UNDP Advances New Approach To Poverty Reduction
April 5, 2000


NEW YORK, UN (PANA) - Deviating from the traditional approach to poverty
reduction that emphasises "targeted interventions" using small-scale
projects, the UNDP has issued a report advocating the development of a new
generation of poverty programmes focusing on making growth more pro-poor,
targeting inequality and empowering the poor.

The report, "Overcoming Human Poverty: UNDP Poverty Report 2000", states
that effective anti-poverty programmes have to be comprehensive, integrated
in national economic policies and focus on building national capacity for
pro-poor policy making and institutional reforms.

Over the years, the report says, poverty reduction programmes employed the
two-track approach which pursued growth and social development in a parallel
manner.

"The two tracks rarely intersect: economic policies are not made pro-poor,
while social services are assigned the burden of directly addressing
poverty," it notes.

To make poverty programmes effective, the report, released Tuesday, says the
issue of governance and community involvement are very critical.

Observing that the missing link between poverty programmes and poverty
reductions are very often the lack responsive and accountable institutions
of governance, it stresses the imperative of accountable democratic
governments and the devolution of resources and responsibility to local
governments and local communities.

According to the report, self-organisation of the poor at the community
level is the foundation of poverty reduction since it empowers the people
and places them in a position to influence local governments and make them
accountable.

"A new generation of poverty programmes focuses on building community
organisations to directly articulate people's needs and priorities, rather
than concentrating on income-generating activities alone," the report notes.

To focus resources on the poor, UNDP recommends adjusting macroeconomic
policies to make growth more pro-poor, directing resources to sectors where
the poor are employed such as agriculture as well as allocating resources to
poor communities.

But even with this approach, the report observes that the option of focusing
resources on poor areas might meet the difficulty of reaching some
disadvantaged groups such as women, ethnic minorities and other people of
lower status.

Also important for the success of poverty programmes is the linking of such
programmes to international economic and financial policies, the report
indicates.

In this regard, it underscores the need for a fair international trading
system where developed countries open their markets to exports from
developing countries.

"A high priority is to eliminate the protectionism that is biased against
developing countries," the report suggests, saying "and to do this, the
capacity of developing countries to negotiate global and regional trade
agreements needs to be strengthened."

The report also stresses the importance of increasing development assistance
to developing countries with such aid focused on poverty reduction.

In the efforts against poverty, it emphasises that countries develop a
comprehensive system of monitoring their progress against poverty.

Since the holding of the summit on social development in 1995, the report
says, most countries have measured their extent of poverty, but very few
have set targets for reducing it.
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