Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), has said that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be fulfilled solely through announcements and stressed the importance of holding the state accountable for their implementation.

Dr Bhattacharya made the remarks during a dialogue on the Bangladesh Voluntary National Review (VNR) and Citizen Platform for SDG Implementation, held in the capital on Sunday.

The event, organised by the Citizen Platform for SDG Implementation, focused on fostering citizen participation in the process.

The dialogue was chaired by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, with Lamiya Morshed, Chief Coordinator (Senior Secretary) of the Chief Adviser on SDGs, attending it as the chief guest.

Members of the Citizen Platform’s core group, including Ahmad Mushtaq Raja Chowdhury, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Professor Mostafizur Rahman, and Shaheen Anam, were also present.

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As head of the ‘White Paper Drafting Committee,’ Dr Bhattacharya highlighted the VNR as one of the central pillars of SDG implementation.

He emphasised that the state should be held responsible, alongside the establishment of an accountability framework to track progress.

“We committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, one of the key elements of which was this accountability mechanism, known as the VNR. We are executing this program amidst a vastly different political, social, and institutional landscape, which creates a new qualitative situation,” he noted.

Dr Bhattacharya described this as an opportunity, saying, “We have engaged with ordinary citizens and received a positive response from the government.”

He also underlined the need for a nationally driven self-assessment, distinct from official surveys, that incorporates diverse public perspectives and reflects both developmental strides and challenges. “The opinions of people from all classes and professions should be incorporated into such an assessment.”

Highlighting the importance of addressing data gaps, he said, “Covid-19 has weakened the SDG data tracker, so we need a comprehensive assessment of this data. We look forward to an action plan for data integration.”