Asia Pacific 32 years behind schedule in achieving sustainable development goals: UN
Areas that have shown substantial progress are eliminating poverty, and bolstering sustainable industry, innovation and infrastructure. Even so, steps taken so far are insufficient to meet the 2030 targets for both goals, the report said.
It attributed the sluggish performance to an unfavourable global environment.
Numerous economies have yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing conflicts, both within and outside the region, have also disrupted global supply chains, stoked inflation and created lingering uncertainty.
The report added that recalibrating domestic policies is crucial to meeting these challenges.
DATA COLLECTION
However, some success stories have emerged from the region in recent years, particularly in data collection and usage, said Ms Beaven.
“A lot of nations across the region are using much more detailed information on causes of death, such as to address maternal mortality, and looking at the specific causes to work out the best policies,” she said.
Still, she said there is a need to address data gaps that continue to hinder the comprehensive assessment of the goals’ progress.
“We don’t have enough data to be able to really identify what specific policies are needed within each individual country, which will also be very context-specific. We need much more detailed data (for better assessment),” she said.
“We want to invest in data systems because once we have that data, then we can identify which groups are being left behind most, and decide which policies are needed to help those groups.”
