A five-year ambitious programme of Saarc Development Goals (SDGs) was launched in Dhaka yesterday as a step towards making the South Asian nations free from abject poverty.
A fund of 300 million US dollars would be spent to implement the programmes in the areas of livelihood, health, education and environment.
Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan formally inaugurated the SDGs prepared by the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) of which Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui is the co-chair.
Morshed Khan said the Saarc finance ministers will meet in Islamabad at the end of March or
early April to finalise the mechanism of mobilising funds for Saarc Development Fund (SDF) and its spending.
"once the SDF comes through, we shall see a Poverty Alleviation Fund operational under the Social Window," he said at the inauguration ceremony at state guesthouse Padma.
The foreign minister said the South Asian leaders at the 13th Saarc summit in Dhaka in November last year committed to reducing poverty in participatory manner, ensuring food security, guaranteeing livelihood, improving health care, ensuring quality education and enhancing environmental security.
Dr Kamal Siddique said the SDGs made 22 recommendations -- eight for livelihood, four for health, four for education and six for environmental sectors.
Replying to a question, he said there is no conflict between the UN MDGs and Saarc Development Goals. MDGs will be implemented through respective national policies of the governments like PRSP while SDGs will be implemented at regional level, he added.
He said $ 300 million is now
available to implement the SDGs, the mechanism of spending will be decided at the next Saarc finance ministers' meeting in Pakistan.
In reply to a question, Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said militancy could be effectively tackled if the level of poverty could be reduced in the region.
Saarc Secretary General Chenkyab Dorji and Commissioners of ISACPA of Saarc countries were also present.