Institution Building in Bangladesh: Establishment of the SDGs Implementation and Monitoring Committee

Bangladesh’s leaders focused their efforts on poverty reduction during the years of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In doing so, they achieved the goal of bringing the portion of its society living in poverty below 29%. The country also did well on other measures as it approached the goal of universal primary education, while also reducing child mortality and improving mental health. But other figures, like those around environmental sustainability and development were not on track as they transitioned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

As they looked to deliver on their SDG commitments in a holistic manner, Bangladesh’s leaders chose to establish a new Inter-Ministerial Committee, formally known as the SDGs Implementation and Monitoring Committee. Chaired by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the new group would facilitate and implement the country’s SDGs Action Plan. Membership of the group includes twenty Senior Secretaries that represent all the country’s ministries and agencies, and each of those departments is responsible for monitoring and auditing a portion of the SDG indicators.