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Poverty Reduction |
Since their adoption by all UN Member States in 2000, the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals have become known worldwide for one of their most ambitious objectives: to reduce by one-half the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger around the world. And indeed, much progress has been made toward that goal. However, as the world crosses the half-way point to the target year of 2015, it is clear that more efforts are needed. If indeed it is positive that the proportion of people living in extreme poverty fell from nearly a third to less than one fifth between 1990 and 2004, it remains a call to alarm that around 1.2 billion people still live on less than a dollar a day, and nearly 850 million people go hungry every night.
The poverty experienced by these men, women and children is about much more than a lack of income. This poverty is a series of interconnected deprivations, including poor health, sub-standard education, meager access to basic social services, and obstacles to participation in the processes that affect people’s lives. In this way, while economic growth is essential to human progress, it is not sufficient for reducing poverty levels. UNDP’s approach to poverty reduction is equally multi-faceted, and is focused on working with country and international partners to implement specific plans and polices that render growth more inclusive, allowing for macro-economic progress and government capacity-building to be pursued to the benefit of equity, inclusiveness, gender equality and, last but not least, poverty reduction.
Poverty in the Arab States
Poverty reduction is a priority in the Arab Region, recognized by regional inter-governmental bodies, national governments, civil society, the private sector, and the voices of millions of people struggling to meet basic needs. If parts of the region have come to be known for opulence, millions of people in other countries still suffer from multi-dimensional poverty -- some 18.2% of the region’s residents are living under national poverty lines. And the average hides the disparity in the Arab States: In the Least-Developed Countries of the region, nearly a full half of the population is living in poverty. In this context, Arab leaders and international partners are seeking to scale-up efforts and connect with increasingly effective solutions to fight poverty.
Regional Level Initiatives in Arab States
UNDP supports countries in the Arab Region to reduce poverty through regional programmes, projects and initiatives targeting key areas identified by national partners. These include the following:
· The Arab Trade Initiative, which aims at poverty reduction through building government and private-sector capacity to seize opportunities for human development through global trade.
· Working with ministries from several countries at a time, including Tunisia and Morocco, to develop capacity to use macro-economic simulation to determine the investment needed to meet the MDGs.
· Conducting poverty assessments and cross-country comparisons to build actionable awareness of the status and dynamics of poverty in several countries, including Lebanon, Syria and Yemen
· Assisting groups of countries in the development of specific socio-economic policies aimed at enhancing pro-poor strategies for human development
All of these initiatives are yielding important lessons-learned and developing country partner capacity to analyze poverty issues and devise innovative and country-driven solutions to reduce poverty throughout the region. These efforts and lessons continually inform new programming, including a regional initiative on Poverty and the MDGs that UNDP is planning along with the League of Arab States. The initiative will identify key regional priorities for effective poverty reduction, and will be rendered more effective by the vital backing of this key regional body.
Country Level Initiatives in Arab States
To strengthen Poverty Reduction efforts in the Arab region, UNDP is committed to initiating and implementing poverty reduction projects and building capacity at the national level. Such initiatives to tackle poverty are implemented within the framework of the strategies of Country Offices, and in collaboration with national and international partners including governments, civil society, and other United Nations agencies.
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