Social Development and the Sustainable Development Goals in South Asia

Author: Nitya Mohan Khemka and Suraj Kumar Series: Routledge Research on Asian Development

This book assesses the roadmap for the implementation of the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs) in South Asia, focusing on poverty reduction, inequality, health/wellbeing and water and sanitation.

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This book assesses the roadmap for the implementation of the SDGs in South Asia, focusing in particular on the areas of poverty reduction, inequality, health/well-being and water and sanitation. South Asia is amongst the fastest growing regions in the world, with an aggregate GDP in excess of two trillion US dollars, but at the same time it has significant deficits in human development, with 37 per cent of the world's poor and nearly half of the world's malnourished children. For South Asia, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a constructive opportunity to end many of the region's deprivations in a time-bound and systematic manner.

Starting with the legacy of the Millennium Development Goals, the book goes on to provide a country-by-country overview of strategies for addressing the problems of poverty, health, water and sanitation. South-South Cooperation and in particular the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are discussed and, finally, the editors present a summary of policy priorities for social development.

This book aims to be a useful resource for researchers, policy influencers, planners, implementers, students, and activists aiming to push to achieve the SDGs.

Critic Reviews

"In 2015, all United Nations Member States adopted four milestone agreements including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. They provide the most visionary and far reaching agenda ever adopted in the UN. Five years into implementation, this book provides a systematic analysis for the South Asia subregion. As this region is home to a fifth of the world's population, it will be critical to address the gaps identified to reach the SDGs. I appreciate the authors' work in providing this insightful analysis which is geared not just towards academics but also to policy and change makers." -- Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

"This volume provides a unique regional perspective on the trajectory of SDGs in South Asia. It will appeal to a wide readership - from students to social entrepreneurs, development media and policymakers interested in regional cooperation." -- Lamiya Morshed, Executive Director, Yunus Centre, Bangladesh

"This book brings together a robust and compelling set of prescriptions for academics and policy designers alike on the challenges of successfully implementing the Sustainable Development Goals from the South Asian perspective. Offering comprehensive analysis from a carefully curated list of accomplished domain experts, this interdisciplinary volume offers unique and intelligent perspectives into pressing socio-economic challenges that will determine the future of this region and the quality of life for its people. Well worth reading!" -- Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Lok Sabha, India, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs

"This is a very timely and well conceived volume on an important subject. Featuring a very strong cast of scholars, it will be required reading for all students, researchers and policy makers concerned with the achievement of, and critical engagement with the pursuit of, the Sustainable Development Goals in South Asia." -- Mozaffar Qizilbash, Professor at the University of York, UK

About the Author

Nitya Mohan Khemka is an Affiliate Lecturer at the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Fellow Commoner at Clare Hall College. She is also Senior Advisor to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and is Director at the Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation where she heads up the Foundation’s initiative on "The Indian Welfare State in the 21st century".

Suraj Kumar is SDG Advisor to the State Government of Chhattisgarh and Tripura and the UN in India and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. He has pioneered the state Human Development Reports for 23 states in India, beginning with the Madhya Pradesh HDR in 1995. He is currently Senior Advisor at the KISS Bhubaneswar and visiting fellow at universities in India and the United States.