By Steven Pembamoyo, Staff Reporter for the Nation Newspaper

Government is translating and packaging contents of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) booklet in three local languages of Chichewa, Tumbuka and Yao to facilitate understanding and adoption by the communities.

The exercise which is being funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has already started with a 10 days training for translators at Linde Motel in Mponela, Dowa.

Deputy Director of Economic Planning and Development Idrissa Mwale said many people are aware of the SDGs but very few understand them due to language barrier a situation which has made implementation slow

“We have realized that many people are aware of the SDGs, but they actually don’t understand what they are. This is largely due to language problems because they are packaged in English which some people don’t understand,” said Mwale.

He said once the SDGs have been packaged in local languages, it will be easy for people to understand them and participate in the implementation process.

"With the decentralization policy, it will be easy for people to choose developments that are in line with the SDGs and by that, the implementation will be easy,” he added.

Director of Information Gedion Munthali advised the team of translators which is composed of district information officers (DIOs) to be serious and make sure that the two documents are properly translated.

“It is important that people should understand these important documents in layman’s language because development processes are facilitated by a well-informed citizenry.” Said Munthali.

The translation exercise is being supported by the development and Accountability Programme of UNDP with funding from the European Union.

Malawi like other United Nations member states signed an agreement to pursue SDGs to improve their people’s lives by among other things eradicating poverty, improving food availability and promoting health and education.