Parliamentary Partnership Vital To Implement SDGs In Pandemic

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2021 ) :The participants of the Second Conference of Parliamentary Assembly of the Economic Cooperation Organization (PAECO) countries on Tuesday urged to promote parliamentary partnerships for regional integration and to accelerate working on SDGs implementation in time of the ongoing pandemic.

During a discussion on 'Impact of COVID-19 on SDGs implementation in the region', the speakers from different participating countries stressed strengthening regional linkages between the parliaments' experience sharing and enhanced monitoring of progress at the regional as well as national level.

They also asked to analyze trends in data utilization to plan, examine and assess reprioritization of regional government's expenditure towards service delivery during COVID-19. They urged to organize interactive dialogue on increased accountability and transparency of public budget from spending on SDGs perspective.

The session was chaired by Convener Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals Riaz Fatyana while Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid and MNAs Dr Nafisa Shah and Dr Aisha Ghous Pasha also spoke on the related topics.

The main objective of this panel discussion was to highlight the existing issues and examining the devastating setbacks caused by COVID-19, identify the international best practices and map out a way-forward for regional integration and sustainable development.

The session covered three thematic discussion sessions included the race for COVID-19 Vaccination, open data for a more effective Covid-19 response and SDGs implementation and what can parliaments do to achieve SDGs.

Addressing the participants, Riaz Fatyana urged for strengthening reporting mechanism on the implementation of SDGs Agenda 2030. He said that the world has committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by United Nations (UN) Member States in September 2015.

The unusual situation created by COVID-19, in early 2020, is influencing this commitment and undermining the general approach toward suitability by slowing down the process toward achieving the 17 SDGs and changing the trajectory of development, he added.

He said that the overarching aim 'leave no one behind' is threatened by the current growing inequalities while the multiplied global challenges, economic and financial shocks associated with COVID-19 make financing for sustainability even more difficult.

He said that the impact of the pandemic on society is unclear, long-lasting, and difficult to measure. As the world finds itself in the grips of a third wave, there is an urgent need to take strong policy measures in key priority areas to reduce the socioeconomic fallout of the pandemic, he added.

He said that a coherent and strategic response is required to safeguard lives and livelihoods, demanding close scrutiny by public representatives to ensure equitable access to the system by all vulnerable groups.

He said that the role of parliamentarians is crucial to the transparency and effectiveness of the initiatives developed across multiple sectors in response to the pandemic.

He said that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the business continuity of parliaments of the world and the oversight function of these institutions is also affected.

He said that the SDGs have the potential to provide our communities with an encompassing framework that can guide our thinking and imagination to envisage potential better futures. COVID-19 arrested for a moment the advancement of Agenda 2030 and affected the achievement for SDGs, he added.