Civil society groups have voiced their concerns over an apparent lack of progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set in 2015.
The set of targets drafted last year to replace the Millennium Development Goals are due to be met by 2030 and include reducing poverty and inequality.
Srey Vanthon, country director of ADD International, said information provided about the SDGs was not adequate or widely disseminated.
According to the group’s research, only about 8 percent of NGOs are aware of the SDGs, which could lead to some groups not participating.
“Even officials at some ministries that ADD International has worked with showed their limited knowledge [about the SDGs]. They demanded more information and training to understand more,” he said.
He added that there were serious gaps in the data being used to identify the size of vulnerable groups.
Choub Sok Chamroeun, executive director of Khana, an NGO, said getting information on drug users was difficult.
“This group is trying to hide away, because they are facing new campaigns [against them] by the government,” he said.
Nop Kannavuth, spokesman at the Ministry of Planning, which is responsible for implementing the SDGs, said the ministry held no reliable data on vulnerable groups subject to the SDGs.
“We are preparing it. There are some issues in some points with localizing SDGs that are yet to be concluded and because in some other countries they are still not clear either. So the government ... is discussing about this,” he said.
