During the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Bangladesh made impressive gains in areas like poverty alleviation, school enrollment, and child health, but as the nation transitioned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it had fallen short on many of their targets as pockets of poverty lingered, youth unemployment and underemployment persisted, and challenges around educational outcomes remained.
In June 2017, Bangladesh submitted its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) report to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) of the United Nations.
Bangladesh’s VNR report shares updates on the country’s SDG efforts during the first two years of the goals. Key updates the report provided include (1) the importance of sharing SDG-related adoption and integration experiences, (2) implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting progress, (3) opportunities and challenges with execution, and (4) policy strategies and mechanisms the country is employing to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda.