Poverty and the MDGs UN Support to Pro-Poor Policy and the Achievement of MDGs Through Poverty Analysis and Improved Data David Abbott Regional Macroeconomic and Poverty Reduction Advisor UNDP Pacific Centre david.abbott@undp.org regionalcentrepacific.undp.org.fj

Purpose of Presentation Review the contributions made by development partners to statistical development in the region since the last meeting; Review the growing importance of cross-cutting issues, as well as the emergence of new priorities (Session 6); and Develop priority future regional directions, through lessons learnt from recent statistical development experience and refinements of the results of the March 2007 meeting on the Future of Statistics in the Pacific.

The Millennium Development Goals The MDGs are all about reducing poverty and alleviating hardship 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 & other diseases 7.Ensure environmental sustainability 8.Develop a global partnership for development

The Millennium Development Goals Are the MDGs useful? just another set of international priorities? Millennium Declaration, 2000 Heads of 189 sovereign states signed up most (all?) PICs signed the Declaration a tangible sign of national government commitment In what way can we make better use of the MDGs as development tools? a clearly stated and well-supported set of development goals which include specific references to key sectors such as education and health, environment and energy, endorsed by each PIC leader

The Millennium Development Goals Help to build partnerships with other agencies, especially PIFs and CROP, and with CSOs and Governments Strong links to the Pacific Plan improved availability of resources establish clear links between sectors and poverty/hardship alleviation using all this in strengthening the budget process to deliver better services to the people– the ultimate goal Also links to International Treaties and Conventions

Causes of Poverty and Hardship Low rates of economic growth High rates of population growth, particularly amongst youth and children Weak fiscal situations and poorly defined budget parameters and priorities Lack of investment and employment creation Inequity in access to, and quality of, basic services between rural and urban areas Declining governance standards Declining standards of basic service delivery Weakening of social environment

Nature of Poverty in the Pacific What is poverty in the Pacific It is not simply hunger and destitution It is being unable to afford a basic minimum standard of living within the context of each individual country National poverty lines measure Relative levels of poverty within each country, not Absolute levels of poverty between countries Poverty is also hardship and lack of access or opportunity How can this be measured or otherwise identified

Poverty/MDG/policy issue linkages Poverty indicators National food and basic needs poverty lines National relative poverty incidence US$1 and US$2 per capita per day PPP absolute poverty incidence Poverty Gap Index; depth of poverty Squared Poverty Gap Index; severity of poverty Cost of closing the poverty gap Measures of inequality: Gini Coefficient High/Low 20/20 Ratio Lorenz Curve

Poverty/MDG/policy issue linkages Who are the poorest and/or most disadvantaged in society Characteristics of poor households: Age, gender, educational attainment Nutritional status Nature of work/employment Reliance of subsistence production for food; food security of those dependent of imported food Access to water and sanitation Type of energy usage for cooking and lighting Location; rural/urban Demographic structure of households, number of children, dependency ratios Type of housing and ownership of household assets

UN System Support to MDGs and Poverty “One UN” integrates programmes of UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF Coordinates across other UN agencies Aligned with Pacific Plan UNDAF: Regional Assistance Framework Equitable Growth and Poverty Reduction Good Governance and Human Rights Equitable Social and Protection Services Sustainable Environmental Management Enhanced UN presence at county level

UN System Support to MDGs and Poverty Multi-Country Programme Document (2008 – 12) To achieve the MDGs through building resilient and inclusive societies Capacity development Partnerships Coordination Strategic focus Regional and national linkages Four primary themes Poverty reduction and the MDGs Good governance and human rights Crisis prevention and recovery Environment and sustainable resource management Country Programme Action Plan Identifies annual work-programmes and resource commitments Identifies partner agencies Monitoring and evaluation framework

Specific MDG/Poverty Initiatives UN Joint Programme on MDGs; MDG Initiative Support for poverty analysis and estimation of national poverty indicators supporting SPC/ADB Support for integration of MDGs into NSDS, and translation of long term vision into medium-term strategies Support for accession to Integrated Framework for Trade

Specific MDG/Poverty Initiatives Regional/sub-regional MDG workshops Needs assessment to identify policy options and Identifying pro-poor policies in support of MDGs Policy/MDG costing tools Health Education Gender Environment and energy HIV/AIDS Water and sanitation Agriculture and rural development Infrastructure and Transport Integration of MDG/policy costing into annual budgets and medium term Expenditure frameworks

Specific MDG/Poverty Initiatives Strengthening understanding and linkages with: Child and youth focused policies Gender sensitive policies and budgets Rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS Strengthening capacities of CSOs Disaster Risk Management and Risk Reduction Human rights based approach to policy

Pacific Human Development Report Governance for Human Development Natural resource governance Governance for improved service delivery Human Development Index: Life expectancy, Adult literacy (years of schooling) GDP per capita (current US$, but should be PPP$) Human Poverty Index: Probability of not surviving past 40 years Proportion of underweight children <5 years Level of adult illiteracy Proportion of households without access to clean water

Pacific Human Development Report Gender Development Index: HDI adjusted to reflect share of females in GDP, and gender balance in other indicators Gender Empowerment Measure Seats in parliament held by women Proportion of senior female official and managers Proportion of female professional/technical workers Estimates share of female earned income in total Share of females in total population

Regional Macroeconomic and Poverty Reduction Advisor Thank You David Abbott Regional Macroeconomic and Poverty Reduction Advisor UNDP Pacific Centre david.abbott@undp.org regionalcentrepacific.undp.org.fj