poverty: the current context overcoming human poverty undp poverty report 2000
TRANSCRIPT
POVERTY: THE CURRENT CONTEXT
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Until 1996, the number of poor people was on the decline, but by 1998 it was on the rise again
Today there are more than 1.3 billion chronically poor people in the world
Human poverty remains persistently high— higher than income poverty in some regions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
What is the international response?
Donors are reducing levels of aid and failing to focus what remains on poverty
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Trends in World Aid as a Percentage of GNP
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Debt burdens have grown among least developed countries and remained high in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative aims for faster, deeper debt relief
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
External Debt as a Percentage of GNP
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
But the indebted countries are wary of new conditionalities and reductions in development assistance to finance debt relief
Many rich country markets remain closed to exports from indebted countries — a major reason why they are unable to pay off their debt
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
UNDP Poverty Report 2000
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY
1. ORIENTATION
Takes stock of progress by countrieson Social Summit commitments
Draws policy lessons from UNDP’ssupport to poverty reduction activities
Pays special attention to the role ofgovernance in poverty reduction
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
2. SCOPE
Draws on 23 special assessments of national poverty programmes
Benefits from input on poverty policies from 134 UNDP country offices
Covers 140 countries on poverty estimates, targets and plans
1. ORIENTATION
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Two ways of measuring poverty
The $1 per day is an income measure of poverty: it measures the percentage of people who live on less than $1 per day
The Human Poverty Index (HPI)
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
The HPI measures deprivation in basic human development. It takes into account
– % of people expected to die before age 40
– % of adults who are illiterate
– % of population without access to health services
– % of population without access to safe water
– % of children under five who are underweight
The following maps compare Income and Human Poverty
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Population living on less than US$1 Per Day (per cent)
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Countries that may not be very poor in terms of income poverty may suffer from high levels of human poverty — for example, when a large percentage of the population is illiterate or malnourished.
Human Poverty Index for Developing Countries
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
World Summit for Social Development
In 1995, all countries committed to:
• Estimate overall and extreme income poverty
• Set time-bound goals and targets
• Implement national anti-poverty plans
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
World Summit for Social DevelopmentProgress in Last 5 Years
Of the 140 countries surveyed by UNDP:
• 77% have nationally recognized estimates for poverty
• 69% have some form of planning for poverty reduction but only 29% have explicit stand-alone poverty plans
• And only 31% have set targets for eradicating extreme poverty or substantially reducing overall poverty
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
3. CENTRAL THEMES
A. Progress against both income and human poverty
B. Developing national anti-poverty plans
C. Governance for poverty reduction: the missing link
1. ORIENTATION2. SCOPE
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
A. Progress against Income and Human Poverty
A major shortcoming of current anti-poverty planning::The lack of achievable time-bound goals and targets
Where new initiatives are needed:Countries should explicitly adopt human poverty targets
– Malnutrition– Shortened life span– Illiteracy
How to make a monitoring system workable:Supplement large income and expenditure surveys with
– Rapid monitoring surveys– Participatory assessments
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
B. Developing National Anti-Poverty Plans
Anti-poverty plans need to be comprehensive:
• Much more than a few projects “targeted” at the poor
• Poverty — a multidimensional problem — should be addressed by a multisectoral approach
• Move beyond the traditional social-sector focus
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Anti-poverty plans should be nationally owned and determined — not donor driven
External donors provide much of the funding
– but outside regular government channels
– and for a disconnected array of individual projects
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Linking poverty to national-level policies
A new generation of poverty programmes is neededPoverty can no longer be addressed
– after the fact (in response to structural adjustment)– as a residual social issue
Merely supplementing rapid growth with social spending and safety nets has proved inadequatePoverty programmes should be formulated to
– focus on making growth more pro-poor– target inequality– emphasize empowering poor people
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
Linking poverty to international economic policies
This is a connection that is rarely made
– External debt is now clearly linked to poverty through the Enhanced HIPC Initiative
– Hopefully the link will not involve new conditionalities
– Trade policies are still not connected, however, as witnessed in the Seattle WTO meeting
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
If trade expansion is to benefit the poor, the international rules of the game must be made fairer
Where to start:
With rich-country protectionism biased against developing country exports
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
C. Governance for Poverty Reduction: the Missing Link
The vital link between anti-poverty efforts and poverty reduction is a responsive and accountable governance system
• Having regular elections — free and fair
• Accountability in the use of public funds
• Devolving authority and resources to local government
But democratic forms are no vaccination against poverty and decentralization is only a partial solution
Poor communities must organize themselves to advance their interests
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
The Neglected Reforms
Campaigns against poverty have bypassed local government, hampering the campaigns’ effectiveness
• local governments need to be strengthened
• a long-term project — taking time, resources and capacity-building
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
The Foundation of Poverty Reduction
Self-organization of the poor at community level
What the poor most need:
– Not so much resources for safety nets as for building their own organizations
– This is the best antidote to powerlessness, a central source of poverty
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000
How to effectively “target” benefits to the poor
– Effective “targeting” follows from empowerment, not the other way around
– Do not treat the poor as passive beneficiaries
– It is better to talk about “focusing poverty reduction resources” than about “targeting”
OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY UNDP Poverty Report 2000