Accelerating Political Support for SDG Implementation

25 – 27 July 2017
Santiago, Chile

 

IPS Research Assistant, Yolanthika Ellepola, recently noted that there has been concerted political commitment towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the health sector, especially in the aspect of nutrition, in Sri Lanka. As such, a Nutrition Secretariat has been established to implement several activities such as capacity building, and monitoring and evaluation of nutrition activities.

She made these remarks during a presentation titled ‘An Example of High Level Political Commitment to the SDGs, with Benefits for Health in Sri Lanka’ at the Accelerating Political Support for SDG Implementation Conference held in Santiago, Chile on 25 – 27 July 2017. The focus of the presentation was on the extent to which Sri Lanka is politically committed towards achieving health SDGs using nutrition as an example.

However, Ms. Ellepola noted that while progress has been made, several challenges continue to prevail, including the lack of coordination, awareness and access to data, budgetary constraints, and gaps in social security networks. As such she recommended initiating regular awareness campaigns to educate all stakeholders on nutrition and links to health SDGs, strengthening capacity of focal and subnational agencies, increasing accountability by providing specific targets, and developing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure data from M& E is channeled to inform and enhance progress.

The conference was hosted by the Government of Chile and coordinated by the Network of Global Health Policy Think Tanks (THINK_SDGs), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Alianza Latinoamericana de Salud Global (ALASAG), the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).