4 November 2020 | Karachi – After launching in August 2020, Provincial Alliance on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Sindh (PASS) moved forward to sharpen the direction and roles played by this alliance for positive impact on SDGs localisation process through a quarterly meeting attended by 27 members including representatives of local government I/NGOs, youth, media, local council association, and UNDP in Sindh. Objective of the meeting was to finalise structure and action plan. Overall vision of PASS alliance is providing an inclusive platform to all stakeholders where public and private partnership will be promoted for localisation and implementation of SDGs.
Recommendations suggested throughout the discussion:
- Alliance should focus on any specific SDG as it is not possible to work on all 17 SDGs;
- The proposed alliance will be a parallel structure to the structures already working on SDGs implementation e.g. UNDP SDGs Support Unit etc.;
- Alliance may focus on any sector of SDGs i.e. economic, social or environment development;
- Alliance should focus only on civil society work on SDGs in different sectors development;
- The alliance focus may be on cross cutting themes of SDGs to show some solid outputs;
- The alliance focus should be on few SDGs that are relevant to local government only;
- Inclusion of all relevant government departments is important for localisation of SDGs.
The participants mentioned that knowledge and access to existing structure is very limited and that is the reason localisation element is missing in SDGs implementation. It was also agreed that the purpose of PASS formation should be a common platform of different stakeholders to take up issue of SDGs localisation as well as to initiate joint efforts needed for localisation of the SDGs in Sindh province. PASS alliance is not a forum to contradict the already existing structures on SDGs but it is a network of stakeholders that will compliment and support the existing structures in SDGs localisation.
Keeping into account the situation of SDGs implementation in Sindh province, the participants thoroughly discussed areas of work linking to vision of the alliance and identified that the alliance shall focus on advocacy, capacity building, awareness rising through and consolidation of data on SDGs localisation and implementation. The actions for work plan discussed included advocacy for an empowered local government on authority and finances, sensitisation of all relevant stakeholders including elected and government officials at sub-national and local level on SDGs and their role in SDGs implementation and media sensitisation, motivation and engagement for promotion of SDGs localisation and implementation.
