Odisha for collaboration with UN agencies on SDGs

Bhubaneswar  :  Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday proposed to strengthen institutionalised monitoring framework for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in collaboration with the United Nations agencies.

The Chief Minister met delegates from various UN agencies at the state Secretariat here to discuss various models of partnership for achieving the SDGs.

Highlighting Odisha's achievements on social indicators vis-a-vis women development and empowerment, the Chief Minister said the state government had created institutional framework for achieving SDGs.

The state government has also mapped the schemes aligning with the SDGs and prepared state-specific indicators to monitor the progress.

The Chief Minister said Odisha had brought out eight million people above the poverty line in a decade.

Odisha is also a leading state in providing housing to the poor, he said.

He claimed the state had significantly reduced Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio below the national average.

The conditional cash transfer mechanism under MAMATA scheme for pregnant women had benefited more than 3.1 million beneficiaries, the Chief Minister said.

Appreciating the state's efforts, the UN officials said that the world body is ready to cooperate with the state government on SDGs.