30 March 2018: Bahrain announced that it will hold consultations with civil society and other stakeholders in preparation for its Voluntary National Review (VNR) on progress towards the SDGs. Bahrain is one of 47 countries that will present a VNR report at the 2018 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

VNRs are an annual component of the HLPF meetings held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In addition to considering VNRs, HLPF 2018 will review the implementation of SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 15 (life on land) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). Where possible, VNRs are expected to cover all 17 SDGs.

Bahrain has worked to build the capacity of public sector personnel to collect data and contribute to the VNR report.

Bahrain’s Government Action Plan (2015-2018) focuses on achieving the SDGs through actions related to health care, sustainable urban development, infrastructure and institutional reform, among other areas. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with UN resident and regional agencies to track progress towards the SDGs through a national database on development efforts. To support preparation of their VNR, Bahrain has worked to build the capacity of public sector personnel to collect data and contribute to the report.

Bahrain plans to hold three separate workshops with civil society organizations (CSOs), the private sector and academia, respectively. The CSO and NGO consultation will take place on 14 April 2018, followed by a private sector consultation on 15 April. The consultation with academia will convene on 26 April.[Bahrain News Agency Press Release] [VNR Database] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on 2018 VNRs] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on 2018 VNR preparations]