Dozens of non-governmental organizations, welfare associations, corporations and individuals gathered in Karachi to discuss how best to raise awareness regarding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in Karachi. The United Nations has identified a number of goals that range from universal healthcare and education, for elimination of extreme poverty, gender inequalities and combating climate change.
Although there are scores of different projects working towards the attainment of these goals; Standard Chartered Pakistan and Unilever Pakistan have come together to create a platform whereby the efforts of these institutions, the government as well as multilaterals, can be coordinated to boost their outreach and effectiveness.
What role can Unilever Pakistan and Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan (SCBPL) play to raise awareness about global development goals? Chief executive of Unilever, Ihsan Malik explains that as the largest fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer, the company touches millions of people across the country. “200 million people buy our products from 650,000 outlets across Pakistan. The trust we have inculcated among people will help us to drive awareness and help achieve these goals.”
Addressing the occasion, CEO SCBPL Shezad Dada highlighted the bank’s digitization drive and its efforts to foster gender equality in the organization. He stressed the need for creating a facilitative environment for small and medium enterprises and ensuring the availability of credit for prospective home owners and entrepreneurs. “The current interest rate scenario and macro economic conditions are the perfect storm in favour of such objectives.” However, he contends that there is a dire need for legislation which helps take wilful defaulters to task so that banks may lend unabashedly.
Other participants of the event made pledges to support the awareness drive and towards the attainment of SDGs. Telenor Pakistan intends to send out SMSs to 15 million users, to raise awareness; Aman Foundation promises to train at least 4,300 students, the British High Commission will reach out to 100,000 Pakistanis through social media. Nestle, IUCN, LRBT, Greenstar and UNICEF are among dozens of other entities that also informed of their plans to work for the achievement of SDGs in Pakistan.
The platform created by the bank and FMCG is not the first to attempt to foster cooperation between different development efforts. However, it is a welcome initiative nonetheless. Data from a multitude of sources warns that Pakistan continues to lag behind in the achievement of many development goals; particularly in terms of healthcare, education, clean water and sanitation and social inequality and injustice. Given the magnitude and persistent nature of these challenges; it is imperative that the government, corporations, social sector, academia and other stakeholders work collectively for the improvement of living conditions.
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