1. 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
regionalcentrepacific.undp.org.fj

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

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