Sustainable Development Summit was held on 25 September 2015, wherein all member states units adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which included a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs (also called the Global Goals) draw the attention of the signatory nations to take action for ending poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, protecting the planet by tackling climate change and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
To achieve these SDGs, there is a need to work in the right directions to improve life, in a sustainable way, for future generations. These goals prove distinct guidelines and targets for all countries to take actions according to their own priorities and the environmental challenges of the world at large. The SDGs are an inclusive agenda.
Pakistan, being one of the first countries to endorse 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, has shown admirable commitment to achieve it. On 16th February 2016, the Parliament unanimously approved the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the national development agenda and formed the Parliamentary SDGs Secretariat based at the National Assembly.
As a national initiative, Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives (MoP&SI), Government of Pakistan and Planning & Development Departments of provincial governments with the support of UNDP – Pakistan has launched a five years’ joint project of "National Initiative for Sustainable Development Goals to institutionalize 2030 Agenda.
The initiative brings together the planning, financing and statistical institutions to work collectively to lay foundation of SDGs implementation in the country.
The Unit is actively undertaking coordination, reporting, and monitoring progress towards SDGs, and providing policy, research, and knowledge management support for SDGs. At the same time, the team is working towards enhanced awareness raising amongst stakeholders about Agenda 2030 and sustainable development goals through engagement using multiple communication activities and tools.
It is a fact that no national government alone cannot achieve Sustainable Development Goals on their own. Collective and individual efforts are required at the national and local levels by all relevant stakeholders. Governments will need the support and broad involvement of various stakeholders, especially the universities as well as the private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs), amongst others.
HEC under the Higher Education Development Program (HEDP) provides grants to research projects on a competitive basis. This program aims at supporting research by university faculty on challenges faced by local communities in the districts in which the universities are located. The purpose is to provide faculty members with an incentive to address local problems, be they about good health and well-being, environment, water and sanitation, or energy access, or promoting growth and exports, or increasing employment, or others. NUMS faculty has also won different grants to work on the projects directly related to the achievement of SDGs.
Although NUMS faculty, predominantly related to health education, was already undertaking activities as well as research relevant to the achievement of different SDGs but since June 2021 they have put a special focus in this direction. They have not only initiated new research projects but also aligned their courses with the activities related to the achievement of different SDGs. Different Academic Departments enthusiastically organized various activities relevant
Quality Assurance Directorate has been entrusted with the responsibility of Focal Directorate for spreading awareness about the SDGs and coordinating different activities targeting the achievements of these Goals. The Directorate also collects the data to fill the Data Collection Sheet provided by the Times Higher Education (THE) and submits the same to THE for NUMS’ Impact Ranking (IR). The Directorate received remarkable cooperation from the NUMS Departments and Directorate while filling the Data Collection Sheet for IR-2023 submitted on 12 November, 2022.
