SDPI hosted its 24th Sustainable Development Conference
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Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) of Pakistan organized its 24th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) on December 06-09, 2021. The overarching theme of this year’s Conference was Beyond the Pandemic: Leaving No One Behind. Sustainable development conference was a reflection on the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of 4 days, the SDC hosted several policy sessions and dialogues on thematic areas of social protection, infrastructural development, trade and industrial growth and climate change etc. On behalf of ECOSF, President Prof. Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro and Engr. Khalil Raza participated during various sessions of the conference.
H.E. Dr Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was the Chief Guest during the inaugural Plenary - Beyond the Pandemic: Leaving No One Behind. President Asif Ali emphasized that social protection schemes in Pakistan needs to go beyond cash transfer to productive assets distribution among people, and in this regard, land distribution schemes may be developed bringing all the stakeholder at one platform with the assistance of development banks such as Zarai Taraqiati Bank.
The conference highlighted that the post-pandemic economic recovery will depend upon several factors which require a comprehensive discussion. Among other factors, ability of national and sub-national governments to:
(i) plan for building back better, focussing on resilience of the hardest hit communities in terms of health, food, livelihood, and other shocks of the pandemic, and ensuing natural hazards/disasters,
(ii) ensuring adequate budgets for relief and recovery,
(iii) form partnerships with private sector and non-governmental organizations, and
(iv) efficient use of existing and donor resources in health and other social sectors will be critical.
While most developing countries have enjoyed debt relief until now, repayment capacities could get tested during next year and beyond possibly triggering the need for further rounds of borrowing. All this has implications for financial sector resilience and macroeconomic stability, particularly budget deficit, and inflation which in turn could hamper drive towards poverty reduction and mitigation of inequalities.
In the perspective of uneven recoveries and pandemic aggravating the inequalities, the SDC generated a debate on redefining and reshaping the post-pandemic new development agenda and required shifts in current policies, debate on how to be inclusive in these policies; and leave no one behind during the pandemic and beyond.