Niti Ayog, UNICEF India join hands to develop sustainable goals focusing on children

On Thursday, government's think tank NITI Aayog and UNICEF India joined hands to work towards achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals related to children in the country. 

According to an official statement, NITI Aayog and UNICEF India signed a statement of intent (SoI) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with an emphasis on children.

In the presence of NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, the SoI was signed by NITI Aayog's nodal officer for SDGs Sanyukta Samaddar and UNICEF India's chief of social policy Hyun Hee Ban.

UNICEF India and NITI Aayog are developing a comprehensive measure to understand the multidimensional attainments and deprivations among children across health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, and household living standards in order to achieve the SDGs' child development priorities, the statement said.

This child-focused SDG initiative builds on India's efforts to assess progress through the SDG India Index and Dashboard, which remains a unique data-driven initiative for driving policy change, Kumar stated.

He noted that this new partnership with UNICEF is based on the principle of achieving SDGs for children and ensuring that no child is left behind.

The NITI Aayog and UNICEF India collaboration will develop the methods, technical analysis, reporting, and action planning for the first report on the "Status of India's Children," with a focus on multidimensional aspects of child development such as health, education, nutrition, protection, and other relevant areas, according to the statement.