Section operates at the federal level in the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives (MoP&SI) to monitor and coordinate investments and action. At the provincial level, Planning & Development Departments are working with UNDP under the federal government’s 5-year “Vision 2025” project to ensure governmental institutionalization of Agenda 2030.
Pakistan’s approach to the implementation of the SDGs is anchored in partnerships, which lends the planned SDSN Pakistan great promise. As its host, the Institute for Global Health and Development, in its own network of partnerships within AKU and the AKDN, will add sustained fuel to the implementation of Agenda 2030. Having undertaken a global evaluation of the implementation of health and health-related SDGs and a series of national consultations in 2018 and 2019, AKU is poised to help implement a strategy to facilitate civic society engagement with policy makers and help create national think tanks for oversight and accountability. A partnership with SDSN would be invaluable in this regard.
