Wednesday, January 21, 2009

POVERTY ELIVIATION

ADB has dedicated itself to a clear and single-minded vision: an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. All of ADB’s other goals and strategic objectives should contribute to poverty reduction. The Poverty Reduction Strategy sets out the ways in which ADB proposes to pursue this vision.

* Many were bypassed by the growth and transformation that happened in many of the region’s economies
* Economic crises have pitched into poverty thousands who were previously making gains
* Nearly one in four Asians today is poor, surviving on less than $1 per day

The key elements of ADB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy:

* robust, sustained, pro-poor economic growth
* social development, including human development and improvement in the status of women
* better governance

4 comments:

Rasheed Bari said...

ADB management and operations are increasingly results oriented to make demonstrable improvements in the development impact of operations. A series of management reforms enhance,openness,accountability, and responsiveness. These include

1. establishing a management-for-development-results (MfDR) unit
2. developing strategic and operational processes/procedures for MfDR
3. mainstreaming MfDR throughout ADB
4. improving human resource management systems and processes and implementing a new human resource strategy
5. aligning operational policies, strategies, and approaches with ADB’s key strategic agenda including the enhanced PRS and long-term strategic framework
6. improving ADB’s approaches to supporting capacity development in DMCs

Rasheed Bari said...

Pillars of the Poverty Reduction Strategy

13. The nature of poverty is complex, and its causes are diverse. The poor may not have acquired essential assets or capabilities because they live in remote, conflict-prone, or resource-poor areas. They may be vulnerable due to age, health, living environment, or occupation. Economic stagnation may limit opportunities for gainful or productive employment. The poor may be denied access to assets or services because they belong to an ethnic minority or a community considered socially inferior, or simply because they are female, disabled, or just different. At a broader level, poverty may stem from situations where gross inequality persists because of vested interests and entrenched power structures. The great diversity of the conditions and causes of poverty implies that interventions to reduce it must be tailored to particular circumstances.

14. An effective strategy for poverty reduction must help to achieve propoor, sustainable economic growth; inclusive social development; and good governance. These three pillars constitute the framework of the PRS and are closely linked and mutually reinforcing. Successful poverty reduction therefore requires policies that simultaneously strengthen all three. The relative importance of each pillar will depend on country circumstances at a particular time.

15. Within the framework of the three pillars, interventions for poverty reduction can be short term (such as those that sustain basic services to the poor); medium term ( such as targeted interventions); or long term (such as those that build human resources, stimulate pro-poor growth, and encourage expansion of the private sector). ADB’s main strengths lie in financing relatively large investments with medium- or long-term impact and in conducting dialogue with governments to support policy and institutional reforms that have a widespread, indirect impact.

Rasheed Bari said...

A Framework for Poverty Reduction: Pillars of the Poverty Reduction Strategy
A. Pro-poor, Sustainable Economic Growth
a. The Growth-Poverty Nexus.
b. Policies for Labor-Utilizing Growth.
c. Growth and Private Sector Development.
d. Growth and Infrastructure.
e. Regional Cooperation to Underpin Growth.
f. Environmental Sustainability.
B. Inclusive Social Development.
a. Human Capital.
b. Population Policy.
c. Gender and Development.
d. Social Capital.
e. Social Protection.
C. Good Governance
f. Public Sector Reform.
g. Corporate Governance
h. Mainstreaming Good Governance.
i. Partnerships with Civil Society.

Rasheed Bari said...

The MDGs are a set of time-bound and measurable targets for combating problems including poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

The MDGs are now at the heart of the global development agenda. For each goal, one or more targets have been set, mostly for 2015, using 1990 as a benchmark. Indicators have been identified to measure progress against each target. Each goal, with their respective targets and indicators, needs to be adjusted according to the specific country context.

The goals are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development