Category: Finance and Planning
Client: Government of Sri Lanka
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another.
The SDGs came into effect in January 2016, and they will continue to guide UNDP policy and funding for the next 15 years. As the lead UN development agency, UNDP is uniquely placed to help implement the Goals through our work in 170 countries and territories. UNDP provides support to governments to integrate the SDGs into their national development plans and policies. UNDP’s track record working across multiple goals provides us with valuable experience and proven policy expertise to ensure we all reach the targets set out in the SDGs by 2030. Achieving the SDGs requires the partnership of governments, private sector, civil society and citizens alike to ensure no one is left behind as we strive to achieve the Global Goals.
The Government of Sri Lanka anticipates achieving the SDGs by working towards the provision of basic needs of the people, progressive alleviation of poverty, elimination of all forms of discrimination and inequalities, and establishing a society based on social justice and human security.
Based on the request made by the Government of Sri Lanka through the Department of Census and Statistics, and following the request made by the UNSDF Driver Group on Data, Citra developed a prototype of an online data monitoring tool to track the data contributing to the SDGs. As a prototype, Citra worked with the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine and the World Health Organization (WHO) to collate data related to Goal 3. The completed and tested prototype of this Tracker was launched on the 7th of April at the World Health Day celebrations held at Colombo in the presence of dignitaries such as His Excellency the President, and Honourable Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the Global WHO Director General, and many others.
Following the successful completion of the prototype Citra was requested by other UN agencies to develop the Tracker for all 17 Goals, including its 169 targets and 250 indicators within 2 years.
The Tracker is currently housed with the Sustainable Development Council and is an effective tool to streamline the coordination of all initiatives contributing towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and will also provide data required to produce targeted and evidence-based development interventions to the pressing issues of Sri Lanka.
