Indicators related to peace, gender equality, rights showing downward trends: NPA
Reaffirming their dedication to sustainable development and inclusion Pakistan Development Alliance—AwazCDS-Pakistan, Asia Democracy Network (ADN), Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and Sightsavers International— hosted a National People’s Assembly (NPA) on the International Day of Democracy as well as 11th anniversary of Agenda 2030 for Social Transformation and Summit of the Future.
The NPA aimed to bring together civil society organizations, rights advocates and policymakers from across the country. The event served as a vital platform to assess Pakistan’s progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and align efforts with global calls for equity, inclusion, and sustainable development as the 2030 deadline approaches.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Zia Ur Rehman, CEO of AwazCDS-Pakistan, highlighted the importance of democracy, economic & gender equality for inclusive and sustainable development.
Pakistan is regressing in the sustainable development index from 129 in 2023 to 137 in 2024. Noticeable regression of 8 percentage points in just one year is highly alarming, he said. He further informed the participants that three goals, specifically SDG 4 (quality education), SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions) critically also fall behind and show downward trends in the global index. Pakistan spends less than 6.9pc of its total yearly budget on overall public sector development whereas Pakistan should spend more than 25% of its total yearly budget if we are serious in achieving our commitments under SDGs, he emphasized. Pakistan would again fail to achieve its global commitments especially SDGs if the public sector investment remained as low as of now, he warned.
MunazzaGillani, Director Pakistan and Middle East, Sightsavers has expressed her commitment to this and said, “At Sightsavers, we ensure that inclusivity and diversity remain at the forefront of every initiative we undertake because these issues impact everyone. Pakistan’s economy loses an estimated $3.2 billion due to the lack of engagement with people with disabilities, who make up 10-15% of our population, according to WHO. It’s time we join hands, and civil society plays a pivotal role in driving this change.” The first panel at the National Peoples’ Assembly, addressed issues such as Equity & Inclusion, Disability Rights, Child Rights, and Social Protection, featuring contributions from social leaders like Dr. Atif Sheikh (STEP), Syed IshtiaqUl Hassan Gilani (UGOOD), Muhammad AsimZafar (CBID-N) and SameenaNazir (PODA). Syed IshtiaqUl Hassan Gilani underscored the importance of enforcing child labor laws, stating, “There is no clear definition of a child’s age in Pakistan, as in many other countries, and it is crucial to define this age bracket uniformly in all our laws and policies.
