A state-level workshop on NER District SDG Index 2.0, SDG India Index, 2021-22, and Multidimensional Poverty Index was held at Capital Convention Centre, Kohima on 12th April 2022.
Advisor, Industries & Commerce, Labour & Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Imnatiba in his keynote address stated that India will progress only if progress is made by the North Eastern Region. He said the North East Region District SDG Index, 2021 serves as a very important policy for the State Government by providing a very granular understanding of the SDGs in their implementation at the district level.
Imnatiba said Nagaland was making consistent progress in SDG Index, which focuses on state-level performance. Nagaland’s compulsive score improved to 61 in 2021 from 57 in 2019 and the state is ranked 19th among 35 states and union territories in India. While some districts are doing fairly well in certain goals such as zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, quality education, and gender equality, more works need to be done for bottom-ranked districts and on some indicators at the state level, he added, he said.
To achieve sustainable development, Nagaland needs to address its difficult geographical terrain, the Advisor said, adding that some of the key priority policy focus areas also aligned to SDGs are universal access to health care and education, robust transport and communication infrastructure, effective and sustainable management system, innovative and industrial growth, balanced regional development, and enhanced agricultural production and marketing facilities.
Addressing the same event, Regional Head-North East India, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) John Borgoyary, stated that UNDP is closely partnering with the state government and will soon launch a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative which will be part of the Planning Department’s SDG Coordination Center with an aim to tap resources from the private sector and other development partners.
UNDP is partnering with the state Directorate of Health & Family Welfare on universalization of immunization, he said and cited the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) software application under which a COVID app has also been developed in partnership with the Indian government.