National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Drive Against Poverty

A regional roadmap for poverty alleviation is prepared

By KESHAB POUDEL

Seven member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have released a roadmap towards a poverty free region. Prepared by the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISCPA), a body constituted by the leaders of the regional body, the report recommends ways to tackle the poverty in the region with the aim to uplift the life of more than half a billion population who are living below the poverty line.

Constituted in 2002 by the Kathmandu Summit of the SAARC to review the progress made in cooperation on poverty alleviation and to suggest appropriate and effective measures for future actions, ISCPA had made extensive field trips to prepare the present report. The commission also conducted an in-depth study of diverse experiences of the seven countries in poverty alleviation.

One of the most pressing challenges faced by the SAARC member states is the burgeoning poverty. Despite some successful experiments among the member states, they have hardly made any efforts to replicate them widely.

According to ISCPA report, Bangladesh has the highest number of population below the poverty line at 42 percent followed by Nepal with 38 percent, the Maldives with 34 percent, Pakistan with 32.2 percent, India with 26.1 percent and Sri Lanka with 21.0. The figure fore Bhutan is not available.

“The commission’s report “Our Future Our Responsibility” is more than just a document of good intent and lofty recommendations. This can very well be translated into an implementable plan of action, which can be pursued by all the member states in a time bound fashion,” said Q.A.M.A Rahim, secretary-general of SAARC. “The Commission in its report emphasizes the role of poor as pro-active agents of economic and social change in the overall national efforts in the areas of economic growth, human development and equity.”

SAARC Secretariat estimates that there are over 500 million people in the region who are poverty stricken. Although South Asian accounts for 23 percent of the World’s population, it houses 40 percent of the world’s poor.

Prepared by the experts from the region, the report suggests six targets including halving the poverty by 2010 and eradicating malnutrition and ensuring universal food security, putting in place a social security system, halving the number of people without safe drinking water and sanitation by 2010, halving the number of people without access to primary education by 2010 and eliminating all forms of trafficking and child labor.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has already provided technical and financial assistance to some programs directed to poverty alleviation in the region.

“The report is a first of its kinds designed to alleviate the poverty in the region. Since all South Asian countries have their own set of successful models for poverty alleviation, they need to share their experiences among them,” said Dr. T. Palanivel, regional program coordinator, Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction Program, UNDP. “Sharing experiences among the SAARC countries can benefit the entire region.”

As all seven members of the SAARC have been waging war against rampant poverty, the recommendations and action plan would help to set the target to achieve the objectives.

“The countries of South Asia have their commonalities and their differences, the challenges they confront are complex and often intractable. There are issues with bring them together and those which divide them. But South Asian leaders have common interest on the issue of eradicating poverty,” said Dr. Shanker Sharma, vice-chairman of National Planning Commission and a member of ISCPA.

Income inequalities are rising in South Asia. According to a report, the ratio of income share of the richest 20 percent to that of poorest 20 percent has varied from 4 in Bangladesh to 5 in India. There are 100 million illiterate in South Asia and 94 deaths per 1000 birth. SAARC member countries have been launching some successful programs against the poverty alleviation. Nepal’s sustainable and community development project is an example. Launched by King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) and Ecotourism, embraces a multiple land use principle of resource management combining environmental protection with sustainable community development. The project helps to uplift the life of the people of three districts of Annapurna Himalayan region, 250 miles west of capital through the promotion of conservation and tourism.

Supported by the United Nations Development Program, South Asia Poverty Alleviation Program (SAPAP) has already implemented projects to build institutional capacity to tackle poverty through social mobilization in three backward districts including Mahabubnagar, Ananthapur and Kurnool of Andhra Pradesh, India. The program focused on three objectives: social mobilization, training and skill development and capital formation.

Rebuilding war-devastated livelihood in Sri Lanka is a project launched in the war torn peninsula. With support from UNDP, the villagers of Vathiry in Jaffna Peninsula have already learned the skills and equipment to build the craftsmanship. Pakistan’s Khuda Ki Basti housing project is one of the successful programs developed by a significant number of low-income families willing and having the capacity to pay for services provided the cost is recovered in easy installments.

Likewise the Grameen Bank is one of the successful micro-credit projects project in Bangladesh. Following its success, the Grameen II has been introduced to provide custom-made credit for the poor in place of the earlier model of one-size-fits-all.

Bhutan has implemented food aid to students in food insecure districts and road workers. The program is directed at improving the nutrition of school children in relatively poor and food insecure areas, and providing food for work for the road workers who are from low income group.

From tiny Himalayan state Bhutan to island nation Sri Lanka, the SAARC countries have different successful models for the poverty alleviation but they are yet to replicate each other’s experiences for common goal.

“We need to better coordinate each other and implement the successful model of programs to support the people of the region,” said Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman, Power and Participation Research Center, Bangladesh and core group coordinator of the ISCPA. “The countries of the region have expertise and potential to carry out the plan.”

South Asia has made important gains in the fight against poverty. Notwithstanding specific areas of progress, however, breaking wholly free of poverty remains by current trends a distant goal.

“In the coming months, We should all strive hard to mobilize all our energy and resources to meaningfully translate the recommendations into concrete actions, which will have a direct bearing on the lives of the millions of poor people of the region,” said SAARC secretary-General Rahim.