Nepal has achieved only 41.7% progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) after eight years of implementation, according to the National Planning Commission (NPC). The figure reflects advancements across 301 indicators defined by the SDGs.
The NPC cited various domestic and international challenges as key factors behind the slow progress. Limited financial resources have been the primary hurdle, exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19, global inflation, rising petroleum prices, and an economic slowdown in Nepal. NPC officials revealed that Nepal faces an annual shortfall of approximately Rs 585 billion to make necessary investments, a gap expected to exceed Rs 1 trillion annually between 2026 and 2030.
Despite these challenges, the NPC has established mechanisms to assess needs, estimate costs, and develop financial strategies to improve SDG-related efforts. Priority areas include decent labor, social security, food system transformation, health, education, and climate change mitigation.
NPC Vice-Chairman Shiva Raj Adhikari highlighted that the government’s 16th periodic plan aims to balance economic growth with SDG targets to ensure social justice, inclusiveness, and equity. However, critics argue that the government has failed to implement effective programs to improve the country’s overall economic and social conditions.
A report published last year projected that with the current pace of progress, Nepal is likely to achieve only 60% of the SDG targets by 2030.
The SDGs, launched by the United Nations on January 1, 2016, aim for significant global improvements in economic and social sectors under 17 goals. For Nepal, these include reducing extreme poverty to less than 5%, undernourishment to 3%, and underweight children under five to 5% by 2030.
Other goals include lowering the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, ensuring universal access to clean water and sanitation, achieving gender parity at all education levels, and increasing women’s representation in public decision-making roles.
