Poverty Situation in SEA

8/14/2019 Poverty Situation in SEA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/poverty-situation-in-sea 1/175

Research aperNo. 1

PovertySituation in SoutheastAsiaand NGOResponses

FernandoAldobaand hla,Josefa petillawith paulineRebucasnannama Ziiueta

l,larch2002

cilpi A r ! , , i d r N ! 1 4 ( ' ^ ! c t u i ! r y r r

C,athoiicnstitute er lnternaiioria!Re aiiei:- i ,gdi.Ji;ria;f .Es;j €ss€er.li snd Adv6t4.! lJ*it. in partnershiD with

theAteneoCenterlor lociat

poficyandpublicAffairsand horounoationor Sustainableociety,nc.



PovertySitu.tion n SoutheartAsiaend NGOResponles ?

t. TheRationale ndObjectives f the Study

Most of Southesstsia'seconomiesrewat respectableatesduring hepast wo decades.Economic evelopment,owever,emainednequal ithin andacross ountfies.As a r€sult,

loverty haspersistedn manypartsof SoutheastAsia. Income ne4uality hasplaguedmostcount.ies nd wide regionaldisparitiesn terms of living standards aveexistedwithincountries, uchas the Philippines, hailandandIndonesia.Laos,Cambodia, urma,andVietnam have aggedbehind he other countries n the region n terms ofper capita ncomesandaccesso basic ocial ervices.he esp€ctiveovemmentsfthree ofthesecountries,npartnershipwith multilatenl and bilateral donors, have formulated poverty reductionstlategiesandprogrammes'-However,some sectorsof civil societygroups have criticisedthese rogrammesn termsof a neoliberaland nafiowgrowth-focusedaradigm, nd hatslrch a.re new mechanisms o mandateelements of structural adjustment programmes.

MalaluanandGuttal,2002)

The CatholicInstitute for IntemationalRelatiofls,a flK basedNGO active in the pursuit ofsustained umand€velopmentnd social ustice n the various egionsof the world, hasundertakenan independent tudy ofthe cunent povertysituation n the region. At the sametimg it hasassessedhe strategiesdopted y respectiveovernmentsndNGOS n order oassist ivil societygroups,particularlyNGOS n their advocacywork andprogrammesnpromoting roadbased conomic evelopmentnd cduce overtynoidenc€.

A, Major Objectives f the Study

Thestudyhas he ollowingobjectives:

1. To provide ndoverview fthe cunentpoverty ituationn the region, pecificallynthe followingcountries Cambodia, aos,Burma,Vietnam, ndonesia, hilippines,Thailand ndEastTimor;

2. To assessxisting overty eduction trategiesdopted y gov€lnmentsndNGOS nthe .egioq and

3. To recommendpecificareas or policy advocacy ndprogramme evelopmentorcivil soaiety roups, specially GOs, n theirbattleagainst overty.

B. hlethodology and ApprodchThe study reviewed existing literature on the poverty situation and government

responsesn the egion, elyingmostlyon he available ataofresearchnstitutes, ovenmentagenciesndmultilateraybilateralnstitutions ccessiblehrough ibra.iesand he ntemet. talso lookedat cu.rent civil society responses nd perspectives n poverty reduction in theregion, found in studies and various NGo publications. Given time and resource

IThe World Bank and lle IMF haveoinlly introducedhis lornulation ofPRSPs n Cambodlat, no pDR a d Viernrm.



Situationn Southeasi4siaandNGOReponses

constramts,he researchdid not conduct.actualfield investigationsand intervlews in the:::i1"_r-.:1'"e.""d.,_{ol*":, u_ iscusionpaper"rrl;;';;; ih"';es'ejrcr wouldberssemmatedmongGOSnd therey takeholdersorcoi.rm"ntso "f,nilnujo,inaings

ll. TheContextof the Study:Today,sGlobalisationandSoutheast sia

Globalisationodaycanact.ralry c viewedtom dlree nterreratedrendsandevenrs:

A Thecontinuedncreasen internationalradebecausefthe decreasingrotectionbroughtbour ytheGATT_WTOndotte,,"gi"n"l-b;Lilil." a""C, el'r{AFTA5tc.Totalworldmerchandjserade uig"J"rn

"i""iiix

of nominalworld, ross omesticroductn-1960o "t*t:l p".*"i i"' tlg'gr. hi, *",roughtbout y a decreas€neffeclive .ot."tionor'u,ouiao_s'"/"une,wwland ya rapid ecreasef ransponationnd

"";;;i*il;;;.

'

Table . TolalMerchandiserade entof WorldRegion 1960 1970 1980 1991 199923.1 2t.2 4L9 38.8

26.2'rqusurd Lountries t5.7 18 .7 28.5 23.2_v5v!rutrxrg LounrflesSource. A9ian Develonn

7.5Outl.tok

o.) t3.4 9.3 12.6cvelopment 2000-200I

tlT^-.:til

increasen intemational.rivatecapital lows throughdirectffi if -f,?i:"T'J:":#1L,:,H"lr;.::,:of these lows. In Asia,transfers

valavs;analailana'- ""ii'#linljttmostlv orneredv china'Singapore.

o"u"rlpi"eodd,Jii ^ri;;";r* ii;"1?l'rthan40eorFDI lowswenio he

Table2. F Dirore'gn Drect Investrhr $Resion 1980 1991 1995 1996 1991 1998

75q19991,090.1

2.2 154.7 363.4 448.3lndustrialCor.utries l1440.6

204 224.0 271.2 56505.8 87E.0

t t3.2 139.5 t77 194 . t 2t2 .186.9MF Slauflica 2.5 19.3 60.9 71 .1 75.7 84.6

" 3:,T1 qi"* .0"velop_mentf information ndcommunicationechnologieshatave reatlyeduced.distance

costs,,

;:ffi"itll"?'::i# ff.["i"?;"::'rj]1!" !"e"1i9" fmarketsueomcreasinscostsstimaiesiiil;;; ;ru;?#;i"TTil$;ffi;,*l:Til;Sf"#l



billion or the irst five yea.softlrorcedocompete" d,,;i #:#;o;.::Hl*?,1:fil,:Tjoped ordeveropins.e

;:f.".i'*tH"_fi$:^T;;f,?il"{il*:?:f#igtr[4:,;ifi,,pist

Criticsassen hat globalisalion

pqry;"**g:riil:i.;;xi*:#;s["*:#fi,trtrr$rdfr,"Tll,",r,!fl'J:1k,.$:"Tltl,jfj,ll;:,n:#*iiltxkf""H",tsobeen_ore avorableo themo

;:li:l*l*jsl;j:fijdliltifff ihff:T#11.$,"#3Jffifjt",:;,*xj

ffi,:iff:"n::H';:ffi?1,'l;":::!nuing debatesnhe ositivend egativeffecrs

tiq*,1ffifiii'Jr;"l#il[##*ftI""',,ffi;";',ru;lll:]rea.lso ositive ontributions.on the orr,"-. ;;;'^:'-:'_"^:::': 1'urower onsumerrices

ilt'""","frt#5|;*i"';rxlrii:i:"j:1,*;:ffi;|:iiil"i,:1,:;'Tgovemancsdequate,*;;;;.;;;;;":1"n,fffi"""fiHT1;:i"0"-,u"",,,iuirity,

"r"",iuu

f;;f:fi::'li:?"i:*,1'$ffi':H":

tpropositionhat srratesvfopennesseadso

,rolj';"rs:j,*.i,'frlrfr,Fj:ill;:,;:"fjffif'.:r:il*tr##",T.xy;J#li:?iljl";jg"":L"Js*'T*

fl':'l,ft:;,fl;:3,"1"fi:1ti,"",,l::'Tfl\I,th-povertyexusasvidencedyheNrEs

il:J::Xil1,#i;',Titg";;jtnxi4d",:'"-*;lnXlrf,U{:::."J.p:.""",",,.""'si:7'-"d're"fl":niT,r.1*;:m#.::,U:?:;lhj

ffii**"'*iiJr"ils,ffg;iN1;;*l;1h,ir:Jli"r,o,i,"",r,*Joiu,i:il;.;";l'i"H:fi,:.ilr,:;:ffff x.J:ff"r:*i.{T::The 1997EastAsian financial crisis hrvadouseconomies,""",;;;;;;".1:,r:!"ii,::iltil?lTiffi

J%f,:".i:"r:-#i;ffi'":H:iini"i"ffi:,:f*:,ililf:T,li:'p"'1'""ru';u"tvo,."l"Ju-ncedounrries.*!"Jf'"''i,'rfitHxlt#;litrililtri,}*$Jil.i,#l

Poverty ituafionn Sor.rttriastsEanaHCO esponses



PovertySituationn Southeastsia andNEOResponses

hav€_remainedelatively closedeconomies,suchas Burma2,Lao pD\ and Vietnam andfledglingdemocracies,uchas Cambodia ndEastTinor, fluu"U""nportinghigh poverty

incidence nd ow humandevelopmenrndicators. oveny t;"il;;;; ;; ,;;L countnessover357o fthe wholepopulationplease ee ectionV beiow)

lll. A Frameworkor povertyAnalysis ndResponsesA. Defining overty

Povertyqs SocialExclusion

Thepovertyssue ta.ts ith tsvariousnterpretationnd efinition.Researchersndpolicy11!:tj jtre: that a?prop.iateesponseso the poverrysituationareconungeot r howpeople €rceive ndunderstandoverty. Thus, hi definition ecome" n rmponantprerequisite

orcraftingtrategieso eradicateoverty.While he "economic"efinition f poverty,.e.a situationn whichpeople ave ncomesandexpenditureselow pre_determined.rhreshotdhetd *"y fo.;;;i;;;;, theemergingconsensusowadayss that t is a multi_dimensional

""ain"f,if*"Ll-p-henomenon.Ageneral iew is that t is ,,pronounced

deprivation" *"li t.i"JiW"fid Bank,2OOO).Deprivarion.aybe economi-c,olirical ndsocio_cultural.hus-ii s;;t only maredaldeprivationutalsonctudesociai ndpolitical *cl;;; ;i;.g;iiria ,J"to^ orro"i"ty.All these_formsf deprivationeverely-restricthatNoU"f rire'*i"n"iaranya Sen alls"thecapabilitieshata personas,.e.-theubstantiveiJ"* ilG;;; badthekindof life Vhevalues,'WorldBank,2001). rn oth". ;;;";;--s;'i#i't"o'tlese as one,sentitlementsr theackof them. Suchentitlements'itermin""""tiUili v ro consumegoodsand services he desires r her/his

"apaOiffyo engag;n Ji# ,"rf_n nlting

13II1:,_1_l"l:recentiterature,he conceptf social x"cft]sionas-ieen rewed sunoerpmntngovertynmanyegionsftheworld.

Socialexclusioneferso thenorms- ocietal rocessesnd nstitutional rrangementshatexclud-eertain roupsiom tuttpanicipationn the ;;rJ,"""i",ri",'i,lffrrar

andpoliticallife of socieriesi. heseoperatet the.household,-

""r;;ty,-;;inliilnur r"u"rr, unaencompassverythingiomdifferentialllocationffoodand ucationo discrlminatlonnthecommunitiesas€d nsocial tarus,ifferential

""."r.;; L;;;;;;; etc. Racetis,Guevanatal.,2001).

Absoluteand Relativepoverty

l:"::P i:t."*"bedistingu_ishedetwe€n bsolute nd elative. Theeconomic efinition,wherea section

.of societyin .terms f individualsr househords)uttr-i"ro* u""nuincome r expenditurehreshold3,eferso absolute ov".ty. n

"iuil*p"r"ny, ontheother

l Officiauy caltedMyarunnd byASEAN- some ese'rcheBcalt rhesehepovery Unes



PovertySituationn Southea!!Aria and NGORe3ponres

hand, ooks at income nequalities crosshesesections f society. In economics,his ismeasuredy thegini indexor coemcient,which angesrom 0 to 1,where0 signifies erfectequality nd p€rf€ctnequality.

TheConcept f Vutnerability

A newaddition o poverty efinitionss rulnerability r theprobabilityhata personwill beexposedo uncertainty nd risks .elated o income,health,educationdrop-outs) nd todisasters nd man-made onflicts (e.g. violence and other peaceand oder problems)_ oorpeopledo not have he ability to reduceor mitigate suchrisksor uncertainty. Low levelsofphysical, atural nd inancial ssetsmakepoorpeoplewlnerable o negative hocks- thosewith more assets ecofle more resilientand can hurdle such risks as long as they aretemporaryWorldBank,2001). Informaland ormalm€chanismshat end o reducehesedsks nclude he extendedamily and community etworks, reditassociations,icrocr€ditandmiqofinance institutions,unemploymentnsurance nd other safety nets. The ability ofthepoor o weather uch iskshasbeen efered o as esiliencyRacelis ndGuevana, 001)and s specified y various oping trategiese.g.selling fassets, elyingon transfers,tc.).

The Conceptol the ChronicPoor

The defining featureof "chronic poverty'' is its extendedduration. (Hulme et al, ZOOZ).Chronicpoverty s juxtaposedwith the te.m "transient,emporary r transitory overty,'.Hulmeet al. notes,t is hypothesisedhatdulation,multi-dimensionality,ndseverity uildon eachotherand hat he"cluonicallypooi' axe ikely o be experiencingevere rd multi-dimensional overty. Also, they think that the chonically poor are usually inter,generationallyransmitted. Therefore, esearch houldbe focusedon:

. Peopl€ ho arcckonicallypoor n termsofboth duration ndseverity.e.whoseaveragencomesare well belowthepoverty ine for an extended eriod

r Peoplewhose ncomes or capabiliries r multipl€dimensionjof deprivation)havebeen elowa"poverty ine"overanextendederiodof time

The Poor based on Geography

Ofien times, he ruralpoor aredifferentiated rom the urbanpoor. An analysisofsurvey datafor the 1980-1998eriod,FADassembled,evealshat n 94%of I l5 "poverty inestudies,,rural poverty was recordedat higher levels than urban pove.ty (Bird, 2002). In manydeveloping countries,the rural poor dominate, though increasingly, urban poverty hasbecom€a big problem or aountrieswith mega-cities,uch as the philippines(Manila),Indonesia Jakarta),and Thailand Bangkok) It is alsopossiblehat peoplearepoorbecausethet location s a remote egion,wheregovemment ervices re unavailable nd wheremarketsarenon-existent.



PovertySituationn Southeast 3iaandNGOResponles

B. A SimpleFramework or Poverty Analysisand Responses

The following frameworkspellsout the multi-dimensionale.g. economigpolitical andsocio-cultural)causes nd outcomesofpoverty. While the matrix neatlysetsout thevariousreasonsor poverty,more often than not, theseoverlap with eachother. Dependingon thecountry, region or seatorofthe populatior! one causemay be more mportant han he others.Thematrixalsodivides hecauses ndoutcomesetweenhemacroand hemicro,althoughin reality this is probablysuperlicial. However, uponcloser scrutiny, he macroActors aremorerelated o nationalpoliciesor existingsocial mechaaisms nd systemswhile the miclofactorsare concemedmore on the individualand householdeve1.The list of causes ndoutcomes n the matrix is by no meansexhaustive. Additional factoN may be writtendependingn he specific ountry einganalysed.

Mrcm (Natiodal) Ca|rles O comatEconomici

. PoorPoliciesfiscal&

monelary). BiasedStrategi€sregional ndsectoiaD

. Inadequateolicies nDoDulationaiasement

Economici. Ilnsustainableroirlhand

higherunemplolment. Indeased overtyncidenc€. R€gional isparilies. Increasedncomen€qualities

Politi.al:. Elitistandcent'alizedles of

gover nce. Rent-s4ekng/conuption

Politic{l:. Maliuctioningdemocracy. Unresponsivetatenslitutions. Politicallyexcluded.ouDs

Socio-cultuall. Patronageystem. Breakdownf familiesrd

socialnetworks

. Inad€quacyf socialwelfare./investrnenlsneducationndhealth

Socio-cultural:. Dep€ndencynpoliticalelites. Peace ndorcler roblems. Social xclusion fvarious

seclors f soci€ty

Micm (IDdividualandgousehold) Caus€! Outcomes

Economic:. Lack ofincome lo attainbasic

n@essl!es. VulrErability from adverse

shockq nability to copewithsuchvulnerabilities

. Lackof financialard ecorcmicasse$

Economic:. Inseqrreobsand rregular

rncomes. Under-consumptionand

undemourislwentf individualsaaal ouseholds

. Poorhealth/inadequateousinSfacilities

Political. Sense lpowerlessnessn theinstitutionsf state ndsociety

Political:. Hopelessnessndproneocriminality

. Dis€!.fi'anchisement,ellingof

Sociocullural:' Lackof dignity ad rcspect. Inadeqllacy f the arDilyand

networkof relativesas sxpportsysterL/socialnsura&e

Sociccultural:. Marginalisation. SocialExclusion. Fatalisrn



The typical responsestrategiescorrespond o whether he cause s economic,political or

socio.iultural. they may alsobe shoft-termor long-te.m,whereinthe former areconcerned

basicallywith poverty alleviatiofl strategiesand the latter with poverty eradication The

long-termstrat,gies espond o theroot causes f poverty,suchas flawedeconomicpolicies,

inequitableistribution fpower and esources,hepatronageystem, tc-

nseShort-TermStrategies Lone-TermStrategies

EconomicMacro ! Job-genoratiotr:micro-

fi nance,public infi"astructur€,food for worl! €tc.

' Job acilitation

. Growth-orientedpolicies

. Asset & Equity Reform

. Labor Int€nsivepoliciesr PromotioDand supportofSMEs

Micro . FoodStamps,SoupKitchens, Children's shelter

. Communitygroup prograrns

o midofinanceo coopeGtiv€s

. Managing.isks ndlulnerability tlrough socialandunemploymentnsurance

PoliticdMacro lrcal developm€ntounoils

Participatory eohanismsnpolicymaking ndprojectimplementation

. StrengtheninggovefiEnceinstitutions

. Mainsbeamingaltioipation fpoverty roupstr decision-makineDrocasSes

Micro . CommunityndSectoralorganlzmg

. Empowermentndsustainabilityf conmunityandDeoDle'srsanizations

Sociocultural

Macro . Food or SchoolProgrammes . Strengthedhghstitutionspromoting uman& socialcaoital

Micro . Conmudtyhealth lirics,skills ainins Drosramm€s

. Strengtheningamily andcoirmum!es

lV. The EightSouthEastAsianCountriesn theStudy

A. Geographyand Demogrdphy

Ofth€ eightcountdes,ndonesias th€ largestsland,with a tota.l arldareaof 1.8 million

km2. S€condo Indonesias Burma,with a total and areaof657,740km' . The hird is

Thailand, ith 513,115 m2. EastTimor s the iniestat 14,8'14 rr? Next o EastTimor s

Cambodia, ith 181,040 m'?. The Philippines ndVietnam are similarboth in size andpopulation. heyhavea total andarea f aboul300,000 m' anda totalpopulation f close



to 80 million @leaseseetable 3 on the nexl page). Almost all the countrieshavemountainous nd rugged errainand are oftenvisitedby stormsand yphoons.

Exceptor EastTimor,all the countri€s'otalpopulation re n the millions, anging iom 5to 210million Indonesiaegisterche mostnumber finhabitants, ith a otalpopulation

f2074 million. t is followedby Vietnamand he philippinesat close o 80 miliion. EastTimorhas he east,with esshan900,000,ollowedby LaopDR,with 5.22million.

Except or Indonesia,which is also manufactudng, nd the philippines,which is alsoindustrial, ll the countries reprimarilyagricultural. ut for thephiiippines,whosemainexpon s electronics,hecountries'majorexports ange romwoodprodudso loodstuffsoprecroustoneso apparel.

able 3.Co||nlly Totd

in ktrr

Populalion Cryitrl f,evnomy trirportt Lrngurge! Religioi

cambodin l8l,040 12.4M(2001)

Ae.ioultuml Rubber, Khmer,

English

Buddhism

last Timor 14,814 884,000

0998)Diri ASrioultural Coffee and

Portuguesc,Christianity

t,826,440 20'7.4

(r99e)

Jokarrt As.iculturol/

Mrnufacluring

Rubb€r, Bahasa hlarn

Christianity

l"aoPDR )36,800 5.22M(2000)

Timber,

rin

Tlera\,adaBuddhrsm

Burma 657,740 42M(200D

RaEgoon Foodsirfs, Buddhis!:r,Clristianty,Islam

Philippines 300,000 7 8 5million(200)

Msdla AgriculturaYIndrl5t'ial

Filipinohslish

Christianity

Thailand 5 1 3 , 1 1 5 6 2 . 1 M(2000)

Bangkok Agdcdtural Rice Buddhism,Clfistianiq,,Islam

329.560 79.9M(2000)

Haroi Agncultwal Rrc€Frenoh,

ChDese,Khmq,Enslish

BuddhisqHoa,Hao,

Islam,Hidurm.Christianity,



PovertySituation n Southeast slaand NGOResponses

Ofthe eightcountries,ive(e.g.,Cambodia, ao PDR,Burma,Thailand, ndVietnam)have

Buddhism smajor eligion.Two (Philippines ndEastTimor)hasChristianity s he majorreligion. Only Indonesia as slam as ts major eligio4 althoughhe religionhas elativelylarge followings n Burma, Thailand,and the Philippines. All the countrieshavetheirrespectivemajor native anguages.However,someof them(Cambodia, hilippines,East

Timor, Lao PDR, Thailandand Vietnam) consider oreign anguages, uch as English,French, ndPortuguese,s heir secondanguage.

B, Poverty Situdtion and HumdnDevelopment

Poverty ncidencesn theregion range rom l6Yo o 556/o.Ofthe eight countries,East Timorhaspostedhe highest overtyncidence t 55yo, ollowedby the Philippines t 400lo.Thethird highest s Lao PDR at 38.6,closely ollowed by Vietnamat 37olo nd Cambodia t36.1%. Thailand aspostedhe owestpovertyncidence t 15.970.ndonesiaas he secondlowestat 8.2yo. Thc hird owest s Burmaat 22.9yoPleaseee able4 on he ext pag€).

Thecountries'HDI .anks ange iom 66to 131. Ofthe eightcountries, hailand aspostedthehighestHDI rankat 66h whileCambodia aspostedh€ owestat 13Id. TheHDI ranksof the other countries re as follows: Philippines, 0s; Lao PDR, 101"; Vietnam, 102nd;Burma, l8o; and ndonesia, 21$.There's o available ata or EastTimor.

The ollowingare he aces fpoveny in thediffercntcountdesn capsuleorm(Full detailsofthe povenysituationn the eightcountries rediscussedn the ndividual ountrypapers,volume ofthis repon).

Burma

Burma s among he world'spoorest,with an estimated DP ofUS$ 14.2billion. It ranks125uout of 174countdes.n Burma,povertyncidencen urbanareassgreaterhan n ruralareas.Poverty ncidencen urbanareass 23.9%while n ruralareas, 2.4yo.

U$an poverty ate s high due o the highercost of food, a more skewed istributionofincome, nd he ackofaccess o subsistencearming. Ruralpoverty,on the otherhand, smainlydue o low agricultural utput, ince he ruralpoorhave itherno andor plots.

Adult iteracy s high. Whilep maryschool nrolments high,completion.ates low due ocost of textbooks, niforms,school supplies, nd the like. There s high incidenceofHMAIDS in the country. A lot of people,especiallyhe poor,suffer rom malnut.ition,malaria,eprosy, engueever,and uberculosis. ostlypublic acilities reofpoor quality.

The country faces rade and foreign exchangeconst.aintsbecause f sanctionsmposedbycertain ountries, uchas he United States. The US banned ll AmericannvesrmenrsnBurma due o negativ€perceptions bout human ights. Other countries,suchas CanadaandAustralia, had also passed egislatior\ enabling local govemments o restict trade withBurma.



E r r ?r2 r'.

R-6r- 6 4

: t ! 3

:Q ;eF !

*Z tr.

=al;< "o 9 =

l lZ tJ. ia

Erq

F : . , ) c,

h

EE.E, :3a

b- E ro z q . : l E rr.s,9

\ox

: ;

a

t

s^s&'F3

a ) :

a . , E

b'alglxr 3l3l:3

ts l

xaJ9

;..1

IEU

'F

6 6

gI

E

6



Cambodia

Cambodias a very poor country,with GDp per capitaestimated t US $2g0.Thirtv-sixpercent 36010)f the total populationive below the pove.ty ine. Most of the pooi areconcentntedn the rural areas,especiallyhose vr'hose dmary source

of iniome isagriculture.

Statistics how a correlation etween overtyand illiteracy_ majority of the poor areilliterates. Around35,000squatteramiliesor approximatjy tZO,dOOndividuaisive inPhnomPenh.PhnomPenhhashigher iteracy atesor people fboth sexes, ith g23yo fotmales,and 78.670or females,han n anyotherparts f tie country On rheotherhand,morepeople61%) n the ruralareas renotable o complete rimaryeducationompa.edo39.5olon urban reas.More peopleromurbanareas, gid 7-i4, atte;dschool

Only 15%of employedCambodiansre n wageempioyment. he monthlysalaryof wageearnerss US $43. About 46yoof lhe population onsid€rhemselvess unpaid amilywor\e1s, { percentagef women,zo.3yon phnompenha\d 6i.2yo n ruraj areas,areunpaid amilyvr'orkers.A greatmajority fthe populatjon sekerosenessource ffuel forcookingwhile esshan5002 ourceheirdrinkinqwater romwells.

EastTimor

EastTimor sconsideredsoneofthe poorest reasn Southeastsia. Latest tatisticshowthat ts GDP s estimaredt US $344million while its GDp per capitas estimated t US$344. About 55 percentof the EastTimoreseall below rhe poverty ine. The poor areidentifiedmostlyas subsistencearmers, roducing ontraded oods n rural areas. TheGINI coeffciencts 0.31. Thewealthiest 0 perceni ouseholds-iraveash ncomes

hatareonly hr€e imeshigherhan hepoorest 0 percent.

Life expectancys around50 years or womenand 49 years or men. nfantmortality ate(per 1000) s 149 Thereare around15 medicaldoctorsper 100,000 eople,and theilliteracy.rates 50percentin some uraldistrictshe lliteracyate s alove 0 percent).Anestimated5percent fthe populationave ccesso electriciiy nd unningwater.

Indonesia

Indonesia ad achievedemarkableconomic evelopmentver the pastdecade nd hadbeen,until recently, onsidered

o be among he bestperformingEastAsianeconomies.Over heperiod1985o 1997,he ndonesianconomy iew at an-annualateof nearlyg%,oneofthe fastest ndmosteverachievedmong evelopingountries.

However, he Asian inancialcrisis hat hit Indonesjan the middleof 1997broughtaboutsetbackn economic erformance. Dp grofih dropped ramaticaily ndhigh nflation atewêreew of thoseadversempactsof thecrisis thl longdroughiand or"estires during1997,ollowedby political nstabilityn the ransitional eiriod irtributed o Ine worsetungof socio-economiconditions. ucheconomicelated aitorsas skyrocketing ces,decline



Poverty ituationn Southeastsia ndNGO esponres

in agriculturalproductiorgshrinkageofthe formal sector,and a hugepressureon the overalllabor marketare cited as causing negative ocial mpact,especially n the population's

mostwlnerablegroups.

With massiveayoffsandhigh nflationafter hecrisis, he ncidence fpove.ty n Indonesia

significantly increased. Forty percent (4lyd) of the people are living below poverty line,comparedo l1% p.ior to the crisis. lncidence f povertyat the aggregateevel s around2402.Povertyworsenedn urbanareasasterhan n rural areas. 6an povertynqeased y103percentwhile rural poverty ncreased y 78perceIrt.

Lao PDR

The country s among he wodd's least developed, ith per capita of $284. Povertyincidencen the country s 38.6%,with 26 9olon theurbanareas nd41oZn th€ ruralareas.

An estimated 0percent f population re lliterat€, nd ife expectancyt birth s 55 years.

Only 18%of thepopulation aveaccesso adequateevel of sanitation, nd only 32o/oateaccesso safedrinking water. On the educational iont, Lao children undergoan averageofless han kee years fschoolingandqualityofeducations modest.

In the ast five years, he Lao PDR hasachievedaverageeconomicgrowthof about 6 percentperannumand educedhe incidence fpoverty tom 45 Io 39yo.The ncidence f povertyvaries significantlyacross egionsas well as betweenurban and rural areas.Povertyincidences highest n the northem egionand lowest n VientianeMunicipality.Whileeconomicrowthhashelped educe overty,he ich havebenefitedmore han hepoor.

Philippines

Povertyn thePhilippines asalways een ruralphenomenon- more han wo-thirds fpoorhouseholdsive n ruml areas.Povertyncidencencreasedy 3.2percentrom 36.8 n1997o 40.0 n 2000.

High interregional nd intra-regional i{Ierencesn poverty ncidence xist The level ofincome nequality aspersistedt high evelsduring hepast30 years.Evenwith reductionsln thepoverty ncidences uring he 1985-2000period, he Gini indices n the Philippineshavehardlychang€d t 0.451.

PhilippineHDI has mproved ver hepast ofiy years.However, argedispadties xist nthe IIDI in differ€nt areasofthe country. Poverlt self-rating surveys ndicatethat a largemajorityofthe populationonsiderhemselvesoor.

Life exp€ctancy s 69 yea$. Adult literacymtes and effollment ratios are high. However,overone-quarterfFilipinos 0 years ndabove re unctionallylliterateMalnutrition emains n important ealthproblemn the countryas t contributeso childmortality and morbidity. Infant mortality has not improved in recentyearsalthoughtheleading ausesfdeath -- respiratoryiseases,iarrhea,measlesrepreventable-



PovertySituation n Southeast siaand NGOResponses 14

Thaildnd

Poverty nd nequality ontinueo be a characteristicf Thaisociety.While the mpressivegror4thates fthe eaxly1990s€ndedo reduce r transcandoncems bout nequality,hecrisis f 1997underlined eep,egional, ocialandurban/ruralivides.

Thailandhadone ofthe highestGDP gron'thrates n the world in the past ew decades,averuEing.6 percentper annum rom 1977 o 1996.Between1988and 1996,Thailand'spoverty ncidence ropped rom about 33 percent f the populationo about 11 percent,tpnslating o more han millionpeople eing iftedoutofpovertyeach ear.

The country's conomic rosperity ame o a sudden alt when he economic risisstruckThailandn 1997.The ncidence f pove.tydeclined teadilyn the wo decadesp to 1997.Sincehe c.isis, herehasbeen reversal fthis trend. The atest igurcsshow hat 15.9olofthepopulation re iving below a definedpoverty ine of 886Bahtper personper month.The crisis hascausedmany economicand socialproblems,ncluding ncreasedates nunemploymentnd nflationaswell as n povertyand nequality.

Povertyremainsacute n some areas. Recent studiessuggesthat 92 percentof poveny inThailends rural,with the northeast aving hehighestncidence f povertyat 19.4percentin 1996.This figure rose o 24.0percent nd 30.8percentn 1998and 1999 espectively.While he ncreasen povertyncidencen thenortheastue o the crisiswasquitesevere,hesituation as elativelywors€ n the central ndsouthernegions.

Vietnam

With a GIM cosfficientof .35, he counrry anks 106out of 174 countries.ts GNP

percapita s US $370.On theotherhand, ts cDP percapita s US$400. Thirty-seven ercent(37%) of its people ive below he poverty ine. Ninetypercent90%)ofthe poor ive inruralareas ndarepredominantlyarmers.Majorityofthesepeople elongo ethnic roups.

Some 2%ofchildrcnaremalnourished,47oofwhomsufer ftom severemalnutrition.Lifeexpectancys about67 years or males nd 72yearsor females.Around 1.5million youngpeople readdedo the abour orceperyear.25 millionpeople, caountingor 600Z fthelabour orce, areunemployedor underemployed.

V. MajorCauses f Poverty n the RegionMajor causesof poverty in the region can be categorizednto the following. economic,political, ociocultural,ndnatural isastersPleaseee able5 below).Under he economiccausesrebiased oliciesagainsthepooror towards rbandevelopment,neven conomlcgrowth,unequaldistributionof wealth,underinvestrnentn agriaulture,Asian economiccrisis, tc. Politicalcausesnclude:epressiver highlymilitarized ovemments,ivil warorstrife, armedconllict bgtweennativesairdcolonialpoweqand he like. Socio-cultural ausesare lack of access o basic social services,ack of food security,p.evalence f highly



I;

Poverty ituationn Southeart sia ndNGO esponses 1

infectious iseases,mongothers-Under naturalcauses recalamities, uchas typhoons,floods,and orest ires.

Of the major causesof poverty, the Asian financial crisis that hit the region in 1997 haseffectedhe biggestmpacton the countries' conomies,speciallyn those hat had posted

high economic $owth prior to the crisis (Indonesia and Thailand). It set back theconsiderableconomicgains hesegovemments ad achieved.Political repression ndviolenaealso account or the stuntingof economicgrowthin countries,such as Burma, EastTimor, and Cambodia. he govemments'misprioritisation r misappropriationf publicfundscauses oor deliveryof qualitybasicsocialserviaes,uchas education, ealth,andinfrastruclure, worsening the already depressing condition of the poor and ultrapoor(Philippines,ao PDR,Cambodia,ndVietnam).

The following ar€ brief accounts n the major causes f poveny n the eight ASEANcountdes:

Burma

Themain easonsor Burma's ervasivendseeminglyopelessoverty ituation re heflawed oliciesndpoliticalepressionhegovernmentontinueso mplementndexercise,There as een large-scaleisplacementf ethnic roups,orcedabouror militarycampworlgandhumanightsviolations.

Food carcitysanotherroblem oundirg urma. t existsn bothcivil warandnon-civilwararca,making ll community embers,articularlyomen ndchildren, uffer romhungelmalnutrition,llnesses,ndother ardships. ood carcityrings bour xtonronswellas nfiickingofgirlsandwomen.

Cambodia

Causes f poverty n Cambodianclude:uneveneconomic rowth, ack of accesso basicservices,ack of accesso livelihood,high dependencaatio, Iandmineq aturaldisasters,polit icalnsrabil i ty,nd heAsian conomicrisis.

Peopleiving in rural areas ave essaccesso basicservicesuchaseducation ndhealttlcapitayincome,nd techlology. They have less access o employmentor livelihoodopportunitiesand are argely in debt. With a high dependenceatio, moreand morepeople,including landmine

victims, are becomingeconomically nproductiveand depindint.Ha.vestsd€pendon weatherconditions,and hus, he occurrence ffloods and droughtshavean adverseeffect on food security. Tha Asian economiccrisis and renewed politicalinstability etback he modest conomic ains hecountry adobtainedn 1990,s.; owinsdecadesfcivil war.



Poverty ituationn Southeist siiandNGoResponses

EaEtTimor

Centuries f armedconflict and unreslunder colonialrule or invadingpower and theviolenceof 1999haveb€enmainlythe underlying easonsor;";;;," East Timor.Colonialor invading owerdid not sincerelyworked-towardshe

"olntry.JO"u"topr"nt t,tmerely ucceededn exploiting ndbleedingtrecountry nd tspe;fdry.

Thecountrywasr€nderedotally nutileaffer the 1999violence.The erritory,ssocialandeconomic estruclion as.promptedhe intemalional ommunity ; i"i;;;r. and provideemergencyssistanceo the EastTimorese. Massiveeconstru&ion "iiuiil"*, pa.tLufa.iiinfrastructure,havebeenundertakenandstate nsJirutiom, ";i;;;;';;;;;. govemment,theUN Transitionaldministration astTimor,havebeen etup.

'

Indonesia

IT^.1::.1,I111 ::onomiccrisis,.long&ought. nd forest ires, o owedby political

11s::lllll l"the ransitionaleriod aveput o a halt ndonesia,secadesf unintemrptedeconomrcromh. Theeconomicrisis hathit Indonesian themiddte f feeZbroigiriaboutsetbackn economic erformarce, orespecificallyn irnproverientsn humandevelopmente.g., ducationnd health.;nd emarkableeductionnG iluerty in"iOen"".

9?j.n:y!l:*:l lramltic{I1r939v..: p",""nter nnurneiorirr"e'crisiserioaoa negauveconomrcrovtlh f -13.2o/on 1998..his ggregatencome lift significantlyrefle€tedhe mpact f currencvevaluation,hichcreajld lonorni"uii.uu"r, f"uaingohighnflationateSaid, 001).

The ongdroughtnd orestiresn 1997,ollowed ypoliticalnstabilityn the ransitionalperiodhaveworsenedhe socioeconomiconditions.'u"h

"";;;;i;'r;edfircto.sas

:|.I":fliqprices,ectinen.agricuttumlroduction,f,rt"t"e";i-;" r"r."l sector ndanuge ressur€n heoverallabourmarket ave auseddversi ociaf.puct, especiallynthemostwlnemble roupsfthepopulation.

Lao PDR

Themost. ommonly itedcauses f porr'ertynclude: andproblems, o cash nvestmentopay for rice whiie improvements ri beingmade, i""rt"& oir""r",-""ii."ul o,rurt"r, uno!:*::.,:nv'lonTentat

degradation.ackof water for potentialagricuitu.ai ioauctton,anddrrtrcutt ccesso ruralcredit

fth:l cause_sf pove.ty are: lack of arable land; too many children; poor health andinsuflicienthearthservices;ack of government ssistance;ack of technical/comm€rcial

*:]::rg;-:ulj'r .andaccessibitiry:revatencef ,hint"g";iri*rio;,

rl* pric"s o,agflcurtur.rlroducts:piumaddiclion. XO contamination,nd heft

Se^riouseakn€ssesr gaps n basiceducation ndhealthservices,ndby very poor ruralinfrastructurencludingnigation,ma.ketaccessoads,andelectricitf nike'rururoo.,rertu



worse.Thecountry'smountainouserrain, emotesettl€ments,nd ow populationdensityserve sbar.ierso accesso andcost-€fficienteliverv foublic services.

Philippines

The following are identified as the main causesof poverty in the countryj slow grolth andlackofemployment pponunities;nequalityn incomes ndassets; ighpopulation ro*th;biasedpoliciesand underinvestmentn agriculture;nadequatend unequalprovisionofsocialservices;nadequateargeting;and lack of participation f the poor in decision-maKlng.

There is failure io the long-term, to restructure he economy o makeit extemally morecompetitivendallowbroadpeopl€ articipation. hehighlyunequal istribution fincomeshascontributedo th€ sluggishnessf poverty ncidenceor thepast30 to 40 years. Highincomenequalityeflectshehigh evelofasset nequality.

High population roMh affectspoorhouseholdshrougha smallerdistribution f incomesamong hem. Biased policies ovr'ards apital-intensive,mport-substitutingectorshaveresultedn the ncreasefineflicientprotectedndustries. ndirinvestmentnihe agriculturalsector asslowed owncropproduction.

The qualityof socialservices as beenquitepoor,and he rateof improvement f theseservices asbeenslow.The poor ackaccesso healthservices ecaus; f inad€quatendunequal preadof public health acilities.Lack of potablewater supplysy$em merelyworsenshe conditionofthe poor. The ndustrial ectorandacademiieihnocrats argelyinfluenceeconomicpolicymaking.Thus, poJiciesmerely benefit vested nterestsaniunderulilisehepoor's esource,abour

Thailand

The inancial risis hatattacked siancountriesn 1997 s consideredo bea majorcause fpovedy n the region.Theeconomic risishascaused reatdamagen the socioeconomicconditionsf millionsofpeople,n thiscase,n Thailand.

Exports,whichhadbeen he mainvehiclebehind ecovery, erehit by an increasen thecost of importsdue to the rise in oil pricesand a depreciation f the baht.Agriculturesuffered ue o an ncreasen the costof imported eediand enilizers,while internationalprices f agdcultural roductsell.

Vietnam

A numberof factorscausepoverty n Vietnam.These nclude:unevendistribulionofeconomic rowth,minimal government udget or basicsocialservices,arge amilies nruralareaswith few gainfullyemployedmembers, nfavourablelimaticconditions, 960,sVietnamwar,economicransition, ndAsianeconomicrisis.



Growth is mainly concentratedn urban areas,makingPovertya largely rural phenomenon

There s alsoa big discrepancyn living standardsetweenural andurbanareas Public

spendingn basic ervices asa mere8.57o ftotal governmentxpendituresn 1997 Poor

householdsn rural areas ave argenumber f childrerbut with a few gainfullyemployed

members. ew,or noneat all,non-farm mploym€nt reavailable

Thepoor have ittle or no land. They ack savings nd acaesso credit, echnology, asic

health and eduaation services, material resourceq and other physical and social

infrastructures,such as information and markets. Gender ine4uality, severe natural

calamities,ong-termeffectsofwar also contribute o the worseningpovertysituation

Vietnam's ransitionAom a command conomyo a marketeoonomys alsoseen s one of

the causes f poverty. With the tnnsition, statesubsidiesor publicwelfatehavebeen

reduced. The Asian crisis has caused nemployment nd underemployment.Nominal

incomes f household nd hepurchasingf domestic onsumersnd oreignmarkets ave

decreased,ndagriculturalproductshavestagflated.

Table5. Causes fPovertv n the EishtCourLtn€S

Cornarv EcotroDio Politicrl SocioCdtuml Natural

Burma Lackof entrepreneursRelatively losedeconomyHighmiliwysDendins

MilitarydictatorchipForced elocationof peopleCorruDuon

l,ack of accessobasicsoclal €rt,icesLackoffood security

En!1ronmentaldegradationNatumlandmanmadedisasters

Cambodia Lack of hunDncaprt,llUneveneconomicgrcw|n

Rebuilding fPoliticallnstitutions fferlongcon{lictExistence f

lanalmines

High uitemcy ateLackofaccess obasicsocials€Nic€sHIV-AIDS

EastTimor Lackof economicactivities,obs or dlep€oPl€Dcstroyed eyinftastructure

Fledgling Politjcalinstitutions

Ethnic/religionasedconllict

Iltdon€sia FiDancialcrisis of 9?-98Cmnvism

Political nstabiliryCornrption

Ethnic/religion basedconllicls

DroughtForesi ires

Lao PDR Lack of infi'astructureRelatively closedeconomyRelianceon ODA

Lack of accessobasicservic€s

Environmeald€gadationLackofarableand

Philippines Boom and bust cyclesdue o flawedpolici€s

Financial crisis ol 97-98

Peace nd OrderPolitical inslabilityCorruption

High populationgror{n

Volcamc cnrptiodStorms

Thailand Finarcial crisis of 97-98

Political InslabilityCoruDtion

HIV-AIDS Problem



vietnao Tra$ition ftomcommando market

Lackof inf.astuctur€

Lack ofaccess osocial servic€sHigh population

oensllyExclusionof

PovertySituation n Southeast siaand NGORes9onses

vt. StrategiesAgainstPoverty

A. Governments'Responseso poverty

The governments'csponsesowards povertyalleviation ange from the promotionofeconomic roMh, implementationf asset elbrm to provisionand improvement f basicsocialservices, oreparticularlyo sectors r communiliesn remoteariasseldom eachedby suchservices;rom employment eneration ndprovisionof livelihoodopportunitiesocapacity uilding o constructionfinfrastructur€e.g., ommunication,arm omarket oad,ir.igation,watersupply ystem, tc.). (Pleaseee able6 below).

Som€govemments lsocornmittedhemselveso good govemance, romotingprinciples,such as_ ransparency, ccountability, fficient and effective public service, decisiveleadership,and the like. Others promote key concepts,such as participarion,decentralisation,nd massorganisationsn implementing rogrammes. Recognisinghevaluable_role GOs piay in povertyalleviation,govemmenti,which formerly posturedunfhvorablettitudesowards he ormer,havestarted ollaborating ith NGOS.Someevenprovideundingsupport.

The foliowing discussion resentshe individualgovernment,sesponsesowardspovertyreduction:

Burma

Thegovernment'soverty eduction olicies entreon ruraland agricultural evelopment.The.governmentas adoptedmethodso boost agricultural roduction,ncludingwatersupplyand armmechanisation,ndadvancedechnologicalnowledge.Also, t hasdraftedand implemented ppropriate olicies o improve he country,ssocial ndicarors, uchashealthandeducation. t hasopenedmoreschools, ospjtals,nd h€aithcentresn the ruralareas.

Cambodia

G.ovemmenttrategiesgainst overty nclude:ormulation fmacro_policyiameworkandplatform,mprovementfheaithandeducationervices,evisionofgreateiaccesso naturarresources,mployment nd collaboration ith NGOs,civil societyand donors. Also, thegovernmentas mplementedrograms ndprojects, uchas nf.astructureehabilitation nd



PovertySituation n Solthelst AsiaandNGOResponses 2

development, ura.l development, riangle strategl (building peacq stability, and security),andmicro inance.

East Timor

As a response owards €conomic ccovery, the govemmentestablisheda policy frameworklor macroeconomictability. he ramework nderlines number fprinciples o strengthengovemance, amely: ransparenctaccountability, mcient and effeotivepublic servicgintegrity, ustomer-focusedor\ decisiveeadership,nd esponsiveo localbuslnesses.

Tru$ funds for th€ countrywere establishedor the country's econstructionctivities.Theserust unds ncludeTINTAETTrustFund,administeredy the ransitional ovemment,and Trust Fund for East Timof (TFET), managed y World Bank in close cooperationwithADB.

UNTAET trust fund finances rojects n the ar€asof civil serviceand udiciarycapacity

building; and covers the cost of all recurrent expenditures f the East Timoreseadministration. Inoluded n the projectsare thc rehabilitationand re-equipment fadministrative,olice,andjudiciary uildings, nd or the railing ofcivil servants.

On hc otherhand, rogrammesndprojects nderTFET nclude: ommunity mpowermentaad local govemance; il i communityemployment eneration;mergencynfrastructurerehabilitation; mall enterprise; ealthsectorr€habilitation nd development; griculturefehabilitation nd development;mergency chool eadiness; ater supplyand sanitationrehabilitation; icrofinance;ndeconomic apacity uilding

Indonesia

During he crisis, he Governmentflndonesiastrengthenedocialsafetynets o respondotheneeds fthe traditionally oorand henewlypoor.Measures ereadoptedo increaseheaccess f the poor to food and essential ealthand education ervices.The policy ofdecentralization,n major part, aimedat addressingegionaleconomicdisparities ndimprovingpoverty argeting.

ln addition o the decentralisationcheme,he govemment stablishedseries f newandexpanded rograms. heseprogramswere widely known as the socialsafety let or JPS(Jaring PengamanSosial)programs.These programs ncludedt l. food security;2employmenteneration rogmmo. labor-intensiverojects; . socialprolection education,

health, amilyplanning, ld social ervices); nd4. SMEspromotion. mphasis asgiven oimplement heseprogramson a decentralised nd transparertbasis, nvolving districlgovemments;municipalities nd village communities ere expeatedo contribute o thegovemment'sforts to eradicateoverty.



PoverwSituationn SouthealtAsiaand NGOResponses 21

Lao PDR

The Lao PDR's strategic approach is to reduce poverty through human and rural

development,nd people'sparticipatioq focusing on: L agricultureand forestry; 2

education;. health; nd4 road nftastructure.

Panicipation,ecentralisation,ndmass rganisationsrekey conceptsn thegovemment's

systemof plandng for poverty alleviation. The govemmenthas carried out participatory

planningexercisesn differentprovincesn order to empowerprovincesand districts o

identify he dynamics f developmentrocess nd o ensure eople's lose nvolvementnpovertyalleviationplans. The decentralisationolicy increasinglyguides he nationel

planning ontextas capacity uilds up. The govemments giving its full attention o theprcvinces,as hey are now becomingstrategicunitsunde( he decentralisation olicies.

The nationalplanningfor poverty alleviation,both in its participatoryplanning and

implementationdimensions, s supportedall over the country by an extensivenexworkof"massorganisations",arryingout most of the participatory ctivitiesat gras$ootsevel,

workingcloselywith thepopulation,nd structudng nd mobilisingdevelopmentilorts at

the ocal ev€I. Severalmass rganisationsnd support fiategies,dentifiedn this study,serve sessential lementso the govemment'soverty eduction tmtegy.All of theseare

verycrucialn the developmentfthe country nd n the successfthe govemment'soaloferadicatingoverty.

Philippines

The responsesfthe governmentowardspoverty eductioniom 1986 o presentnclude

asset eforms, argetednterventions,nd comprehensiveovertyaileviationprogrammes,Programmesnderasset eforms re he ComprehensivegrarianReformProgramCARP)

andComprehensivend otegrated helter inancing ct (CISFA). Comprehensiveoveny

alleviation programmes nclude the Social Reform Agenda, National Anti-PovertyCommission .{APC), ndKapit-Bisig aKahirapanKALAHI).Targeted nterv€ntionsncluded employmentgenemtionprogrammes,ivelihood, food

subsidy chemes.

CARP strategiesncluded he ust and speedy edistribution f agricultural and, and theprovisionof nec€ssary upportservic€s. CIFA aimed o improve securityof tenure n

housing. RAworked owa.ds hepromotion fefficiency n the marketplace,dvancement

ofsocialequity n termsofasset efolms,ust sharing fthe benefits fgrowth, andeffectiveintegationofdisadvantagedroupsnto thepoliticalandeconomicmainstream. APC was

anchored orl agricultural modemisationand low cost mass housing. KAIAHI aims atredistributiveeform hrough ivecorcstrategiesn targetedoorcommunities,amely: ssetreforrq provisionof humandevelopment eryices, mploymenteneration nd ivelihood,participation in govemanceand institution building, provision of social protection andsecurity iom violence.



Thalland

TheGovernmentfThailandprovidedhoseaffected y the Asiancrisis,he mostwlnerablesector,with varioussocialwelfareprogrammes.heseprogrammesnclude: . healthcardsystemor low incomegrcups;

2. education chemeshrougheducationoan programmesand government cholarshipsor drop-outstudents; fld 3. socialpension or elderly.However,studies howthat thgprogrammesw€re rrotable o reach he target beneficiariesasmuchas heyshould.

Vietnam

Among hegovernment'sesponsesowards overty eduction ret h€ mplementationftheDoi Moi (Reformation ndRenoyation) olioies nda policy o create ;portunitiesor thepoor; creation of a GO-Dono.-NGOpoverty Working Group; implementationofprogrammes, uchas the National Targetprogrammefor HungerEradicationand povertyReductionHEPR),

Comprehensiveoverty

ReductionStrategy CPRS),SocialprotectionProgrammes, ational EmploymentGenerationprogamme;and the establishment fmic.ofi alcing nstitutions.

Table6. Towards ReducrionCountry Gorernment

Burma ' Policiesorrural ndagrcrr@. fbrei consewatioo.eforestation.rovision fpower.corrununicationinfiastruqure. Emplq.rnenlgenqation.

Cafibodia I Progruruneso mprove ealth ndeducation-. Policiespromoling:nucroeconomy, rivarcsector& infrastntcture eveloDment.

expansionf gfety netsandclearancef landmines,eccntralisation.mprovinsrccesso educalio[water,a.Dd anilatio[ bencrgovemance.nabting nvironmeni

for NGOS, reater ccesso natuml esources,ol[borativeparrncrship-sirhNGOs,civil society, nddonors.

. Programm€s: 4iogl progunune to rehabilitateand developCambodia,1,.socioeconomicevelopmental lan 1996-00, .lrianglcsaategy p€ace,stability.security)", ndmicrofi ancing.

EastTimor . Policy for rnacroeconomy. Timor SeaAgeemcnt. Trust FundsC|FET,L}{TAET) projects:

- communityempo*ermentalrd mal govemance- emplolm€nt- infra rehab- smallenlerpdse

- healftrchab ad devt- agri rehaband dev't- emergency chool eadiness' watersupplyand sanitation ehab- microfinanc€- economicaoacitv lds

-t Decenlr-alisationscheme. Social afe0setprognmmel foods€curiry.mplo).rnenr.octal roleflrorlsrnallard

medlumenterpnses)

Indonesia



povertySltuationn lutheast lsia anaXCOTespon -

Suppod programmes.t'XO demntaminationdilg control,ullqPrygE4llq-I3qgDal pop n and

de\

r

Doticv-sender

DecentralisationMassorganisations:omen, out\ etlEic/ eligious,worken

Corpr"h*a"ffi(-ore fiaffo?olicies_lob€cneraung andequiry na;ingInstrtudonatisationfsoci"iir",rrandJ.ir.i1 n",.

i:fj*frff:l;Pi6;d;il;4 e",ffiE;mil

:+rorrgeappro@,rcoucuotrot poor's\r.dnemblliD lo unforeseen vents

Sgme.rely,nsiv.eq€rryRearcrionnareeycpns)Po\,er9WorkingGroLrpmultisectoral)

B. NGOResponseso poverty Reduction

I3::T:lintemationalnd ocal,un-and.mplemenrarious rogmmmesndprojecrsnne espectrveountrieshevoperateoalleviateoveny.Their espinsesanbecategorisedntoheollowing:dvocacy,rsanisins,"tirJt;i'b"si;;o"LTiffiill,""o ,,u"rtooarogammesplease ee able7 below)

ilff';oo'",:ffi,1',:ili,*if:JTg-r,"fentins themarginalisedecto$,t henationat,

,,npt*un,"iioioirt'.-i;;"g#;Jf:it:^communities

nd. ectoralroupso facilirareservicesnd rovidin;tiliffi;;-ooirl"lli,i',,t:ts'

mote articularlvndeliveringasicocial

The following djscussionearureshelocalNGos imptementn thecountriesil$r:;t".:i:.*t*t"t

andprojectsntemationai nd

Burma

I::T"r"frl1,,i"T"rTli,:i['-d;:J:'":TIr]11ia1ionhroughrolectsimedt ncreasine

"*"c,r,""r";ii"";il;i;#il:Jft,i:fl "".."ffj'"J,".J1;.ji,,h*,.'"T"arsLocalorganisations.n rheotherhand. ealwith issues n healtlL ducalion,ndcommunityevelopmenrSome rganlsationsresocjeriesahar".opo""

*i,i g"*,#int a"pu.,r"nt.ndegionaleoplen heexecutionf ural """lop'n;ni;;;;;;;"?""'#ffiii,,

' Mostwereorgarjzed y hemilitrry.



povertysituationn Souiiriast sia nJNcoiesponses

Nevertieless,the.concept of NGo in Burma is new and not yet much understood. Nolegislation tsoexists egardinghem. The.elationship1if t exiJts)beJeen NGOSand heMyanmargovernments srill unclear. AdvocacyNGbs whichfocuson human ightsanddemocratizationperateoutside he countrybecause f po.rlUt"- n#""ra,an from themilitary egime.

Cambodia

The st.ategiesof NGOs and othe. sectorsagainst poverty include: infrastructurerehabilitation,rovision f reliefassistance,arge_scaleeiviceetiveryusrngmultilateralandbilateralunding, ervice erivervînoop"raion itr, gou"rnrn"ni ,i.,"iur"., communrtydeveiopment,nd hedevelopmentf tooal.lCOs na iv"i"".g."i*i.^'

o,f,erstrategiesincludestrengtheningf localcapacity, ncouragingocar ritijires, anJcreaitandsavings

VDCs lso

_aid

n rural-dev€lopment.heyserve s inksbetweenhegovemmentnd ocalrnter€sts.GOSegard DCsasa mechanismywhich ivilsoclety

"a-iiieracteff""tiu"tyand layanactive artndecision-nrakingo*"rj, a"u"tprn"nt.

-

EastTimor

T_.Ojf:"]progErnmesndprojectsnternationalnd ocatNGOs mptementn thecounlry re n educationnd raininq, ealth,.waterupply ndsunitation,griculturenddevetopment,sov€mancend aw,c$acitybuilding,;i;; ;;;;;. Educationnd

*l1,lg'li"gr"T-":aremaintyn the formof teacherndvoca-rionatraining,ncludingrmprovementfcuniculum;cholarshipsor secondarynd erti",l il;"dq upgradingndexpanding_echnicalducation;pecialnterest ours€s

orpoor

children;-onstructionfschooluildings;nd rirnaryducationr early hilddeveiopment.

Healthprogrammesnd D.oiectsnclude:community_basedealthactivities apacitybuildingn managingiseaies.echnicalssistancq"fiilnd;';oiis, inrormation,education,nd ommunicationampaigns,uppl"rn"nt"ryJ"aing;ut i1;n, puori"utlonfmaterialsnhealth,onstructionfiealthcentersnd cquisitioriofmedi"ailqu,pmen.

Water upply ndsanitationrojectsnclude:uildingwater upply ndsaritationacilities,strengthening f water manaaementgencies,"o-ort-"tion'ii

*"irr,-'i"pui, or *ut".lj:Ill:,..:l:ll.*r.

ac. Somlagriculture nd ulaldevetopmentrog.ammesr p.ojectsrncruoeetennaryervices,egionallanningssistance,nd cono-Laiu"foorn"n,.

Govemance nd law programmesr projects nclude: he establishmentf a legal aidorganisationapacityuildingn prouiaingegut r.i"ran"e.-rno-niori"goi

l,rrnu";g1,,,vrolattons.evelopmentf humaniehrsraining ndeducationours-esor communjtygroupsndorganisers.nd stablishme'ntfan ndJpendentedia.

Capacityuildingocusesn morovinghe performancef institutionsndorgamsations,includiry developing uman esources-hrough raining;;";;;;";";;"tudng work



PovertySituation h SoutheaitAsleahd NGOResponse3

unitsandchanging ines of communicationandmanagement. mong the livelihood projectsimplemented re ivestock aising,micro-finance r micro-credit, nimalhusbandry,attlelarming.haberdashery,ndhandicrans.

lndonesia

NGOs,both ocaland nternational,ork through hegovemmentystem ndcooperate ithvillage-basedr community-basedrganizationsowardspoverty eduction.nternationalNGOs have mountedsupportprograms, articularlyn food relief operations,undedbybilateral onors.

On the other hand, ocal NGOsareinvolved in povertyalleviation though projectsaimedatincreasilg food production,mproving health and education, nd providing livelihoodopportunities. heyare nvolved n strengtheninghe capacitycapability uilding)of otherlocalorganisations.

In the area of social protection,several NGOS have initiated activities, direct€d towardshelping he poor. Activities ncludeassisting treetchildrenand assistingworkersfrndaltemative mployment.n addition o govemment chemes, GOS un hundreds f smallmicro-credit schemeshrcughout he country.

Philippines

NGO responsesn the Philippines anbe categorizedy majorareas: dvocacy, rganising,deliveryof socialservices,ivelihoodprogrammesndskills raining. ManyNGOs are ntoadvocacywork followed by educationand training, capacitybuilding and organizing.Advocacycan furtherbe subdividednto economic e.g. foreigndebt, maqo-policy)or

political ssues human ights,governancend aonuption)and relativelymostNGOs areinvolvedn the latter han he o.mer. Trainings elivered y NGOSarevery muchdiverse.Organising ork hasdefinitely onedown n the astdecade.A mo.edetailed escriptionfthe espoosesregivenbelow n table15.

Thailand

NGOs'roles n the countryare well recognised nd ncorporatedn the nameof people,sparticipation. pproximately 0,000ocalNGOSand30 intemational GOsare nvolved na wide variety of concems nd activitiesn the country.Many of them are engagedndevelopmentrogrammes,romotingself-helpand community-st.engthenedrogrammes.Several GOsparticipaled nd ookgreal esponsibilityn drafting he curenteconomic ndsocial evelopmentlanofthe countrybased n he sloganpeople-centeredevelopment.,'

Vietnam

Civil society n Vietnam s made p of organisations,uchas ntemationalesourcegenci€sor donororganizationsnd ocaland international GOs and massorganisations. It isinvolved n a wide rangeof community evelopmentforts eitherwith thegovemment r



independert f it.In some nstances,ovemmentnstitutions uppo.t he work of NGOSrrrougn rne nrobrlrsatlon nd tappingof its own personnel nd materialresourcesbroevetopmentntltatlves

someprojects ivil society mplementsn variouspartsofthe countryare nformalsocialprotectron.chemes microfinancing). Farmers,othet interestgroups,oa even whole

:::1li1,l:: 11up these inancingschem€s.

,In this scheme,membersmake regutarconrnDulonsndcanexpecto get nsuranceenefitsn timesofemergenciesndold ati.

Summary latrix of NGOResponseso poverty in the Region

NGo responsesn the variouscountriesmayfall into the differentcategories efined n the

'Tfusmamx nas laketr iom rhephilipphe casestudy.

t)?csof N@ responsesopotenl ,edr.uon

ofNGO

hrfluencing olicy-economiinaloirlioa;participationn polioyprocessesndothcrmecharisms;promotinggoodgovemance ndcampargnhgagainstcorruption:awarencssaising

Influoncingooalpotioi;";parri;ifiioffi loc"lcounorls;warencssaisingn thc comfiunitvl.rfluencingpecrfisectoralssuesike[rarian

urbal poorhousing,coconut ew, etc

d Conmum4,Organzini Establishirgommuniryasedro ps;s,slrglhem nstrengtlcninqheirorcanizations

b) SectoralOrganAing Helpingorgarizeaborunlonc a.rn"rsorganrzatiotrs,rbanpoorqrouDs.tc.

Implemennghearhprogrrrnm@; marynealti are.mmunizationnves. iv-Aids

ConduclingiteracyousesEiseiilii

lmplementingrogramm67 p@iiiEilEiichildJen._thelderly.battercd omen. rgarzrnts

at lncone-generating 'roVt ts Assistand inanco majlprojocEo,"ornmuoitvroupsnd rdividuals

b) Micro-f nanceP cj ects Civecredit nd oans o feasrbh rojects trdsmalibusincssesndividually r collecdveh

Thediversity fPhilippineNcOs provideh€vanous



povertySituationn Sor.rtneastsiilna NCO esponses

Vll. Assessmentsf Government esponses:

2.

L Most governments till focus on the role of maoroeconomicrowth in poveny

[*i,:.:]!yqi

thishasbeen hangingn recenr ears s bequalityof groMh hasoeenaccepted s he morecrucial actor (e.g.groMh that genoate,joU.:oi fo"ur"d:l

ruralT:asl:

Morerecentmacroeconomic-iomh p",f"fi;;;;;;;"i'has be"nhamperedy thecriseshathavehit the region, he inancial n"ftaorvnn iiyz unathepostSeptembe.1 errorist ttacks.

Y.ll9,Tll8:-.renrshavealreadyormulared ationat lans o combatpoveny,severalntlques merge:

t In the.planning tage, ey stakeholders ay havebeenmissedor excluded.

(especiallyor specific oveny eduction roiram)"5 rhe probremn th€ imprementationtagi rs reratedo the rackof resources,tnter-agencyoordination,ollaboration ith p vatea""ro. una

"iult'.o","ry-groups. apacrtyfgovernment gencieso deliver ervices

5 Kesourcend inancial onstraintsor poverty rogrammesreexacerbatedy-

cornrption ndweakgovemance5 Suslatnedoveny ampaignsre imited.ashangesn regimesarrywith ranan-gesn programmesnd mplementations n thecase f thephilipprnes

and ndonesiag D€centralisedi.e via localgovernments)esponsesbr poverty eduction restill Iimitedf Donor conditionalities ffect the strategies ndertaken s in the pRSp

countriesMa.laluanndGuttal. 0Ol.l5 Difficulty of govemmento establi;h. ffectivemonitoringand evaluationsystemso funher efinepovenyslrategies

r rne quesrron t equrtyand asset eformsas key policy thrust towardspovenyj*:lil-i:.".X,1r nampere.dy he xistingoliticalcoo'o.yi"rJ ui

"onr.."r,roupsesrstetbrmshatwiil tend oredistributessetsnd niomeso thepoor1e.g.grarianeformor evenplainsubsidieso th" po;;;;il; m-argrnatiseogroups.).

.t OrgarusngCooperunves Assistcommunitiesands*tot i,"statlis.hi"goooelaltves

5,Skills ndValucs raini

Pro\,idespecrficsklllsProlrde alue-oncntedort shops naseminars6. Reliefand Rehabilitatio; Pro*de,cmergcncyi^ rc6sr,-ii asGm-f,iE[,

sbeltgr,ood ations. tc.afterdisastersrconflicts; Communityorganizationorrehabilitation

;H:ffi?1#i,*"nrhoushasrnprovedntheasrdecadenmanvountriesxceptossblvfor



PovertySituation in SoutheastAsia and NGOResponses 8

4. Difficulty of governments o maximise ODA for poverty reduction. Absorptivecapacity s low because gainof resource onstraints, eak nstitutional apabilityand the difficulty in coordinating various donors in terms of their thrusts andpriorities.

Dilficulty in targetingultra-poor and very poor groupsas statisticsare scant,

resourcesre imitedand hepossibilities fpatronage trong i.e.povertyalleviationfunds are diverted o groups supportiveof the regime). When a regtme lsconsolidating ower (e.g Indonesiaor Philippinesor holdingon to power likeCambodia ndBurma), ulnerability or misallocatingesourcesill behigher.The informalsector s oft€n imes neglected.Many poor peopleare found in theinformal sector also particularly n countdeswith mega-cities ike Thailand,Philippines nd ndonesia..Budgetallocation kewedowardsmilitary spendingelativ€ o socialservic€s nseveralcountriesbecause f political reasons stability and peaceand orderproblems; llocationo agriculture nd rural areas rc ow aspoliciesare typiaallybiased or the urban(usuallyareassunounding he capitaland other key cities),

formal and manufacturing ectorsevenwith the rhetoric or rural development.

5 .

Vlll.CivilSocietyResponses:ummary ndAssessment

2.

3 .

t . Most NGOSand civil societygroupswork at the community evel --. organisingsectors, communities,and associationsespecially n countries with relativedemocraticspace), and delivering social services,such as health, training,microfinance,nd ivelihoodprogrammesalmost ll countries).Theyusuallycover

small parts of the country, and many do not coordinate or collaborate withgovemment xcept or those n socialistsettings. Most have imited resources,although ew managehugeprogrammes arallel o govemment ervicedeliveryacxluues.Very few NGOs work at the nationaland macro-levels.Usually, thesearenetworksor federationsfpeople'sorganisations,oingadvocacy ork for their sector.Mostof theseNGOs clamor or greaterparticipationn the politicalprocesses.A verylimited numberof NGOs arecapable f doingeconomic dvocacyn the sense fdebatinggov€mmelt and the private sector n rnonetary, rade, ndustrial and fiscalpolicies. Intemational GOSare very muchengagedn global advocacy t theWTO, IMF and the WB. There s a need o forge linkageswith academeand other

r€searahnstitutionso enhanceconomic dvocacyfNGOs.IntemationaldevelopmentNGOs play crucial roles, especially n countrieswheredemocraticspaces emain nanow. They becomeconduits of official developmentassistance.heyarealsoable o inqease apacity flocalNGOsandhelp hemattaingovemment recognition. However, in the long ruq the relationship betweenimplementingntemalionalNGOs and tocal NGOs musrbe clearlvdef,nedas thelatter akes nsreateroles.



4.

5 .

lX. Proposed ctionAgendaor NGOsn the BattleAgainstPoverty

PovertySitu.tion n Southeast siaand NGOResponsee

Very few NGOs work with the private sector for pove.ty reduationprogrammes.This is an areaof cooperationhat has remained ntapped. Thjs is because fdi{ferencesn perspectives'.owever, he privatesector's ole shouldnot only beIimited to job creation.They also have expertise n resourcemobilizationandentrcpreneurshipromotion.

Goodgovemancend accountability f manyNGOSare now being demanded ygovemment,ommunities,onorsandotherstakeholders_ronyism nd ent-seekingareaheady eingusedagainst ertainNGOS.Corruptionn localNGOSs alsonowbeingdiscussed. t the sameime donorsarealsoaskingwhat he mpactof NGOSareafteralmostwenty earsofpovertywork n the egionespeciallyn countriesikeIndonesia, hilippinesrd Thailand.There s a need or greatercollaboration mongNGOs (international nd looal),govemment includingmulti-laterals), nd the private sector Multi-stakeholdercollaborations key towards poverty reduotionefforts. NGOSas irtermediaryorganizsationsayplayactive oles n promotinghis ]?e ofcooperation speciallyat local ev€ls.

The ollowing s a rnenu fpossible ctions y NGOSo assistn the battleagainst oveny nthe region. Whil€someofthesearealready eingdone,we still mentionhem o highlighrtheircontinuedmportance. hose n bold etters rea-reashat NGOS eedo enhanceheiractivities nd esponses.

I Networkwith otherNGOsdoingsimilarwork to maximisempact.This s especiallyimportant or groupsdeliveringbasic socialservic€s o communities r for those

doingadvocacy ork.2. Expandnetworkingwith other sectorr ike academe nd th€ private sector. For

the former to help NGOs in their economicand other advocacy dork and insomecommunitydevelopment lTortg, ror the latter, to assistNGOS n resourcemobilisation nd n running ivelihoodand ob facilitationprogrammes.

3, Broadcnrelation$hipwith nationaland local goyernment8 speciallyor NGOSdelivering social services- greater collaboration\yill prevent wastage ofresourcesnd duplicationofwork. NGOSmay pushgovernment 0specify olesto be played by key stakeholders n pover8 reduction programmes. Forexample,NGOs

can elfectivetya$sist n locating ultra-poor groups and inassessingneeds of such groups for the design and implementatiotr ofpiogrammes.

4 Enhance capabilities for the experimentation and implementation ofprogrammes for risk and uncertainty mitigation like social insurance,

'NGOS picatly misfusf profit-orientedorganisations

" A caveathere s whengoveru[ent is seenby NGOSas egitifiate suchasa dictatorship.



PovertySitu.tion n southealtA5iaandNGO 30

8.

5 .

community funds, workfare programmes; etc. Disseminate ood practices oother NGOs and civil society ro[ps.Promotemicrofinancendcreditas hesearemechanismsorjob generationnd iskmitigation or communitiesndhouseholds.Build appropriate nechanismso evaluateand monitor impact of NGO efforts

toward povertyreductionat regular.ntervals n a sostainedmanner.Improve transparencyand accountability of NGOS to key constituents. NGOqedibility is key towardsgleaterresourcemobilizationand bettereffectivity nprogmmm€mplementation.AdvocacyNGOS wherehesituation ermitse)must ocuson he ollowingagenda:

Political:

a) Participationn policy-making rocessesanicularlyn those ssues ffectingpov€rtyreduction.

b) Pushing or policies o strengthenhe role of people,sand community

organisationsn pov€rtyprogrammemplementationc) Ensuring nnsparencyand accountabilityof key agenciesmplem€nting

povertyreductionstrategieso stampout corruptiond) Continueighting or the ightsofmarginalised roups ndsectors

Eco omic:

e ,

b.

Pushingor a comprehensivend ntegrated overty eduation tntegies hatare formulated though participatory processes hat include maiorstakeholders.Ensuring macroeconomic oliciesaffect poverty situation in a positive

te[se.Pushingor economic olicies hat favor agriculture ndrurai develoDment.andhosehat reate orejobs.Advocating olicieshatmitigate henegative ffectsof open radepoliciesandmaximising ains or the majo ty.Pushingor equityandasseteforms o promote quitable istribution fanygains o gowth.Pushing or adequate ocial trsurance chemes trdother safetvnets hatminimise conomicuherabil i tyof pov€rty roups.Advocating the donor community to attune their poverty r€ductionelTorts based on national strategy and plans devised through

participatoryprocesseshat includedkeyslakeholder3

' In tlle cas€ofBunm for example, dvocacyNGOS netrtably focuson an antidictatorshipagenala nd areoutsidc he countryi only theservicedeli\)eryNGOS usually nternaGonal) peratenside he counny

6,



Socio-cullaral:

a) Pushing or more responsivenstitutions hat promotesocialand human

capital.b) Enhancingthe family's role in protecting thc household or economic

risks and vulnerability hroughawaren€ssnd family-based rogrammesc) Working with the church and other concerned ocial nstitutions owards

the imbibing of human valles (e.g., fairness' honesty' and integrity)

through iltensive and massive alues educatio.rprogrammeswith the

people,especiallyhe young, n order to createand sustaina society hat

doesnot discriminater terms of socioeconomicnd politic&lstatus,and

usei resources esponsibly or the well beilg of all' including future

generations.d) (For couttries with population managementand EIV-AIDS concerns

e.g., Philippines' Indonesia, vietnam, Cambodi& and Thailand)

Conducting intensilied and massive amily planning atrd responsibl€

parenthood campaignsand sex educltion campaigoswith the mostvulnerablcgroups,especiallyhe out of schoolyouth; at the same ime

providingth8m options e,g,,paid or voluntary communitywork' regular

employment, tack to school'vocational traitring, etc.) towards a more

meaningfulandproductiveife.



SelectedBibliography

^'"'"fJ#?ff1f;f Asian everopmentoutrook001. xrord niversityress,

ottun?:l:':lT.j, Banr.socralErcrusionr rn.r,,"i^-.sta and EuroDe,,nr^^.

l"l'la**fl;ft''"'H:;n,H*lli'fl1,",y,"xf{j:*1Baviera.A andC.Mil itanrefed

s:;f;Hflefi;1d1]:lffi "t,;,il:;fl;fl1rJ;iy;:fBird. K , D. fiulme. K. Moore:

mw:*:*jiuilti[:i:T",#{,",;:i,Tnr:*HChavez_Malaluan,J andS.Guftal

"*.,il";# ;:,11",.i;t:,i;l*H,:ffi,?jh{"flilj:1.,f:"dDeotaljsT;-A,-l Brjuanres.R cal

",,"Iir::tj:1*"t'":1:"1ryflf ';li:s'r

*ux*L:ifu#itrit3nl#dffi'#"*,"x,*#,*a""*,f|i;"iii1l,1!1ifl,""L11,;"6,::fllililili,,;:i;,1",,:".,,,,"._'""'lIJ;o#o:*f

i"-?::yff i#p:i:,:n:tk*i1fu1;",""#:hWarr. P".Poverty

Reduction ,n.t F-

i".','.""T!":tlmtm:m":;:#Hl;J::i.;:#l;,*"fi:::**t

f,"TTf,i;#lLl!rt;- ft 2oo0ko0ltAttackinspove"ty,o,ford



CountryReports



EastTimor



PoVERTYN BURMAJOI{ANMZIJLUETA

I .

IntroductionThis paper is parl of a studv of povertv reduction rnitiatires b1 govenrrnentand NCOS in eighlASEAN ountnes-amct\phitippines.indonesra.ambodia_li"lrn--sr*";. Li,r*. TlUr_a,19 F! J--

The studyaims o present comprohensiveiew of povertyslruatlonand thercsponseso povertyby differ€ntsectorsn the eight countrics. etso, it ai.s tlocomeup wrtn.ccornmendationso dev€lopmentGos regardingreas of intewentioos ;"olliuoiutron

*tt tlr"l.respeqryeovcmmentsowardspoverty eduction.Th€sfurlymainlyusedsecondaryata (\lTittendocuments,ooks. dd ntemet)

II fqgfocuseson Burma.-t is divjded nto six parts. The first pan presentshentroduction.The second artdescribeshe demograpllc ronteoianaloi,lny ,,tu"t,on n

Burma. The hirddiscusseshe maincauses fpoveny. fle fourth eatuiesheresponsesopoverty y thegovernment,ntemationalnd ocalNGrOs,r"lJ"g i"d-"ti"""I donors, ndthe.church._The ifth presents n assessmenty some instituttns and analystson themultisectoral,esponses.articutarlyhegovemment,s,o p*;y. il; ,i l ;;n presentshesummaryndconclusion

2. Profile

2.1 ceographyand Demography

|;il:{X'"[ii,H'"""T"'':'"fhy:"fr,1i:",*n;i"ff"?i3"fi:;J,;],,"";iT:Xla*Pr

steep,ussedishiards.ts otal reasord,soo,nt-*i r tlotarand reat

l:""1I'JTlffi"'"'q*T;:::;3:."J,:i#,'#,lli;iji',"#l,illii#:f;xl""ffiu:!,i"fl#;iq;:ff"';"THfi

";*"1*,J:l"lrrutl,,,:n'r":

ff*'"T*lfff:""ifr:'"ii;*l"l?ffii:,1"i;,ffi,"?lf"ilm;f,f#;

t9:"l"jry ismainly griculrural,ith heag culture ector ccountingor morehan40%of GDP rsmainexpons re oodstuffsor heopuration

"i.r,"i","a]"-.,ilrl::' i:1"*Ti%ffi:liil::ffi,Hl:Hr(:?#]:#if,|ffi;Xt

Themajo'anguases Burmese,rt"."rl"i"

gt rpr, "."ver, haveheir



Table

Population 4t 9%,6',t82001)Capital Rangoon

!99qo,ny AgriculturalMail expo4s Foodstuffs, oodproducts, recrouston-iMajorLanguages BumcseMajorReligion Theravada uddhism

2.2 PovertySituation

lT1n1î1_alngngheyvod'spoorestountries,espiters 5.8%cDp go1'v1hn fiscal ear(FY)1998/99,99 cDP growth f 10%by Fy 1999/2000. ajorir/(nearty 5yo) f themuntry's opulationive in ruralareas, here l,yoof thepoor eside.

'povertyls mainlyponcentratedamonghenon-ethnic amars,n regionshataie rural,sparsely opulated,nd

l::l_"d T l,Flt""d areas.poverry

utnongrnounr-uin"optess high;;;;;;ed to peoplesnornerpfis ol the country.

RealGDP groMh in Burmahaddeclined etween y tgg5/96andFy r997l98. ThiswasIargely.dueo the mpact fbad weather n agfiaultural rodudion.Anotherwas he shortageof agricultural nputs, such as fenilizers

-andpesticides, ausedUy

-foreigne*ctrar,le

constraints.Still anotheractorwas the Asian crisisof 1997,whichhad ikewiseaffectedtrade, he maxket,and ourism. The country,however,wasabieto recover,when t postedagrowhof 5.8% n GDp n Fy 1998/99, ndagrowthoi nearly ct%AyV isSStZOoo.

Thecountryhasa substantialmountofnaturalresourc€s,hichcancontributeo economicgrowth. It, however,aces

radeand oreignexchangeonsrralnts.hls is rnainlydue o thesanctionsmposed y certaincountries, uchas thJ UnitedStates. n April 1997, he USbanned ll Americannvestmentsn Burmadue o negative erceptionsb'outumunrights.These anctions ere urther enewedn 1999. The S, u, ,"tf i, otf,.r-"ouotries,uchasCanadandAustrali4hadpassedegislatioqenablingocalgovernmentso estnct radewifh6Urma.

l]llit il,the.othTdevelopingsian countries, he.e he ncidence f povertyn ruralareas

i:]Ig:t^lY ll i*""area\înurmaheopposites rue.Latesttatistlcshowhat overty

rncroencenurban reass 21 9%while n ruralareas, 2 4% (NSCB, hilippines).

urban poverty ate shigh due o the highercostof food,a moreskewed istribution fincome, nd ackof accesso subsistencearming. Thisrnuy

"frot" J"" ,o ,f,e act hat he

country's ocialist olicies reorientedowards asicneeds nd s biasedowardsu.aiareas,ever hougheconomic rowth s not high.

The urban poor belongto households hat tend to be smaller and have slightly youngerhouseholdeads.Also, hey end o be n areasot closeo availableobsaJgooo services.Ruralpoverty,on the otherhand, s mainly due o low agriculturatoutput, in""-tt

"..A poo.

haveeitherno andor plots. The imitedavailability f;ff_farn work s alsoanotheractor.



CountryReports:Poverty n Burma

Adult literacy is high at 90%. Primary school enrolment s also at 90%. However, not allenrolledn primaryschool reable o finish schooling- the completionate n theprimary

level s only 34%. Thegross nrolmentatioat middleschoolevel s lower han40%.

Low elementarycompletionmay be due to the fact that, despite ree pdmary schooling,

parentsstill face the burdenof paying for textbooks,uniforms, school supplies, and othercontributionsneeded, uchasparent-teachefsssociationPTA). Rural net effolment rate forprimary chools 787owhileurban ate s 870lo.

The country'suniversities ave been closed or a long time due to the December1996politicaldemonstrations.Many young peoplemigated to other countries, esulting n a"braindrain", which is detrimental o the courtry's futuredevelopment.

The country's expenditure nhealth s less har a fifth ofthe averageaggregate mount spentelsewheren EastAsia. Thus,the coun1ry'shealth ndicatorshavefared lower than that ofotherdevelopingountriesn rhe egion.

According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (JNAIDS), almost half amillion peoplehaveHry/AIDS. HMAIDS infections,ollowing he wakeof the country'sdrug explosion, have reachedendemic proportions and may be a threat to the country'seconomicand social stability. Other health concems nclude malnutritior\ malariq leprosy,dengue ever, and uberculosis.

Despite he above health concems, nfant mortality rates have mprovedand immunisation

rateshave increased. Burma has twice as mary privat€ as there are public medicalprofessionalsnd acilities. However,useof private acilities s low due o highpriceandinaccessibility. n he other, ublic aciliti$ areofpoor qualityandofhigh costsaswell.

Urbanhouseholdsrebefteroffin termsof accesso basicneeds ndserviceshan heir ruralcounterparts. People n urban areashavegreateraccesso sanitation 65%) thanrural areas(39%). A satisfactoryumber f the country'spopulation666/o)aveaccesso safewater.However, only 17%of people n urban areasand a measly2P/on rural areashaveaccess opipeddrinking water. Also, Myanmar hasone of the lowestperson o telephon€ atio in theworld, with 5 phonesper 1,000people. Thesemay be due o thegovemment's ow spendingon basic nfrastructu.e,which couldcontdbute o improved iving standards.



CountryReports: overtyn Burma

Table2. SocioeconomicndicatorsGDP US$ 14.2billion(1999)GDPpercapita us $300 999)Human e\,elopmentndex HDl) t25-outof I74counmes2000)Poverty ncidence

RuralU$an

22.9%1997)

22A%23.9%Annualgroqlh rute 0 60/02001)

Lifc cxpectancy t birthMaleFemale

55.16ears2001)53.7356.68

Adult literacy rateMaleFemale

83.6%tee?t89%78.8%

lnfantmortality ate per ,000live binhs} 73.7(200t\Unemplolirnentate 7 r%(199198\

3. Determinants ndCauses f Poverty

The mainreasonsor Buma's pervasive nd seemingly opeless overtysituationaretheflawedpolicies ndpolitical epressionhegovernmentontinueso implement ndexercise.Therehasbeen arge-scaleisplacementf ethnicgroups,orced abour or military campwor( andhuman ightsviolations_According o World Bank's ecent ocialand economicassessment,he countrys"trappedn abject overtydespitets richresourcesase.Althoughtherehas beennotablemodentegrofih in the economy,he trickle-downeffect of thisgroMh did not reach he poor. The country'spovertyand developmentndicatorshaveiagged ehindhose fits neighbours".

3.1 Political RepressionndHumanRightsViolations

Thecontinuing iolationof the human ightsof its citizens s a major ssue,worseninghecountry's

_p-overtyituation. he government's oliciesegilimise orced abour n militarycamps nd orced €location fpeople o areas, here ood s difficult o grow

Repressionf politicaland civil rights andthe lack of dialoguebetween ovemment ndoppositionroups eny heveryessencef demoantic ovemancen theaountry.policiesonthe displacementf certainethnic groupsas well as arbitraryarrestsand killings furrher

aggravatehepove.ty ituation.

Also,militaryspendings high. Budgaaryallocationso basicservices.uchas healthandeducation,xediminishing.Yearsofmilirarism have tunredhecountry.s nd hepeople,sgrowlh.



3.2 Food Scorcity

Foodscarcitys another roblem oundingBurma. It exists n both civil war andnon-civilwar area, makilg all community members,particularly women and children, suffer fromhunger,malnutritioq llnesses,ndotherhardships.

The ollowingare hecauses ffood scarcity:l Destruationfstaplecrops2. Uncompensatedonscptionofpeople o work onstate rojects, hichgives hem

no ime o work on heir ieldsandgrow ood3. Forcedelocation fpeople o areaswhere ice s difficult o srow4. Quotasystem n the amountof rice to be suppliedo goveiment,belowmarket

price,which mustbe suppliedwhetheror not the harvestwas adequate thisleaveshepeoplen debtandwithoutany ce to eat.

Foodscarcity ringsaboutextortion alsoa cause f food scarcity).For soldiers, xtortingfood,crops, ash, nd otherservices,s the solution o their own ackof food suDDlies. orthe people, his extortion eads o food insecurity, nd eveflually to food scariity. Thetrallickingofgirls andwomen s alsooneserious utcome ffood scarcjtv.

4. ResponsesowardsPovertyReduction

4.1 GovernmentResponses

Thegov.emment'soverty eduction oliciescentreon rural andagricultural evelopment.Suchpotrclesnclude lans

o boosr he production f rice and othetcrops.Thecountry sadoptingmethods o boost agriculturalproduction, naludingwater iupply and farmmechanization,ndadvancedechnologicalnowledge.Also, th€ govemm€nt asdraftedand_mplemented ppropriate olicies o improve he country'ssoiial indicarors, ucnashealthand eduaation. t hasopenedmoreschools, ospitals, ndhealthcentresn the ruralareas.

Other ovemmentrogrammesreas ollows:

1 Forest onservationndafforestationhroughre€planting.2. Provision f power or street ightingandgovernmentndreligious uildings n

borderowns hrcugh lectricity upplied y smallgenerato$.3. Imp.ovementof communicationhrough elephone nd teleg.aphs nd postal

system roJects.4. Creationofjobs and ncome kough the constructionof department torcsand he

teachingof traditionalarts, suchas weavingand gold and silver embroidery.Coope.ativehopshavebeenbuilt to providean outlet or th€ saleof localiyproducedgoods.



The govemment, in cooperationwith NGOS, the informal s€ctor, ard other groups ar€carryingout the aboveventures.Financialand technicalassistancerom foreiln gioups,especiallyASEAN member-countries,elp n this endeavour.

4.2 RoIe f NGOsndOtherSectorsn poverty Alleviation

The conceptof NGO in Burma is new and not yet muchunderutood. No legislation existsregardinghem. 'The

relationshipif it existsat all) betweenNGOsand he governmentsunclear. Nevertheless,NGOS,both local and intemational,work tbroughth-egovemmentsystem ndcooperate ith village-basedr community_basedrganisations

4.2.1 lnternational NGOS

Only a few intemationalNGOshavebeenoperating n Burm4 and heseemergedonly in the1990s.Mostof theseNGOswork onhealth, speciallyonceining IV/AIDS] development,disaster anagement,ndwomen,sssues.Othersworkon naturalresources.

Intemational GOs,suchas Save he Children,Marie Stopesntemational, heRedCross,

l_d^y-"irland tN afliliated organisations,re involved in poveny alleviation luough

lI:Jeqsarmedat.rncreasingood production nd improvinghealthandeducation.Theie

lly:: ir,"arso rnvotved n strengtheninghe capacity (capabilitybuilding) of local

olgansatlons.

An NOO/Trust Foundatio4 GrameenTrusl of the GrameenFoundation,USA stafted amicrocredit rogrilmmen Burma n Augustof 1997 The programmes cunenttysewing18,715women. Theprogrammetarted_inhe DeltaZoneof the- ountry, ne ofthe pooresircgions,wherewomenconstitute49plo f its population,and 45% of its adult workforce. TheUN Office for Project Servicessupports this programme. The programme orgarusesborrowersnto groupsof five, trains irem on the'req-uirementsi!.Jrp ?l*oer.r,ipr, anOgives hemcollateral-fieeoans epayablenweekly nstalments.

4.2.2 Localorganimtions

Localorganisationsre many,but aremostlyaftiliated o religious roups.Linkedwith the

9-"lTill1thes€ ocalorganisations.dealith issues n health, ducation,nd community

development.Also, localNGOs include_ifferent ]?es of cooperativeocieties, orkingwith govemmentd€partments nd regionalpeople n the executionof rural developmentandpovertyeedication. It should e noted,however,-thatot all localorganisatronsualifyasNGOs in a strict sense. Other NGOs rarticularly those advocatiig human nghts anddemocntisation perate utside urmaas hey areconsidereds subveriives y themilitaryreglme.



CauotryReports:Povertyn Eurma

5. Critique/Assessmentf Government trategies

Taking on flom what UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan said, "Development cannot hrivewithout human ights", it seems hat Burma has a long way to go before real socio-economicdevelopmentard poverty alleviation take root in the country. The governmentand its so-called flawed'policieshavebeenverymuchcritiqued.Despitehe administration'slaimsof variouspoverty eduction rogrammes s well as a comprehensivelan to implementdevelopment,hegoalofpoverty cductions seen y some ectorso be arbehind.

These ectors aveqiticised hegovemment'sdoption f militarysolutionso solvevariousproblems, specially ith opposition roups. AsianHuman ughts Commission tates,hepolicies hat the Burmesegovemment ontinueso implement, continues o generatepattemofgrossandsystematicuman ightsviolations".Unlesshegovemmcnl eersa.wayfrom its currentpolicies,groeth and developmentwould remain stunted.

The World Bank also mentions hat in order for Burmato receivesupport from overseas,tshould howa commitmento a broad-basedolicy hatwouldnot onlyaddresshe country'ssocio-economiconditions, ut also he otherconcerns f the internationalommunity, nparticular,heUN resolutionsn politicalandcivil rights.Only the Association f SoutheastAsianNations ASEAN) seem o showcommitmento zupport he cunent regimeshruststowarddevelopmeni.

6. Summary ndConclusion

6,1 Summary

Burma, capital Rangoon,borders the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, betweenBangladeshnd Thailand. It has a total land uea,of 657,'140 m'?.Mainly composed fcenfial owlandssunounded y steep, uggedhighlands,t hasa total populationof 41.9million. An agricultural conomy, he country'smain expons nclude oodstuff,woodproducts,andp.eciousstones. In the pastyears, he ag cultulal sectoraccounted or morethan 40% ofthe country'sCDP.

The country'spopulation .owthrate s less hanonepercent, ith birth rateof20 13and ad€ath ute of 12.3per 1,000population.Majority(68%)of the peopleareBurmese.Otherethnicgoups includeShar\Karen,4% Rakhine,Chinese, on and ndian. Majority (89%)

of the population re Theravada uddhists. The rest are Christians,Muslims,andotherreligious roups.Themajor anguages Burmese.Otherethnicgroups, owever, ave heirown anguages.

Burma s among he world's poorestcountries.Majority of its people ive in rural areas.Povertyamongmountainpeoples s high compared o peoples n other partsof the country.In Burma,poverty ncidencen urbanareas s greaterhan n rural areas_




Urban poverty rate is high due to the higher cost of food, a more skeweddistribution ofincome, and the lack of accesso subsistencearming. Rural poverty, on the other hand, ismainly due to low agriculturaloutput,since he ruftI poorhaveeither no land or plots.

Adult iteracy s high. Whiieprimaryschool molmentshigh, completion ate s low due o

cost of textbooks, niforms,schoolsupplies, nd the like. There s high incidenceofHIV/AIDS in the country. A lot of peopl€,especialiyhe poor, sufer fiom malnutrition,malari4 eprosy, engueever,and uberculosis. ostlypublic acilitiesareofpoor quality.

The country faaes rade and foreign exchangeconstraintsbecauseof sanctions mposedbycertain ountries, uchas he UnitedStates. TheUS banned ll American nvestmentsnBurrnadue to negativeperceptionsabout human ights. Other countries,such as CanadaandAustralia, adalsopassedegislation,nablingocalgovemmentso restrict radewith Burma.

Themain easonsor thecountry's ervasivendseemingly opeless ovedysituation re heflawedpoliciesandpolitical epressionhegovemmentontinueso implement ndexercise.

Therehas been arge-scaleisplacementf ethnicgroups,orced abour or military campwork,andhuman ightsviolations.Foodscarcitysalsoa majorpovertyssuen thecountry.

Thegovernment'soverty eduction oliciescentreon rural and agriculturai evelopment.Thegovernm€ntasadoptedmethodso boostagriculturalroduction,ncludingwatersupplyand farm mechanisatiorland advanced echnologicalknowledge. Also, it has drafted andimplemented ppropriate olicies o improve he country's ocial ndicators, uchas healthandeduaation.t hasopenedmoreschools,ospitals, ndhealth entresn the ruralareas.

Intemational GOs are nvolvedn povenyalleviationhroughprojects imedat increasingfood production nd improvinghealthand education. TheseNGOs are also involved n

strengtheninghe capacityoflocal organisations nd micro-creditprojects.

Localorganisations,n theotherhand, ealwith issues rthealth, ducation,ndcommunitydevelopment. Someorganisations re societies hat cooperatewith govemmentdepartmertsand egional eoplen the executiolof ruraldevelopmentndpovertyeradication.

Thegovemment nd ts so-calledflawed'policieshavebeen ery muchcritiqued.Despitetheadminisfiation'slaimsofvariouspoverty eduction rognmmes ndcomprehensivelanto implement evelopment,hegoalofpoverty eductions still far behind.

6.2 Conclusion

Abjeatpove.tystill exists n Burma. Though he countrypostedeconomic ro\a{h,pove.tycontinueso b€ an mpodantssueq thecountry'sdevelopment

Despite Burma's potential for broad-based conomicgrowth due to its substantialnatural resources,t hasa long way to go before t reaches ts goal of full economtcgrowth and developmentand poverty eradication. This is mainly due to the

,

d



a

,

govemment's olicies,stunting he country'sgrowthard development.Countless

human ights violations alsoag$avate hepoveftysituatiofl.

The Burmesegovemment des to addresshe above ssues:t has comeup with plans

and policies for development nd poverty alleviation. One of this is rural

development, he main tkust of which is agdcultural giowth. Other policies,meanwhile,ocuson improvingsocial ndicators, uchas healthandeducation,ob

creation,and accesso powerand communications.

While NGOs are a new entity in Burm4 a number of local and a few intamational

NGOshave been coop€ratingwith the govemment o addresshe country's poverty

situation. The relationship,however,betweengovemmentandNGOs, is still unclear'

Burma has a long way to go beforc it reaches ts goal of high groMh, real

developmentndzero-level overty. Also, t shouldgiveutmostpriority o human

rightsviolations nd ts ongoing onflictwith oppositionroups.

Thegovemment hould howa commitmento a broad-basedolicy hat wouldnot

only address he country's socio-economiconditions ut also the international

community's oncems,articularlyhe ]N resolutionsnpoliticalandcivil rights n

order o rec€iveoverseas upport.

,

,




Sources

BurmaiTheCountrys fuddledwith Abjectpoverty.http://www.ahrchk.net/solidarity/200005/vt5_1 .htm

FoodScarcityn Myanmarhttp://ww\T.ea.tkights.org/womer/CHR00.doc

Grameen.ingsNewHope o Myanma.Women,n Grameen onnections,fficialnewslettei fthe Grameenoundation, SA.http://www.gfua.org/newsletter/spring00/myanmar.html

Myanmar:Challengesn HumanResource evelopment.http://www. scap-hrd.orglnews/profies/myanmar.tm

Myanmar 001-2003:Countryssistancelan

http://www. db. rg/Documents/CApsMyA,/default.asp

MyanmarNGOs.http;//www.intemationalngos.org/burma(myanmar).htm

NGOSn theGMS: nvolvement elatedo povertyAlleviation ndWatershed anagement- Myanmaq y GunillaRiska.http://www.mekonginfo.orglmrc_en/doclib.nsf

Policies_andtrategiesf Myanmar or RuralDevelopmentndpovertyAlleviation,by NeWin, 1998.

Povenyn theHinduKush-Himalayas.ttp://www.icimod.org.sg,4rkl/poverty.htm

Pove(yRatio n Myanmar.httpi//www. scb. ov. h/events/asean/papers/country,Myanmar.pdf

TheWorldFactbook Myanmar,n theCentralntelligence gencywebsite.http://www.cia.gov

I.INICEFMyanmarwebsite. ttp://www.unicefrglmyanmar



Cambodia



Povertyn CambodiaJaHANMZULUETA

1. lntroduction

Thispaper s pa.rtofa studyof povertyreduction nitiatrves by govemmentard NGOg in eight ASEANcountdes,namelyr Philippines, ndonesia,Cambodia,Vietnam, Burma, Lao, Thailand, and EastTimorThe study aims to pr€senta cornprehensive iew of poverty situation and the responseso povgrty bydiff€rent sectors n the eight countries. Also, it aims to come up with recomm€ndationso developmentNGOs regarding ar€as of interv€ntionsor collaboration rviti their respectivegovemmentstowardspoverty cduction- The study mainlyusedsecondary ata(writlen documents, ookN, nd ntomet).

This paper ocuseson Cambodia. t is divided into five pafs. The fiIst part s the introduction.The secondpart presentshe demographic rofile and povertysituation n Cambodia. The thirdpart discusseshe main causes fpoverty. The fourth part features he responseso povertybythe govemment, intemational and local NGOq including intemationa.l donors, and the church.

The iffh presentsnassessmenty somenstitutions ndanalysts n he multisectoralesponses,panicularlyhegovemment's,opoverty. he ixthpartpresentshesummarynd onclusion.

2. Profile of Cambodia

2.1 Geographyand Demogrdphy

The Kingdomof Cambodi4capitalPhnomPenh, s located n Southeast sia" bordering heGulf of Thailand, etween hailand,Metnam,andLaos. Its total area s 181,040 mr, with its

landareaat 176,520 m". Cambodias mostlycomposed f low, flat plains,with mountainousareasound n the southwestern nd northern egions.

Recentestimates2001)peg he population f Cambodia t 12,491,501.Cambodia's thniccompositions primalilyhomogenous,ith 90% of its nhabitants hmer. Minoity groupsivein the uplandand forested reas.TheVietnameseomprise 0lo f the populationwhile theChinese omprise olo.

Cambodia asa veryyoungpopulation, here45% ofthe population rebelow 15. Thiscouldbe att.ibutedo a "babyboom", ollowing he all of the KhmerRouge n the 1980's.With thebaby boom came an increase n the labour force. However, with lack of employment

opportunities, his translated nto an increase n the number of dependentand unproductivemembersn a household.

Majodty 95%)ofcambodians elongo the Theravadauddhist ect.Thissectwassuppressedby the KhmerRouge n thepast,but hasbeen evivedunder he cuffent egime. Thecount.y,snational anguage s Khmer. Other spoken anguagesare Frenchand English. RussianandVietrameseare also aught n theurbanareas,ncluding the capital.



Trhle I- Demo

Total add area 116-520 m'

Popdation 12.491.5012001)

Capital PhnomPenh

Economv Agricu tural

Mah €xports Rubber, irnber,resin. maizc- obacco.rice.sovbeans.ndqaaments.

Maior Laneuase Khmer

Maior Relicion TheravadaBuddhist

2.2 Poverty Situation

Carnbodias a very poor country. Pove.ty is concentsted n rural areasand tural households,

especiallyhosewhoseprimarysourceof income s agriculture in 1997,36vr of the total

population e.epoot,mostofwhomwere atmers.

In 1998, he country'sGDP per capitawas estimated t US $280 In 2000, around35,000

squatteramilies or approximately ?0,000 ndividuals ived in PhnomPenh Of the total

individuals, 0%werechildren.Most of these amilies, oughly31 5% of thepopulation, ere

miglants.Majority of migrantswere ftom within Cambodia, articularlyAom provinces nd

rural areas. Only about 670 came rom outside he country. Capitaland urban centrc Phnom

Penh ad he mostnumber f migantsat 733,745.

Statisticshowa correlstion etween overtyand lliteracy majorityofthe poorare lliterates

In 1999,PhnomP€nhhadhigher iteracy ates or people f both sexes, ith 92.3% or males,

ard78.6/o or females,han n any otherpartsofthe country. Higher iteracy ateswerealso

seen or those iving in urbanareas ndamong hoseaged 15-24. Majority (bothmale andfemale)eachedrimaryevel. On the otherhand,morepeople 61%) n the ruralareaswerenot

abl€o complete rimaryeducationhan hose 39.5%)n urban reas.Morepeoplerom Phnom

Penhwereable o reachsecondaryevels.

In 1999, nly l5% ofemployedCambodiansere n wageemploymenti e. n the omal sector),

though he sharewas as high as537o n PhnomPenhand as ow as l lyo in runl areas. IPRSP,

2OO0). The monthly salaryof wage earnerswas US $43. About 46Yoof the population

consideredhemselvess unpaid amily workers. A percentagef womeq 20 3% in Phnom

Penh nd68.2% n ruralareas, ereunpaidamily workers.

Majority (40.3%) of the population sourced heir drinkirg water from dug wells. The restaccessedrinking water from springs, ivers, and streams. In PhnomPenh,44'7o/o f the

populationeliedon pipedwateras hek source, nd34.80/on the same ity bought heirwater

(Pleaseee able6 at he annexor details).

Majoilty (79.9%) of the population relied on keroseneas sourceof light. In Phnom Penh,

however,a goodmajority (75j%) relied on the city's power source. Ninety percent (90%) of

thepeoplen Cambodia sed irewood or cooking Pleaseee ablesat the annex or detailed

oaral



Table2: Socio€conomicndicators

GDP US$3bi i l i on(1999)

GDP DercaDita us $280 1998)GNPpercapita us $300 1996)

us $ 260 r999)

GINI coeficient .3'1 1997)HumandeYelopmentndex(IIDI) I36'out ofl74 countries2000)

Poverty ncidenceRuralUrban

36.1o/"1997)40.lyo29.9Yo xrludins.Phnomenh I l.l7o)

Annualgrowthrate 2.250/.2001\

Life expectancy t bi.thMaleFemale

56.82 ea$ 2001)54.62yearc59.12 ean

Adult iteruay ateMaleFemale

83%(1999)

6t% (1999)Infantmortality ute per1,000ive births) 65.412001]

LabourorceparticipationateN{aleFemale

55.5%1998)s6.5%54.6yo

UnemploymentateMaleFemale

5.3%1998)4.7%5.9%

cosntry Reports:Povertyn Cambodia

3. Determinants ndCauses f Poverty3.1 UnevenEconomicGrowth

There rea number freasons hy poverty ontinueso bepervasiven Cambodia.Oneoftheseis the uneven conomic roMh posted y th€ country n thepastyears.Thisgro*th is mainlyconcentratedn urbanareas, speciallyn PhnomPenh. Hence, eopleiving n ruralareas avelessaccesso basicservicessuchas educationand healt[ capitaVincome, od echnology. Theyhave essaccesso employmentppodunitiesndare argely n debt.

3.2 Lackof Access o BasicServices Healthand Education)

A small percentage f rural folk have accesso formal education. Few primary and secondaryschools xist n the ruralareas. Childrenhave o walk long distanceso get to school. Otherproblemsncludehe costofeducation nd he availability fteachers.

Due o the ackofaccess o education, highperc€ntagefpeople arestill illiterate,especiallyamongwomen-With his comesack of employmentpponunities.ndhence,ackof income.



corrotryRepor:s:Poverty n Cambodia

Qrality health services are inaccessiblen th€ rural areas. The rural folk have to walk long

db-tanceso rcceivemedical reatment r services. side rom naccessibility,ealth ervices re

erpensive. o mechanismxists o exempthepoor tom suchexorbitantees.

3.3 Ldckof Accesso Livelihood

Denying isher olk and forest dwellersaccesso the sourceof their livelihood eads o lowjncome eneration,ow agricultural roductivity, nd ackofpurchasing ower.Theseactors n

rum ead o food nsecuriry ndmalnulrition.

3.4 HighDependencyRatio

Ttre or,rntryashighdependenayatio(orthe higherproportion fdependentsereconomically

ac,riveersonn the household.Cambodia asaveryyoungpopulation, ith 45%(1995)ofthe

totalpopulation ged0-14. The ncrcasen theyoungpopulationwas mainly due o the highbirth ate ollowing he all ofthe Khm€rRouge egimen the 80's.

3.5 Landmines

Mostofthe poorpeople revictimsof landmines. heysuffer rom andmine-relatedisabilities.Landminescaountor the disability f I l% ofthe disabled eopleiving in CambodiaIPRSP).

Theyhave ost heiroppomrnityo work aswell as heirproductive.

3,6 NaturalDisasters

Natural isastersrealso causes f poverty. Harvests epend n weather onditions, nd hus,

theoccurrenceffloods anddroughts avean adverse ffecton foodsecurity.

3.7 Political lnstability and AsianEconomicCrisis

Cambodiatadedo rebuild ts economyn the early1990s,ollowingmore han wo decades fwar. Tradeand nvestment lows rose o record evels, supportingan annualaveragegro\,,vth f6%(WorldBank).This recovery nd econstruction,owever, assetbackby renewed olitical

instability nd heAsianeconomic risis. With theassumptionf officeof a newgovemmentn1998 nd he endofthe KhmerRouge n 1999,1 s believedhat economic roMh and ecoverywouldagain esume.



!9!!!ry Reports: ove'tyn dmbodia

4. Responsesowardspovertv

4.1 Government

Thegovemment'srimary esponseo addresshe povertyssues economic rowth,hence,heovemmentmotto: .?overry_reduction though high economicgro*th over the foog t".. tyensunng nvironmentalustainabilityndsociil equlty1FRSp,20"00).,,

- --

4.1.1 lAocro-policyFrameworkl

The ollowing s thegovemment.solicy esponse:|. rromoteoppoftunitieshroughmacroeconomicrowth,p.ivatesector evelopment,

and nfrastructue evelopmeru2. createsecurityhoughtie expansionfsafetynetsand hecrearanceflandmines3. strengthenapabiritiesystren$heningr,",i" ortr,"gou"-ilii, a"""nt.uti.ution,. andby mprovingeople'sccesso eoucatron,ater, nd anitation{. uenerarempowermenthroughgtter overnancendhe osteringfanenablingenvronmentorNGOs

4.1.2 Platformfor poverfyReduction

The ollowiags heCambodianovernmentlatformor 1998-2003:

l. Consolidationf peace,democracy.

stability,ndorder yupholdingumanights ndpromoting

2. Investmentromotionhroughhemobilisationf foreign id and heattraction fforeignirectnvestmentFdI).3. Domestic esourcemobilisation

-bygraduallycutting defenceand securityexpenditures,voiding omesticinancing f "brdgd'1"""r;;r"rg"

"uirr"nuuag",surplusnd omesticavines.

1 ft9,"1,,"t*:o renr_prioity ectorsnd mprovinggriculture

I &Jlii:il1-:iA"*t-T:ffi'J#;1"ff;;i#enintoodovemancekoush

6. Integration fCambodian conomvnto.theAsian egionand heworid by expanding

- !"ru:l'}i]'**:Jlff..',?#x;*"ila,";::ffe;;;;;'i'"iiiig"io'p*"/. tluman esourceeveloDment8.

Consolidationfpartn;ship withthedonorcommunityndcivil societv.

T}e rdblesat fte anDex utline rhepolicres oh

,ll1;;;:ut.l*r;fil-"?ff1lHri::-J::*g,T:ffffi 3ff.,#"Jff"fu,ff*;3



CountryReports:Poverty n Cambodia

4.1.3 lmprovementof Health and Education

OneofCambodia's esponseso povertyalleviations to improvehealthand educationlrough

includes emale education,safe water and sanitatio4 child immunisation,and the provision of

social safetynets. The govemmenthas also committed o increasingspendingon health atld

education as well as improving sector perfomance and reducing parental contribution toeducationtom 50% curent evel) o 189/ouring he next iv€years.

4.1,4 Provision f greoter access o Natural Resources,mployment ondcolloborotlon with NGOs, ivil society ond donors

The govemment has provided greater access o natural .esources forest and fisheries), landpolicyand anddistribution, ndmicro-creditor thepoor micro inance). t hasalso ncreased

spendingo c{eatemorejobs, ndengagedn collaborativeartnershipsith NGOS, ivil society,

anddonots.

4.1.5 Programs Projects

The ollowingare he strategieshe Cambodian overnmentmplementedo addresshepovertyproblem:

4.1.5.1NationalProgranme o Rehabilitate nd DevelopCambodia aimed owardseconomicstabilisation nd structural eforms, capacitybuilding, rehabilitationandconstruction f physicalnfrastructuresrd facilities, he integration fthe Cambodianeconomy nto the .egion and the world, rural developmentand environmentalmanagement,ndoptimizinghe useofnatural esources.

4.1.5.2Filst Social-EconomicevelopmentPlan for 1996-2000 emphasiseduraldevelopmentswell as heneed o balanceuralandurbandevelopment.

4.1.5.3 "Tdangle Stratesv" DeveloDe4-iL!99E) - formulated o materialise hegovernment's 998 ong-term isionof economic rosperity nd reedom rom poverty.

This ncludedhreeparts: uildingpeace,estoring tability, ndmaintaininghesecurityof persons;Cambodia's ntegration nto the Asian region; and th€ promotionofdevelopment.

4.1.5.4Miqo finance a credit schememainly mplementedn the nrral areas,wherevery few, o. noneat all, commercialbanksexist.

4.2 NGOS nd Other Sectors

Thehistoryof NGOs n Cambodia anbe tracedback o theperiod1954-1970.At the ime, af€w NGOSexisted,mostof which were engagedn religiousactivities. In the 1970s,NGOSfocused n developmentssistancey providingaid and elief to war victims. In the ate 70suntil the early 80s, NGOs' works became diverse, ftom infrastructure rehabilitation torespondingo andprovidingor emergencyeeds.



CountryReports:Poverty n Cambodia

Since heq NGOs have expanded eographically s well as expandedheir activities nreconstructionffons. A numberoftheseactivities nclude:arge-siale ervice eliveryusingmuitilateral nd bilateral unding,servicedelivery n coope.ation ith govemment tructures,community evelopment,nd he developmentf localNGOsandcivic organisationsNGOshave lso ocused n strengtheningocalcapacity ndencouragingocal nitiatives.

Thenumber fintemationalNGOS n Cambodia as emained t around 00over he past ewyears, p from 25 in theearly 1980's. The numberof localNGOsandassociations,owever,continueso increase.Today,about 800 organisationste registeredwith the Cambodiangovernment.Over50NGO s€ctoral nd ssueworkinggroups, oth ormaland nformal,cometogether n issues f commonnterest n suppo.tof Cambodia,sevelopment.nformalNGOnetworks lsoexist n almost veryprovince.

Figure t NumberofNGOs n Cambodra

400

300

200

100

01Sg2 1SS6 2000 2001

C InternationalGOsE CambodianGOS

Source:Gercral NGO Inforrnatio( NcO Stal€mento llrc 2001 Consultalivecroup M€eting on Cambodia.

About90 NCOsengagen creditandsavings perations ainly or small-scaleoans n the ruralarea.With growingdemand or rural credit, here s a need o expandNGO activitjes n themedium erm. While a numberof NGOs are expected o become icensedmicrofinanceinstitutions MFIS) o expand heir credit activitiesand depositbases, ther smallerNGOsrequire ssistancen strengtheningheir echnical apabilityor sound inancialmanagementndoperationsGlobalDevelopmentesearch entre).

Recently,village development ommittees \lDCs) have been created o aid in rural

development. hese DCs serve s inksbetweenhegovemmentnd ocal nterests./DCs areorganisedo coordinatelanning ndvillage-wide ctivities,o mobilise illage esources,nd olint to outside gencies. GOs egard DCs asa mechanismy whichcivil society an nteracteffectively ndplayan active art n decision-makingowards evelopment.



Country eports:overtyin Carnboaia

5, - Critique/AssessmentBasednthe Assessmentnthe2000-PRsP)

9j*:lt:.."_:!f"l*sof increasing.economicrowth,keepingnJlationow, andconstrairing

exl€malcuffentaccountdeficit while strengtheningebt m;agement, are key elementsipromotinga stablemarket-based "nnolny. Hence,he potcy ofite go;emrnenr o strengthenthemacroeconomicnvironments app.opriateo. Carnb;dia,; ir"urnJtun""..

However. he nterimpovertyReductionStmtegy aper(2000)needso havea moredetaileddrscussionfthe sectoral ources f gro*h exp-e"cted"torppoti trr",n"ai.,o-termobJectivesfthepaper. A_more comprehensivessessmentf the links tar""n it" labourma.ketardovertywouldhelpstrenghenhe ull pRSp. "'-

The.go_v,emment'sresent trategys centredon a substantialeductionof military size andactmrnrstmtiveeform, directedat improving he efrciency of puiiic-.!.u,"es.

flur, tteovernmentas shown its abilitv to^ reallo_catets budget ;d.;r

-;o

pnodty sectors.

:fi:,"1;y,thiswas onstrairedry c",uJ";, ilil;iid;;dd and owrevenue

Theres alsoa needo tackle overtlacrosfmultiplerorts,not imitedsolelyo thesocial::.j:::,1i-d

h"':1y." ofpublicpending.rr.prsi;aroi"i"g"ts",ffioo. gou"_un".naomrptronreobstacleso cambodia's-overtyeductionmori's. Govirnancectlonplanidentifiesomprehensiv€etof actionso or,".gou"_"*" piir.ily thffiluaiciat, legal, ndadministrativ.eeformHowever,re nsr aoei-noi'g;;#il;#ffiiii to'reactionsheovemment as aken n this area.

llll -.-"::qr::: .:natgender quality taysa big role in rhepromotionf sustainable1:::,op3"*,

lvhile he eportmenrionstrategieshl pro"iO"ppoiuniiJ,orpromoringheconomrcndsocial aniciparionf women,i shouldeport" ii_" a"i"ii ,r,"keymeasuresequiredor hese.

ThePRSP dequateryescribesnumber f_areas,riticalo rurar evelopment.lheseinciudeland ssues,ural nfrastructure,nd uralcredtt f";"*., i1;"d, tiitJffi"on *," pori"i", unanstitutionaleformseeded

Finally,heproblem f HIV/AIDS s a big one n Cambodia.Thecountry as hehighestrevalencef HIV in theAsian esion,;ti -"rti.ut"J

+X

"f,i" "jJ'0,;pr"ion

infected.Thus, hePRSPshouldnclude ir" "on"*1" actionson Hry/AIDS and ts links to povertyreduction. n this regard.heeffectivemplementationi rf," N",i""a i'i#gc etanon AIDSrevention,kough publiceducationndouteacho,urutar"as,;;il;;;;;,



Country eports: overtyn Cambodia 9

6. SummaryndConclusion

6.1 Summary

TheKingdomof Cambodia, apitalPhnomPenh, s locatedn Southeast sia,bordedng heGulfof Thailand, etween hailand, ietnam, ndLaos. With a total andareaof 176,520 m2,thecourtryhasa totalpopulation fclose o 12.5million,45 o%ofwhom arebelow 15yearsold.

Cambodias a verypoorcouotry,with GDPpercapitaestimatedt US $280.Thirty-sixpercent(36%0)fthe totalpopulationive below he poverty ine. Most ofthe poorareconcentratednthe uralareas, speciallyhosewhose rimarysource fincome s agriculture.

Statisticshowa corelationbetweenovertyand lliteracy majorityofthe poorare llite.ates.Around 35,000squatter amiliesor approximately 70,000ndividuals ive in Phnompenh.

Phnom enhhashigher iteracy ates o. people fboth sexes, ith 92.3yoor males, nd't8.6o/o

for females,han n anyotherparts f the country. On he otherhand,morepeople 61%) n theruralareas renotable o complete rimaryeducationomparedo 39.570n urbanareas.Morepeopleromurbanareas, ged -14,attend chool.

Only l5Yo of employedCambodiansre in wageemployment. he monthlysalaryof wageearnerss US $43. About46%ofthe population onsiderhemseivessunpaid amily workersA percentagef women,20.3% n PhnomPenh and 68.2Von rural areas, re unpaid amily\rorkers. A greatmajodtyof thepopulation sekerosenes source f fuel for cookingwhilelesshan507o ourceheirdrinkingwater romwells.

Causes f poverty n Cambodianclude:uneveneconomic roMh, lack of accesso basicservices,ack of access o iivelihood,high

dependenceatio, landmines, aturaldisasters,polit icalnstabil i ty,nd heAsian conomjcrisis

Governmenttrategies gainstpoverty nclude: ormulation f macro-policyrameworkandplatform, mprovem€nt f healthand education ervices,evisionof greateraccesso naturalresources,mploymentand collaborationwith NGOs, civil societyand donors. Also, thegovemmentas mplemented rograms nd projects, uchas nfiastructurechabilitation nddevelopment,ural development,rianglestrategy buitdingpeace, tability,and security), ndmicro inance.

Thestrategiesf NGOsand othersecto$against overty nclude: nfiastructureehabilitation,provisionof relief assistance,arge-scale

ervicedelivery using multilateraland bilateralfunding, servicedelivery in cooperationwith govemmentstructureqcommunity development,and the development f local NGOs and civic organisations. Other strategiesncludestrengtheningflocal capacity, ncouragingocal nitiatives, ndcreditandsavings perations.

\DCs alsoaid in mral development.Theyserveas i.lksbetwe€n he government nd ocalinterests. GOS egardVDCSasamechanismy whichcivil soci€ty an nteract fectivelyandplayanactivepart n decision-makingowards evelopment.



CountryReporg:povertyin Cambodi,

6.2 Conclusion

v

v

Povertys still peNasiven Carnbodiaesplteeported conomic owth the pasryears.

:1.ilrl, r* as, neven conomic.rowti and csource istribution speciallymrne.uratareastackof opportunitiesndacc€sso basicservices uchas healthandeducation,nd andmines,xace.bateambodia,soverty it""il;.

- -

9".:lTl ,.,::q:"::sandexisting.rrategiesocuson economic rowthasweasequrtaDlerstnbutiorLspeciallyn ruralareas.Thegovemmenialsoists ural

ano, gncutturat evelopment.swell as ncreasedccesso basiceducation ndnealrnerytces,samong tsagendao reachhecountry,s oalofintegrationntotheAsian egionand heworldeconomy.

NGOsandothersecrors fsociety playan mportantole n thereconstructionfrneLamDodtanconomy ndsociety.At present, lot of NGOS,both ocalandrmernaflonat, re active in Cambodia.They undertakeactivities,such ascommurutyevelopmentndsmall_scaleredit inancing ohemeso.ah";;;;

F_ll!-"ollnlr still a.long,way o go to achieve omplete overty eduction noruu economrc roMh. Howev€r. his should ot be impossiblef the counlry

::l]:,t:d "continuousigh-levelrowrh na rnpi",nenilJ-ttJ;fip";h^ ;d

pollcles.

v



countryReports: overtyn cambodia

Sources

Assessmentfthe InterimPovertyReduction trategyaper 2000).PRSPCambodia.ttp://poverty.woridbank.rg/prsp/index.php

Cambodia; GOs n Transition, y Eva L. Mysliwiec, n the UnitedNationsResearchnstitutefor SocialDevelopmentebsite. ttp://www_unrisd.org

CountryStudies Cambodia,n theLibraryofCongress ebsite. ttp:/,lcweb2.loc.gov

InterimPovertyReduction trategy apef October 000).PRSPCambodia.ttp://poverty orldbank.orglprsp/index.php

Microfinance Cambodia,n theGlobalDevelopment esearchentrewebsite.http://www.drc.orglicm/country/asia-cambodia.html

Nationalnstitute f Statistics, ambodia.ttp://www.nis.gov.kh

NGO-Governmentartnershipn Rural Development, ambodia evelopment eview,vol.3,issue ,December999. ttpr//www.cdri.org.kh./cdr.htm

NGOStatemento the2001Consuttative roupMeeting nCambodiahrtp://www.bigpond.com.kh/users/ngoforun/cg200

PovertyAssessmentummaries2000).httpt//wwr.v.worldbank.org

PovenyReductionn Cambodia, SomeReflections, ambodiaDevelopment eview,vol.5,issue . April-June 000.http://wwwcdri.org vcdr htm

TheDemographicmperative, ambodia evelopm€rfReview, ol.2, ssue , September99g.http://www.dri. rg. h/cdrhtm

TheWorldFactbook Cambodi4n theCentralntelligence gencywebsite.http://www ia.gov

UNDP n Cambodia.ttp://www.un.org.kh/undp/index.html





.r, .$nd {t.l ll'r rrt.r

l tu t r^ inut l r l n i l i l i r l t t rSr i r i rw l i : . rh i:ln iiLi \rNrq:r nrJ I nli,a!:::.rri L(lLf '1l ll t j

r,,.k.;!rti,,* ri r if,.!*t,R! tr. .!e.d ,Nbin.! r liri.Ji', ,&l i* iiir. ,. .{'lr ,1i\irri! Nror\ r.,

l l r { \ r n nrL l r {1 , . , l r i r \ ( t r r_

i r h i ! - | rd ' | l l t \ 'S i l i l J ; , : { i rDJn. ! i : r t i ;Jc \J l , . r ' \ r r , l ih , . ' rh i .1 r r rD, : : 1 ,1

" i rh f rftnfrhLrrr! nl r.!hni.:.r1. inr!.iril $tD ' . rh , ' ! .d . r . r$ t l l i l i lL t .

..tr :!!ri firf\.r h'l\ r\L!:nrt,r iulLj,!\l$t

} | l ! h r ' l ; r f i ! l ! . .$L l , r r fh r i t ( r t rd t i

sir(,llllrn \'J\l| rrr[it1.1r,rl tr r : n]\l r\:ri trln rn f , ,n i r1 f1r r lh i t r a \ ] rU

( , { , r l , r ( J ; f ! ' . i1 { ' \ x i | h r \ r ( r i r t ! r i t i t , ! ! x r l li l \ rL r r r+ t r ,U . ! ( i i u r i ln i ( r ! t r ( \ ! t t (Ju l i l i r

t , {n r l ' r rn \u l , r$ i ' t r ' ' r , ' r r ! r t { ; J ! r ( \r i , , i , , i , lnJ iJ r11, t r lu l l ' i , ' l ' i , ! ! r i . , .

; nr , , r ' r r r : l ' ! dn rh l innn$n i [ ' ! i , r ss . . !h l

r$ \ lu !$ ,Fr ! i r r i , a t

\Lht lh r I \ ! ' f l I 'D( r r \ l i " / , r | , . , ,1 , , ,

t i in . i ! : In i iB , ! ! r : I l f n t .

v rd r r r r ! , , . r$ l r1 r \ r r r8 f f - rnhIn i \$ .

!rrr,,t1,ri ,1,,i'1ifl! n:[, F, hi l1lj]rtir) r!. xlilr . , 1 1 - r i l I \ l : r , r l \ r D , i f r N ( : t c , ^ , 1

\ r . { , f r f tn ! ' r6 i . \n !L ; ,1r i i . n tu i (1r t ( r r :u i Ir fh r ! r r , iu , : L L ' i r ; 'd r r f l f i d r { in f, . . , \ i r , I ' r ' r1" . : r r r ! t da , '1 i4 . . . r ! . ' r r

\..|!rli I ' !.rii :,n: i..q(,l,ll ! r, i,{l Lr!{r,j J l r , t t , ! r , !L r i " | j i l i i r i t L , i i " i r i f l l l , ri,si,rirrl,:. li f Lrtrt !irrr!r,i:: (,f,.

' { { r Lc : l ! : \ , t (V1r r r , . r r i , , . l i i f , , r , r ! r ,u r . , t !n ! ! : i ' r ; t , ! . j 'nL iF i ' , , .n iL . . r i r . ,. r t , . r { i r

I I ! r ! l , I !unr r r i r l r ; { r .L f \ . 'n i r r : , j jr r . l ' . u i t rN r : , r l ! i x r . ! ! l , , I , i J i :11 : . ! , .r r r i r . I l . , f , r : , ! t rn t r r i1 ie . d i r , . t i ! u , . .N

i ) , r ( l r , j i . ' l r l , . f ; l i nJ I r , , j i j r i ln r i r r , r f rhJnrn ' . ' ; d r r r ' . ,1 1 , ! . t r i . . ; r i r t. r r t l i l ! t t :



\ r r l i l i r i r r l . ! . r l 11 . r r ! , rL l , ' . i r r (L

f , . , t , r r t i r : . . : i , i . ! , , - r . ! ra ! , ] . n l ' L i r. . ' ! .

j r : , { . r rh , : r ^ . ! r t r l . ,n . t r r l , . f l , n r ; r r r i ' -

r : ! , . , . : \ r . , 1 : , i ' i r L , . i l s i . i , . i , j r r , r o .

; . . . , . i l r l . n , ! ' , . f , . i . . : r i ! . , . . f . \ .n i : r

f j : , - r i , f l | | n , . . r , . . l - ' | l i ' : I . : i , . 1 , l r i

: r . , . 1 ' . , r ' . 1 [ . l r t ' _ . f , i I i r . r " . '

r , I r . , j . l - i - r , r r : , i r r i r . 1 r r , . .

1 ( r \ \ l i , ' n i 5 : ' n r i , , i ' . , 1 l ! r r r ! r 0 a

! r i l l , . \ / r r r r i . n r . ' i . 1 , ' r . i ! : , r i n i r x

, , , , , ' i , 1 . ' 1 l r " , , i \ " . , - , , 1 r ) , r ,

" , r 1 , ' 1 f , . : : r i ! ! l r ! u i . ' I . ! ' r ( r n L l; r r r , , . ' . n ' . , r . . \ , r . i r r L l r . r r r ' . ' t .r \ : . n . i ,

" " , . ' r ' . ( l i , r . . i !l L L , r i rI u ! . r r i

f r , , , i \ , , r " ' i ! r - ! ! J i l .' !

D i r f f L ! ' \ , l f r l r , , , , i r ii . i i i . . ' l"

. r , . 1 ! . r , r l{ r , " i i l ' . r i \ , u , , f r r i i r r r L ' r

. . l u . ( , , , i , 1 J 1 ! r , n L . . , r r : r r r r l r : -

r l r r ' t i : . \ , \ . 1 j r r , ( ' : . r _ .

t r l . r : ! , .1 ! !>. l , \ r l r ! t ( .1

. r ' , \ , . , i l r a . . h , ' . '" i , r i { . , r r

! ' , l r ' r r l ] , t r }

. . | r l , . i r 1 | | , $ . i ' r r i : r r \ . r ' : ,- . . , 1 . .

I . , r , i , , 1 L , , l n l r , ! : l l L l , " : . r r . d

r , r " : r , l r t r r . 1 I - i I ' r t . . . l ' L I I

t r r : f ' ! i . r r ' , 1 l , L : ' r .1

I L r D r r ' . i i , \ ' , ; r i . r l f L r , r . r . r . r n , " l

i . . J . 1 i r n , . f / ! r r i , . . r \ l , r i \" ,

n

' , r . 1 f . , . "t , , , r r , . I ,

L . . l ' l r l l r

, t r i i r , . r . a . L . , t ! | . I I . ' r r i f ' l

f c . i r . , , i" , ' r i

t , r , , | ." ( f . i

't , t r . : , r , : . . J i l , i , r r I I i _ , r - . : i .

r r i t r : f r . r L i r ' . . ! ' l . . , ' . 1 . . r i i . ,

i . L , i , l i i , . ' i . ! r ' - " . . J , i : , r r r ' r . i r , J. i . , . , ' . r , u . i , . J : . r ! l t r ! n ' i . . . , ( r J

, r D l - r . r . , . r l i " ' r i ( . r , ( r , I r f i . . ! , ' r i r

- . . : \ f i , . , , i f l , \ !

I i , J r d , i n : r r . l t . \ ' ! r . i r ' . : i i - r h i ! n

, i 1 , . : , i I , .I . : . L : i L , 1 1 r r '

, L l " r , r ' . 1 ) ' . 1 - r , i l r i r ' . L \ ' . l r f , i L r ! , r

. j r i r r ! . j 1 . ; :, ' j : j l : d r : : u . . . i t r - l r j r i . ! !

f i r r " $ l ' :

, : : , , t ! . - , 1 i . l i , . r t r r ' , 1 . . , : - . L r , ' - . 1 ' , : r i , r

, r - l i r . , n ! i r , , . i l n : r - ' r l , f !



-iFl

@trl

i r l r , ! f i . i '

r$5r . , ! 1! . l f i , : , . r t l J i r ' i

- r ' , 1 ' ! t , , l 1 , . . , ! 1 i l L r : l i n) , r : r - ; rr i : , " 1 . , r i . r 1 , h , , . ! i , , , , J . . . 1 , : , 1r , r , r , L

i r . , r . { : r r : ' , - : , j - . i . - f : r r ' , r n i ! i

i r r , . l ! . I r r ' , r , r ) l i i

, . , . r l . - ' , r . . r 1 , r .. l . . l t l . \ L L r r ' f r t !

r , , ) . , . r r r \ | l r { r i ' . _ r r f , ' r , I n r

. , , r " . \ . i I r r r , ' r r ! l . 1 . . t : ! | ' , r r . r

1 , , : r . r , , f j I r , , r \

i r i , l t r rn l r u iJ . l l ' i . r , , i ' , t i . f r ' ' , '

t l , r r1 .1 . r . r - ff i i1 " , \ , r . r ' . 1 (" r r

,1

, r r L . t . i t r : r . ti | , j . , r , t , , r r { r L f , i , {u : r , . t . . ' " r r ' r r l i . ' - i r r r . . l , l . ; l

r I !F i i . r i r l i / r r | ; , . , , r r j r . xJ r , . rL :

: f ; r ' ; r : ! i ' L . . f . i , r . f r r i , i f r r i r r : r h , i

. 1 , , r ! r . , , , , . 1 , .

\ l , , , r 1 i l . f . r ' i n r r r , , , , i . 1 .i i f t n r , i ) j I i , : , , : . , n . , t . . I r , . , . f .

- 1 . . ' r r ." ' r l .

t: , - , r , r . r n , l f r t . f , : L t r r ' r r , i . .

r ' ' ! r , h r ,

i i r ' i l . . r l ' , i i : L r ' { i i r r ' _ . r . . i , , r ' l r n t

\ | . r ' f . . r i . ( ! . ! . , ( . j , i

L ' , , . . i I l " r , : , r ! f t _ r ; " i . j , l r - - i



countryReports: overtyn cambodia

l l , \ r - l l | l r ] \

| | i ( \ P \ t l l l f f l l \

i : Jn ' r , r i

i r f i r ' . " r l l , ' l ' r . , , - . ! : , . i . , 1 l r , r ' ' . : r ' . l l

r i , r L 1 , : r . ' ! i . L lf ' 1 , 1 ."

l i " , r . r r . , . . 1 r r . .

r l . . r . l , r ' . , u r ! n , . : i . - l i * .

i ( i . r f , ; n ; i , . l - ! i . t 1 i l ' r l , : , ! : , l r l

l n i f r . : . n r , : ' t . , r r , . r . r r L l l f r . , t . i ' l , r

1 l r , L i , r r , - i f j L r r n , l r r , ! , j i : n \ : F f l

, , r . r , i I l . , , r r ' , , r f

n r f , ' r , \ ' , i t , F

t , , r n , r f . . ' _

t . l i ! l ' i , . . ! , ' . ^ . , , r L l L r . l r , . l l r ' r l l L \

: " r ' . r . , - r ' , l i . . I , { i ( la : . , lL ( l ' - ." '.

! t i \ ! , t l i d r , r : r , i : . r . i ., . L ' ! . i r t ( r r L . ,t ! , , 1 , , ' , I ' i r ; r , " r . ! , ! , 1 1 . r l l r ' ! " r . r :

'' i i L r . ' r r ( . l r r - l r l t J : r i e f ' i r e J

. t , n . t r j . r ' - : 1r ! r r . i , , t : l - t i r l r ,

L i , . ! 4 r \ , r - r f 1 r t r [ ] L

I | . i r : ! r r r l | ! . rL , r L l r r . l i r r : f . . I I ' r

I , i , m : \ r ] 1 j . a . r . . " r a . : . n 1 J i ' .

r , r , ' , . 1 nr . l . i r ' r - rN r , r . r r . r r r ' i' r , 1 , i . . , ] t r \ r t 1 n \

' L rL . f r ' ! : i . \

{ r | [ ' ! t t ,4 r . r |n , . f . r r r l ,^ , a \

, r l r t r , r j . '

i r . ' ^ " I r , ' . i r \ I l h, l . l \ n j r , , I

r i , ! r r . t , n( , 1 r t , 1 a s r ' : '

, 1 . ' r , . r i t . '' r ,

l i r ' r . . i , r f . . - . 1

' , , r . r r n r r I J . l ! r l ' . r ! - r r a . I A l

, , , ! , f . . 1 I i , , i . \ , , , r J ; 1 , r i 1 r n !

\ . ( : r r i i r . t . ! i i I , f , r r . - . f , r r L T ! .L l i r 1r ' i

, r , ! , , , r , : : , , ^ i ' '

I ' : ! . j , l r l , r . r . . , j r . ' : . J l J , \ : r J .1 r i .

' , l r , f i r i i , i ; r , . r . 1 . , ' r . . : , ' / r : , , . i , 1 t r " . : : ,

, . " , i , . ! . . . 1 , , ! ! r : . , . f . 1 1 , 1 , ' i , , 1

l ! : l r l . i \ r i r : ! . , : , : 3 r . r . . - I | 1 . \ r : r r ' l

, l - . , , t : . - . , " , , . , i . r , . . "

' , r . : .J r : u ' " - . l r r : ' : ; , , 1 . . r . 1 l r . 1 , a , : L l, r , ' r j j i ! . . r r r . ' r r . r . - . . , : . i \ ' . , , :

j ' r" , :



Country eports: overtyn cambodia

l \ "1 -1 l l l l ) \ \ l i a \ l l l \ |

\ . ( l t l ) t r { l I l l \ { ,i \s t l :5

r ! r i ! . . r : ' 1 , ( ! t ! : : t i r ' \ , - i , f r . i , r , i . i i '

r f u . , l r r i r J : . , , . r : , a l . l n : ! ! r . .

i rd ) r 11 . : ; r j r . r i , 4 , : r1 ( . " rhn, ,1r . ' :

r : . r : r . - r ' ! . l r, : I : , , t .n r : : . : , r ' t r . - , rJ .. r r . \

r . l . i i : . L l . i : r , r ' i , : ! 1

I j ! , t r i - r h . . : . , , i , i , . . I r , , - r : , . ' r . r t r r r ,l i r a r . , l r l r r i , , ' ' , '

t n , ! , r . \ r n : r . - f . ! r r r rl . . r I ' L . r I r f : , . 1 . , L r n r . ' : n " r , n ' i ! r ,

j A , \ . r . 1 r j f . i ( r , ( \ . 1 \ ! r , r l , r r . . r ' ! ,

f i r ( J J \ , t r r " r ' L n ' n r -

r ' \ . . r . 1 ! , f , ' i - l

. i , l , r r 1 . , , r ! , . , r : h . i ' ! , r r

. ! , 1 { | , . r ! r L r r { r ' r , : r l r ! r

\ i i ( : r l ' r , r r ( , , . ' l . a i ' . i - f . r I '1 .

. . , r i . 1 r , r , ! , r , . r , { . L l i . L l , r , t ;" " r l

{ . : " i , r . r l f : , r l \ l , f . r r ! r i : l l i . :

J \ L . r r i ' , l l l , t , , ' r ' ! ' , . r L L .

r n r r i . r | n , i . f . r , \ . ! ' , r l i l . r ' I

s rr , n\ , l - . l' , , i , . . , - n . ,1 r / i , i . r1 i . ' t r i r ,

r i r , , L i . , .i r . r . L f 1 . ! . I 1 .

r . . l . ' r r ' r { r f i ' | ' . . r ' r l ) i -

\ , . l l , , f l 1 , 1 ' i . r ) , , - r n l , !r . t - .. I ' r t r , i ( : . i I , f 1 f l ,

. l r : r '" L , r l , ,

| . 1 4 . l r . \ ' l t

'- . r , . l L , r . t r l l ; . . r r l , !

i i , ' L , , r i , , r l r , \ r , . . . . r : l r : i , , i , : i .:

- - ! . r . ' n ! r i , ! ' . : l i i , . , . , i : , . i , i l l

\ ! , , , f r i . r : - i i , r . r , r r - : rr r L , . r . , . . 1 _ - r . i . | r l . ' ! . 1 , . . r : . . 1

f j l r L i l i r . : | , " r , i l r . . i - -

' ! , j . , j . , : . ! r " .I L i : , r : . ! f - , : r . . . r , r - l '

. , , t . I . , . 1 : ! . i l , i , n r L r t , f : . .

1 t . ! : r ,



I Country eporb:Povertyn Cambodia

Table4: Educationalttainmentn Cambodia y Urban&uralResidence,998Figures

Ufuan Rural

Educalional

Level

Total

None

Both

Sexes Males

Eoth

Sexes Males

100 100

61.053.424.0 28.6

10.I 12.2

2 .7 3.6

Females

100

1.5

47.8

24.2

16.3

to.2

Females

100

2.3

70.518.2

7.6

1 .4

PrinaryNotCompleted 39.5Pdmary

Lorver :econdary

SecondaryndAbove

100

1.5

27.6

r8.2t3.2

r001.3

3 . l

29.2

20.7

r7.'1

r ' 1 , - , , . i 1 l , ' i . .

\ . 1 ! 1 : r . l : , , . I r , | t J L : i i , ,f t i ' ,

! , - ^ | J r r l ' i t r r r r i r . r . r . r i . r ' . . t. . t i i , iJrrn,n ' i : , , r . i Tr . , i r , r . l !

, l i r x , l . i : / r { ! , \ l r s , i I i . r r i ] h , n i : .I t , i , ] j .

I t r r i i . ! . 1 L , : I r : - \ r , , , r , i l r ! : r l - i l i . , r , l l i , , n 1 .

r . r i r . . , , j , , 1 t r | r j ' r n \ 1 . l t l l , , r h ' r , .

\ . f , , : ' r 1 $ , \ , r n . . t 1 , f f t , 1 \ t ! ' . . t ] - j . h r

' r , r ! ! . I ' i .: J ! r , r ' ,

f , r . n r " | , r , f . : , r . i , r . , 1 . . . 1 , . 1( ,

r l , I ' i | / r 1 r r . . , L l r . . h | i j , 5 . , . r . . . ! ,

r r r r , j r j : I r . , , , i l J ' l l i r b , l . r , r i , 1 r . ! , f i ; . , |

n u . r r i r t , r . li n l i r ' , * .

\ , . , , , , r ,. , . t . i . i . r r l , r f , r f , , : r f J , In r . rLr ! , ! r , i , , ,1 l ru , ! | , r | l , \ , .1 ! | l

l l , . I i : r ; ! : , . r r , , : r j \ : r : r l t . : : . ! r , , , t , ir i ' ! i r , ' l I L r : i ! ' r . . . I r , , l . . l l . ] \ ; , -

l , L i t ' l ' \ j ] l l | . ] l \ t

Source:PRSP 000.Worldbanlwebsite

Source: alionalnsritute f Sutisric5. ambodia



@--------r3l

T&ble5: EducationalAttainmentn Cambodiay Age Groups, 998Figures

Eduetional

Levet

Total

None

PrimeryNo1Completed

Primary

Low€rSecondary

Secondarynd

Above

Total

of25+ 25-34 3W

100 100 100

2.1 1 .1 1 .8

45-54 5t-64 65+

100 100 100

2.3 4.8 9.2othSexes

Mal€s

Females

BothSexes

Males

Females

BothSexes

Males

Females

BothSexes

Males

remales

Both

SexesMdes

Females

2.0

2.2

49.O

66.1

24.'l

28.7

tg.7

l l . 8

13,9

o t

4.8

6.4

2.8

1.0

1.2

50.4

40.6

61.4

29.9

34.4

25.0

12.5

L5.4

9 .1

6 .1

8.6

3.3

r .62.0

63.7

56.4

7t .5

19.6

24.O

15.0

lt.2

13.0

q i

3.7

5.0

2.2

1.9

2.7

57.5

49.3

6'7.7

23.0

27.8

t7.o

14.5

9.8

4.8

6.5

2.8

4.1 8.1

6.5 13.8

59.0 65.5

55.0 64.3

69.3 70.1

2t .9 16.3

25.2 18.1

t3.6 8.8

11.1 7.4

12.2 7.9

8.3 5.6

3.2 1 6

3.5 1.6

Source:Natio@lnstitute f Statistics. ambodia



Co{rfiy Reports:e;ncrty tnGmUoaia

Table6: MainSource fDrinkingWater,1998FiAures

Cde ProuinePiped Tube/ppe Dug

gqring,

water Welt WellRiver, Bought other

Streametc.

0 l

02

03

04

05

06

0708

09

l0

1 l

t2

l3

t4

t5

T6

t7

18

t9

40.3

37.8

64.5

52.9

33.5

77.5

43.0

t t .2

57.2

30.5

, 4 4

4.8

31.6

275

53.332.2

69.7

65.8

t2.3

47.3

35.8

23. l

52.5

4 t 8

28.2

44.O

39. I

13.9

24.3

43.9

t6.2

43.5

5.9

36.3

65.9

9.6

34.4

15.4

29.06 l . l

10 .9

5 .1

68.4

t .4

50.2

34.644.6

Cambodia

BanteayMeanChey

BatDambang

KampongCham

KampongChhnang

KampongSpueu

Kampong hum

KampotKandal

KaohKong

Kracheh

MondolKiri

PhnomPenh

PreahVihear

PreyVeaeng

Pousat

Rotanak iri

SiemReab

KrongPreahSihanouk

StuengTraeng

5.8 14.9

l . l tL .4

4. t 7 .8

4.4 9.0

0.8 t7.4

r .8 17.2

1.7 1.4

2. t 5 . I4.5 12.s

2 .0 1_3

2.7 17.6

1.2 0.4

44.7 5.9

i .3 15.8

2.0 51.8

2.9 3.51.8 1.8

0.6 12.2

8. 3 .2

5 .5 10.3

0.9 47.0

0.5 10.4

0.3 2.2

2.5 9.7

0.8 2.4

8.3 2.5

6.7 10.3

9.8 | .4

6 .0 2 .2

1. 3 .5

3.4 0.2

05 2.7

6.0 0.3

19.3 0.3

33.1 0.5

12.5 0.4

6.0 2.1

34.8 0.2

0.6 16.3

0.7 2.6

5.9 5.4

1.9 1 2

0.6 6.0

16.5 1.3

3 .4 0 . I

0 .3 3 .1

2 .0 1 .1

0.1 N

02 0.59.9 0.5

20 Svayueng

zt rAKAev

22 OtdarMear Chey23 KrongKaeb

24 KrongpaitinSouce:National Instituteof Statistics.Cambodia




TableT:MainSource fLight. s98 igures

Cde ProvinecW

Gunu-t*Power

Cily Power

and

Generator1.6

2.7

2.5

t )

0.7

0.7

1.0

L l

, 4

7.8

3.'1

2.8

0.8

0.50.8

1.3

l . l

1 .8

0 .9

0 .7

o.'7

0.2

3.8

Kerasene Baltety Other

0t

02

03

04

Cambodia

BanteayMeanChey

Bat Dambang

KampongCham

KampongChhnang

KampongSpueu

Kampong hum

Kampot

Kandal

KaohKong

Kracheh

MondolKiri

PhnomPenh

Preai Vihear

PreyVeaengPousat

RotanakKiri

SiemReab

Krong PreahSihanouk

12.5

8.2

10.0

9.2

4.6

2.6

5.3

4.9

9 4

26.6

2.8

75.5

r .7

3.08.0

12.8'1.6

3"t.3

t1.'t

3 .5

3 .4

1 .8

4.9

u.1

1.0

1.1

t .4

1 .0

0.7

0.7

0.5

0.8

1.0

4.5

t .7

2 .1

1 .9

t .2

0 .40 .8

0.8

0.8

1.5

0.5

0.5

0.6

1 .9

8.2

84.6

83.2

82.7

79.9 3.5

2.9

2.7

5.3

1.5

0.5

0.2

0.3

0.2

1.0 0.1

1.4 2.4

0.7 N

8.9 0.2

0.8 t .2

4 .1 L6

r .5 42.0

1.5 0.8

0.4 50. I

6 .2 0.12.0 0.3

0.3 42.7

1.6 0.1

89.9 3 .9

05

06

07

08

09

10

t2

I5

l6

t7

l8

94.9

89.4

92.5

78.1

s9.1

80.8

47.9

r7.545.8

89.888. I

42 .1

88.8

5',1.3

60.5

913

92.7

96.2

89.7

69.8

0.5

1 .7

3 .8

2.7

1.0

L l

2 .4

0.7

23.7

0.2

N

19 Stueng raeng

20 SvayRieng

2l Takaev

,, OtdarMean-'

Chey

23 Krong Kaeb

24 KrongPailin

0.2

N

Sourc€:National Iistitute of Slatistics.Caftbodra




Table8: Main Source fCookingFuel,1998Figures

Lrquefied

Firewood Charcoal Kerosene Petroleum

Cambodia

01 BanteayMeanChey

02 BatDambang

03 KampongCham

04 KampongChhnang

05 KampongSpueu

06 Kampong hum

07 Kampot08 Kandal

09 KaohKong

I0 Kracheh

1l MondolKiri

12 Phnom enh

13 PreahVihear

14 PreyVeaeng

15 Pousat

l6 Rotanak iri

17 S;emReab

Code Province

19 Stueng raeng

20 SvayRieng

2l Takaev

22 OtdarMeanChey

23 KrongKaeb

24 KroogPailin

Aas (LPG)

1.7

0.5

0.6

0.6

0.4

0.3

0.3

0.30.7

2.3

0.4

0.2

16.3

0.2

0.4

0.60.3

0.4

2.1

0.5

0.5

o.4

0.2

0.3

1.3

90.0

90.6

92.4

96.'l

95.8

96.7

95.6

93.596.5

71.8

95.3

97.6

43. l

98 .4

92.0

94.9

96.2

96.

'7.6

4 .4

1 .0

1.9

l . l

1 .7

4.0t .7

24.2

3. I

0.5

34.4

1.0

1.2

1.9

L6

t .4

27.3

4.4

0.6

1.0

1.6

1 .4

56.5

1.8

1.0

1.6

1.6

1.8

I .8

t .91 .0

t .4

1 .2

1 .5

5.0

0.3

l l

2 .50 .9

2 .1

1. "7

0 .3

t .4").7

0 .8

2.0

1 .6

1,2

0.3

1 .0

0.1

0.1

0.1

N

0.3

0. t

0 .3

N

0.2

r.20.r5.3

0.1L0

N

0.2

0.2

8 .1

0.7

N

N

0.1

l8 KrongPreahSihanouk 68.'t

94.1

89.4

96.2

91.4

96.3

40.5Source:National Institutcof Statistics.Cambodia



F

EastTimor



Easr mon: CouNrnvN naHsmoNA CASE TUDY

*la. Josefa Petilla

1. Introduction

2, Profileof EastTimor

Thispapers partofa studyofpovertyreductionnitiatives y governmentndNGOS neight ASEAN countries, amely:Philippines,ndonesia,Cambodia, ietnam,Burma,LaoPDR,Thailand, ndEastTimor. Thestudyaims o present comprehensiveiewofpovertysituationand the responseso povertyby different sectors n the eiqht counrnes.Also, t aims o comeup with recommendarionso developmentGOs egaiding reas finterventions r collaborationwith their respectivegovemments Jwards'povenyreduction. The

study mainly usedsecondary ata (writtan documents, ooks,andlnternet.).

This paper ocuses n East Timor. It is divided nto six pans.The first part is theintroduction.

_The. econd artpresentshe demographicrofileandpovertysituationnEastTimor. The hird partdiscusseshemaincauseJofpoveny.The ourth eaturesheresponseso poveny by. the gov€rnment,ntemationaland local NGOs, inctudingintemational onors,and the church. The fifth presents n assessmenty someinstitrxtionsndanalystsn hemulti-sectora.lesponsel, articularlyhegovernment,s,opoverty.Thesixthpartpresentshesummaryndconcluiion.

2.1 Geography ndDemography

East.Timors an sland,ying n thesouthwestemacificOcear,belongingo the SmallSondaslands roup.Occupying total andueaof 14.87 fun2, astTlmor sextremelymountainous,

.exhibits oil erosion,and is prone o d.ought.primarily an agriculturaleconomy,he sland'smainexpo.ts recoIleeandmarble.

Recent tatisticshow hat he countryhasa totalpopulation f 884,000, 5%of whomlive n the ruralareas. geat majority 7g%)ofthi population renativeso theplaceorEastTimorese. About20!oare ndonesians,rld26/o reChinese. he country,imajorreligion isr Christianity while Tetum, portugueseand Indonesianare its thrce malorlanguages

' Slatistics n EastTimorarescarce nd imited.Thoseavailabl€ rcvarying. Mosrof the stat6trcalinformation iren in the studywas aten from ABD, WB ana ntr countryepons. :rhe ransruonalgovenrnedofEastTimorhasaskedechnicalssislancetom ADBfor anuld-atedconomicepon.



The agriculturesectorprovidesmost of the employment n East Timor. However, withthe tra$itional administntion, aboutE000 fi.rll time jobs havebeenareated o provldeemploymentto the people. A1so, several programs have been providing temporaryemployment,ncluding hose inancedhrough he TrustFund or EastTimor (TFET).

Moreover,a largenumberoftemporary positionshave beencreatedby constructionandtransportcompa es, aswell asby restaurants nd hotels Nest,2000).


EastTimor s consideredsoneof thepoorest reasn Southeast sia. Thecountryhadan estimatedDP of$344millionanda cDp percapita fUS $344 n 1997 ADB).

Povertyncidencen EastTimor sextremely igh. In early1999, bout55percent ftheE"tTiTgt::"_

Pll-P"low thepoverryine.povertylineestimatesaried romRp 53,000to Rp 91,235' The poor are identifiedmostly as subsistencearmers,pioducingnontraded

^goodsn ruralareas.povenyis found o be highlycorrelated ith fimily sizi

and ackofeducationIMF).

While.povertyncidences high, ncomenequality ppearso be ow. In 1988,he Ginicoeffcienctwas 0.31, In early2OOO,he wealthiest 0 percenthouseholdsad cashincomes hatwereonly three imeshigher han hepoorest2-0percent IMF).

Most welfare indiaators or East Timor are extremely ow. Recentstatisticsshow thattife e1g11a1c1

! aroynd 50 years or womenand 49 years or men. nfantmortality rare(per 1000) s 149. Therearearound15 medicaldoctorsper 100,000 eoplqandtheilliteracy ate s 50 percentin some uraldistricts he llitericy rate s above 0 percent).An estimated25 percentofthe populationhaveaccesso elect.icityand runningwater

The healthsituation n EastTimor is poor. Ratesof infectious iseasesnd chronicmalnutrition

Iehig!. The countryhas ittle healtheducation, oorly equippedand

stocked ealth acilities, imited accesso healthproviders,imiteddemandor healthservices,poorly motivatedhealthproviders, ew trained rdigenous providers,and a highincidgnce ftrauma.

CounEyProfile

lable l.Tota.landarea 14,874sqkmlqzulation 8840001998)Capital Dil iEconomy AgdculturqiMainexpons Cofee and marble

!Qj91languages Tetum,Portuguese, nd ndonesian![4iqr Religion Christianity

BBC

' Indonesianupiaft r"s stil usedduring he study.Today he currencyuse s the USdollar.



Country eportsi ast imor:A CountrynTransition

Table2. SocioeconomicndicatorsGDP Approx. S$344mill ion 1997)

GDP percapita Approx. S$3951997)

Gini Coefficient 0 .31 1988)

AverageAnnual ncome us$3201999)Monetarvunit I US dollar= 100centsPoverty ncidence 55% of total populationbelowpoverty ine

(2000)

Liie expectancy 50yearsor female, 9yearsor male 2000)

Infant mortality 149per1000 opulation2000)

Medicaldoctors 15per100,000eople 2000)Illiteracy ate 50% urban)

60% rural) 2000)With accesso electricity 257o ftotal population2000)

3. Causes f PovertyAJmed otrflictandunrest nder olonialmle or invading owerand heviojence f 1999havebeenmainly heunderlyingeasonsor povertyn EastTimor.

3.1 Centuriesof drmedconflict between EastTimor andcolonidll nvadingpower

EastTimor hasa longhistoryofunrestand conflictdatingback o the mid-l7rh enturywhenPortugal egano colonise imor,whichat that ime had notyet beenpartitionedinto East and West. Suchcolonisation ad receivedntense ppositionrom Timor,sruling kings.Conflictsbetween ortugaland Timor hadbeenviolentand bloody orcenturies.

In late 18th entury,wh€n he night ofthe Portuguesempirewas waning,Timorwaspartitionednto eastandwest. Thewestemhalf,except he enclave f Oecusse, ent odreDutch,who at this ime hadalready ominatedmostoflndonesia. Theeastem al(on the otherhand, ad emainednderPortugueseuleuntii 1975 EastTimor'sstrugglelor self-determinationnd iberation adcontinuedswell.

In 1975, ndonesianvaded nd annexedEastTimor and consideredhe latter ts 276province.With Indonesia'snvasion,EastTimor intensifiedts fight for independence.

Guerilla-likeorces ought n themountainsnd ungles Nest,2000)Thepath o independencetarted henan overwhelming ajorityofthe EastTimoresevot€d o separaterom ndonesian the 30 August1999L}J-supervisedonsultation.nresponse, ro-govemment ilitiaswreakedhavoc on the populace, mbarkingon acampaignfarson-ooting.nd iolence.



CountryReports: ast imoriA Countryh Transition 4

3.2 Socio-economicestruction ollowing the 1999violence

EastTimor was renderedotally nutileafter he 1999violence. he violence isplacedtwo-thirds ofthe population,destroyed70oZof all infrastructure,ard cost the lives of

hundreds f thousands f East Timor€se. It disrupted he agricultural ycle anddestroyedocal nventories ndpayment ystems. Therewas acute upplyshortage fmanufacturedoods, eading o spkalingprice increases. An ad hoc price surveyindicated rise n the consumerrice ndex or poorhouseholdsn Dili ofmore than200percent etween ugustandOctober1999 ADB). With the destructionf all paymentsystems,ublicandprivateentities adoo meanso pay or salaries,oodsand services(World Bank). The violence also led to serious deteriorationof health services.Governmentdoctorsand oth€r healthworkersfled and communityhealthcenters educedoperations.Remaining ealthworkerswereunwilling o makehomevisits,andpeoplewereafraid o travel o health acilitiesNest,2000).

The territory's social and economicdestructionhas prcmpted the intemationalcommunity, anicularlyhe Australianed multinationalorce INTERFET),o interveneand provide emergencyassistaneeo the East Timorese.Massive rgconstructionactivities, panicularly infrastruclure, have been undertaken and state institutions,includingan interimgovernment,he lN Transitional dministration astTimor, haveoeen erup.

On 30 August2001, rro yearsafter hepopular onsultation,he peopleof EastTimorwent back o thepolls o electa Constituent ssembly.The Assembly asbeen askedwith writing andadopting newConstitution-andstablishinghe framework or futureelections nda transitiono full independence.'

The Constituent ssembly nd a new EastTimoreseGovemment, ntirelycomposedflocals theSecond ransitional overnment rd its Councilof Ministers is aunentlygovemingEast Timor. It will remain its govemmentuntil East Timor oDtalnsindependencesa democraticndsovereign tate, ometimen the irst halfof2002

4. ResponsesowardsPoverty

4.1 Government

4.1.1 PoticyFramework or MacroeconomicStobility

Majority of the UNTA€T cabinet aveendorsedolicies, stablishing fiamework ormacroeconomic fability. Adheringto prudent iscal management,he gove.nmenthasinstitutedmeasu.eso increaseevenuesuchasfair taxationandreductionofthe inflatedcivil service. TheU.S. dollar hasbeenadoptedas he omcial currercy for the transitionpedod Horta).

I The New Constittrtionbasbeetr ccendy apFoved.



i countryReports: artTimor:A countryn franiilion

The govemmenthascommitted o do thefollorving to strengthen ovemance:

1. Maintain ramparency, ccountability,nd an emcientand ellectivepublicservlce;

2.Continue

processf reforrn,which oalls or high standardsf conductandintegdty among eadersof govemment,andprovides strength o institutions

thatuphold hepublic nterest;3. Reform he budgetprocesso strengthenhe link between olicy andaction

and to demonstrate ore decisive eadership, ommitment o action andacaountability;

4. Develop a customer-focusedwork force, which supports a managementphilosophy,ased ncommunicationnd esponsivenesso needs; nd

5. Respondo local businesseso ensurehat they receive he supportandfeedbackhey need n dealingwith government.

4.1,2 Timor SeaAgreement

East Timor's tra$itional govemment ignedon 5 July 2001 an agreement ith theAustrulian ovemmentegardingheexploitation fthe Timor Sea. Revenuesrom theTimor Sea,. henproperlymanaged, ill helpEast Timor in sustaininghe economicgainsalready btained ollowing he 1999violence nd n reducing overtyamong hepeopleWorldBank), Thegovemmentndicated t the CanbenaDonor,smeeting fitsplan to developa medium-term xpenditureiamework o ensuresustainablJiscalmanagementothbeforeandafter hecomingon stream f Timor Sea ev€nu€st mid_decade.

4.1.3 rustFunds

Trustundsor East imorwere stablishedollowingheDecember7,1999 onors,Meetingn Tokyo. Co-chaired y UNTAET andWorld Bankunder heausDicesftheJapaneseovemment,he m€etingwaspanicipatedn by representatives,rom over 50counhiesand intemational gencies,ncludingEast Timor's XananaGusmao. Th€pledgeamountedo a total of US$520million for the entireEast Timor programthroughouthe ransition eriod.Of the otalamount,US$215millionwasdesignatedortheWorld Bank rust irqdand heLNTAET trust und.AboutUS$150millionwasalsopledgedor the humanitarianssistancerogrammesed or immediateeliefuntil June30.2000.

4.'l.3.1 NTAETrust und

TheUNTAETrust und US$32million), dministeredy th€ UNTAET,inancesp.ojects n the areasof civil serviceand udiciary capacity building; and coverc he costof all recurent expendituresof the East Timoreseadministration. Included in theprojectsarc the rehabilitationand re-equipmentof adrninistrative,police, and udiciarybuildings, nd or the rainingofcivil servanrs.



3rT-t !:lgEiElt Timor: -ount-rynTransition

4.1.3.2 rust undorEast imor

Ihe lrust.Fund or EastTirnor TFET) s guidedby threeprinciples: . MaximizeEastfimorese eade.shipndparticipation; . Encourageffective orior o.jinut,on; unC:.Get h€ ight

balance etweenimelines ndqualityIhe.WorldBanl<manageshe TFET n closecooperation ith theADB. TheADU takes:he leadîn ehabilitatingoads,ports, ransportatlon, ater, elecommunications,ndpower On the otherhand, he World Bank prepares rojectsn the aieasof health,rJucalron.griculture.rrigation.uppono smallandmedium nterprise,ndeconomrcrapaclrv urtdtng.soth heWorld Bankand he ADB work rogeihern communilJ3evelopmentrojects

\leanwhile,an East TimoreseerouD.takeschargeof establishing rioflty programslinancedby TFET in closecoisultar,onwith ITNTAET and the Wortd Bank. EastTimorese ounterpartsbr international xpertshave0""" *orti"g iogai"i on wo.fO

Bankdesignmissions.

!"":l:!:jlt 1:lgl,o heTFET rovideive echnicalssistancenprojecresignndpanrcrpaten projectsupervision.or instance,ortugalprovidesechnical ssrstancenprogrammingor theeducationndhealthseciors,nr*"i*au.", -o-r,nu ina *"aru.enterpriseupport;Australia,n community evelopm""t,

"gr;;.il;;,;n ;,i.,r"rur", unosocial ectori apan,n agricuhu.e;nd he'fu.op"- Union,ln "uf,f, unJlii.ulr."ru."

The oilowingare he programmes/projectsnder heTFET WB.2000):

2 Community Empowerment andLocal Govemance

proj€ct_ buildsaccountable.nd

.participatoryocal nslitutions hJoughwhichJ..r,,r,,.""unork to rehabilitate asic nfrastructure nd restarteconomicactivities Itincludessp€ciaiwindows or local--civilsoci€tyg.oups,cuituraf-ie.itag"anowtnerable roups uch swidows USD2l.s ,i i i ioi o""ri. i y"urr;.-----

2| Dili.CommunifyEmploymentGen€rationproject_usesabor ntensive ublicworks o-generateobs for thepoor n the

"apitaicity in partne.sfrii l?irf,nOO(USD499,000 ver5 monrhs)

7 Emergency Infrastructure Rehabilitation.project - providesemergencyrepairs^to ey infrastructureroads,o.ts,and power)\vittin u y"a. unoa f,atsectorramework usD 29 8 miilionover .s years,wittruso zoh .niriion n tt esecondgrantagreement)

:iii+T"H1TiLflfe".iifl**"trffi::il5ffir#:Ttr*:,ffi1:;i*:X3g{ssisrances lirrutcd ro providing technicalass,oeworldBar*s rores r,*,* ,ou*,'-o".,;il1i#rft€

lralaitional overnmeflfEa$Timorwh e





Co.rttry Reports: astTimor:A -o-n{in Transition

Ard to East Timor had increasedsubsta.ntiallyhroughout the 1990s.However, thecountry emained xtremelyow in per capita erms,pa.ticularlywhen comparedocolntneswith similar evelsof development r thathaveexperiencedimilar evelsof\iolence Developmentssistancever he pastdecadeumuiativelyJis SSt rnittion,i:rcreasingrom$l million

n 1989o more han$12million n 1999.Developmentssistancen EastTimor hasbgen argelydetermined y the territory,spoliricalhisto.yanddevelopment ttributes, specialiy uring ndonesianule. Minyorganisationsn EastTimorhave inksto the Catholichurctr ihei.."iigi*, or,"ntut,onhas. llowed hem o negotiate ccess. ith the lndonesian ou".rrn"niunO mplementprojectsvia local Catholicorganisations.Most of the pio;""t, it

"r"

-o.g_irution,

lT!1:l-T, lu:"..fo"u.*.on.agriculture and rural devetopment, ater supply and

sanrraltor\_ducatronnd raining,andhealth. Ag aultureanddevelopmenrnowaters-rpply ndsanitationave eceivedhe argest ortionof funding

4.2. 1 I nternational O ganisations

The govemment onors nvoived n.East Timor include:USAID, AusAID, CIDA,NZODd andNORAD. USAID has h€ Iongestnvolvementn fasi iimor, p.ouiOtngassrstancetnae1977. USAID andAusAID,whichbeganunding n 1989, re he wolar€est onors. Significant GO donors nclude:treCjtristianCf,itarent iuna (CCf),Misereor Gemany)andMissio Germany)

AusAID is by far the largest gencyn lerms of projects, lthough oDtractors anageand mplementrsprojecls. heNGOSwilh the ongesi xpedencelrnpie."ntingrol.isli lLI_TiTof are Misereor,Missio, the CatholicFund fo. Ou;;;;; D"u",oprn"n(CAIOD, cB), the Catholic nstitute or Intemational "tations_tif-anJtn" Carita.networ&especialy aritasNorwayandSweden nd heirpartner aritas

East imo..vost. of. theseagencie.s ork very croselywith East Timoresecatholic churchorgarusaltons,nclcontrnueo be major implementers f development nd welfareactivities. uring he 1990,sCARECanadaand ts partner, ARE ndonesia;, hristianChildren'sFund CCF), NationalCooperativeusiness sio"latiorrqVCAf, USA),andWorldVisionCanadaavealsobeensignificantn termsofvolu;" oi-n,nar?irUur."ao.the number ndscale fprojectsmpl€menred.

Orher ntemationa.lGOs and donorshave focusedon the East Timor branches fIl{"-":l* organisations,such as the National Commission for Human ffrghtslf_o^Yfts HAM),BinaSwadayaimorTimur, ndSerikatekerjai"tuiri rnaon"iru(SPSI,

ndonesian orkersUnion).4.2.2LocalNGO|

Eas Timorese rganisationsavealso reen ovolved n implementingrojects.While tis difTicult o ascertainhe number ndcapacities f localNCOs, h-e onsensuss that

::.,:11 i9lg"lllll"sritutionat,capacitysveryweak. omegenciesaveespondedorrmrreoocar apacrty yestabrishingn EastTimorbranch, uchas caritasEast imoraro rayasan lrmor Ard. CatholicNGOs havealso implemented rojectswith theCatholicChurch.Theseocalchurchorganisationsusuallyorganised'ariunaio""r"r)



CrroyGEin.."Ac",,"t.y nTra;;,tG

ffi ffi ,.1*.;n,:""1'r1'J.H"'ff.';ff#,.",,""""ji--glgqhand,v*Tlri:',tT';i:il'"*flitfu#"i;;*"";r1,!["'f1.lllr,;ff T.11::;ffi:;;",iffiifl ::,,..Xiffi T;1ffi:;i1

li^,Li:., rn,,'ffi,,"jl,,ifi1?i:T:f*,ifi"T,J,,1Ji.?.i:3#;;.,"#;:i

i';1?Hil:'"+lf:ffi,J.#t11il::t:*llt{i\1,h'#",.facrivitiesmongiff;;;;'^ffi:" herptrengrrenl;*tr;""iTl", lj.: ffi ,*",:;;4.3.3Differeft programs

andproje,

llredirTer""r -^^--ctsof lnternationaland LocalNGO:

*{#j{,Ii:qJ""fi:iltl?'.?i"":fff:m,#::_d;;l::;","..#*.;.l:#';1lililin'?:ffii;r;**H-;ii'r#i:1r;T"'ii';:?":il:Jj:'{,1t-,:it#:":';:'".#::fJ'*r1*;prurtrrTt,i#if# 1: $m:flJ:','*fn?]i#li{!ffi xi#,,.#liii,Hi;i!T:::T,##i::l?::::iil:H.*d;ffi#ffi::,"ffl l:iT,ii"ili'f

:*fl#A;T#il,nd

4.3.3.1Educatione Training

ix#i;.f""*ijffi.fi f,':fi'#J,1fl.'j,:i.:.rormorteacheran1',"#.lltHfili#,'"fiTrui"fi',"":'d,:ff.l,ili*::""T1'#if?#tn.1j,fr,-;fl,"'iii;"nffn#"::X5!1ffi;;.d;;-tX:TfT'il,fi,"';t";l;#:,,1';']j,:;*n"*"1evel6pmsry

PtsfosioaalaaOfssalialelflainin

,6i****N$s[Cmm;: al,#.,,rulilifiil,,:""ffi,;,,j;fil",#H[il#

,i"..ff:{iilinF:i*;:,i::l;;,^ff:;:;;,.,..;;3,1"xe*,"l""

;ffiT:1JXff""",;A;:';:,:XS:";;*;:::;iijii;:;ii:ffilt.$:";'?;:J:.:,0,"T;"Im:ltu*fu*f#agj:,r'tri$i.;*1



Cootry Reports: ast imor:A CountrynTransition

Scholanhios

\ZODA has unded34 tertiary evel students ince1991 o attenduniversitiesn NewZealand.AusAID hasprovided11 scholarshipsince 1994 or graduate ducationn

Australi4 but emphasiseshat while more undsareavailable, ew undergraduatesreable o meetacademic ntry requirements.aritasNo.way, workingwith CaritasEastfimor, administershe BishopBelo Fund hatprovides cholarshipsor 641university

rdents.NORAD is the major donor o this fund. Woddview fughts (No.way), ncooperation ith Timo. Aid, alsocoordinatesscholarshiprogramor secondarychoolstudentso attend ndergraduatenstitutions.

Construstionf SchoolBuilding

CaritasSwedenprovides inancialassistanceor the construction f a girls, schoolsupportedy the SalesianMissionof Laga (Baucau). h€ Dioceses f Dili and Baucauarekeypartnersn thispfoject.

AucationalMaterials

\{MIETS, sponsoredy the Sistersof St Joseph f Australia, s developingTetumIanguagematerials or primary schoolswith East Timoresewriters and Australianiinguists 121schools avebeen nvolved n the progam as of 1999).Theprogrammefocuses n revitalising ndstrengtheningetumas a larguagemedium, acilitating heChurch'swork n Tetum, nd ncreasingccesso Tetum,languageducationmate als. tincludeshe production f children's ooksand eachers'manuals, swell asprovidingin-serviceraining or teacherso teach he materials.Also invoived n this D.oiectsAustralian eopleor HealthEducationndDevelopmentbroad APIIEDA).

PrimarvEducation

Other agenciesocuson primaryeducation. CF initiated he establishmentf fiftypreschoolscatedng to 1,850 children, as pan of its Early ChildhoolJ Education dndDerelopmentProgramue. t also suppodsmore than 8,500 schoolage children nprimaryeducation.Oxfam GB alsoemphasizesrimaryeducation, nd s consideringwhat nterventions ould be appropriatet this evel.Timor Aid and ts EastTimoreseaffiliate YayasanTimor Aid also implement maller-scaleducation rojects houghTimorese artner rganisations.

4 .3 .3 .2Heat th

Diff€rentprcgrammesndprojects n healthnclude: ommunitv-basedealthactivitiescapacity uilding n managing iseases,echnical ssistance.rainingofhealthworkers,information,education,and communication ampaigns, upplementaryeeding ornut.ition, publicationof materialson health, constructionof health centersardacquisition f medical quipment.



l

Some fthe health rogammesmplementedre he ollowing:

LimorMalafiaControlProiectn EastandWestTimor. irnded y USAID &om l9E0_87,focused n building ong-term iseasemanagementapabilities,nd ncludedhouse_to_house pplication fDDT, drainagemprovements,pplication f larviaideso standinswaterard th€ ntroductionoflarvivorous fish.

sulported ry AusAID, O)(FAM GB, CAIOD, CaritasNorway, CaritasEasflimor andDiocese f Dili Thedifferentdonors rovideundingand echnical ssistanceo support

in EastNulllblgga{e-e&LEcsllllqgr - fo"us",onl.orotingiiit"tion uo""r,,opotatle raier, improving nfant nutrition,and inqeasingu;derstanding f maternalhealth.Thisprojectnvolvesroseiaison etweenNICE-F nd ocal oirmurutiesndgovemmentgencles.

the Indonesian overnment's rogram n East Tiior and Flores.Activities lncludetraininghealthworkers.producingand disseminating ublic informatio4 commurityoutreachandoperational esearchn tuberculosisdrug esearch,aommunity_basedealthcareacrivities.

,nutritionnformation rograms, ndsuppon or supplemeniaryeedingn

areas t speciat eed.CarirasNorwayhas dentifiedHIV/AIDS prevention i an area orlutureasslstance.

Aeu!€Respiratgrvrevenrionrograrruneimplementedy ccF with a localNGo.Herdnakr,-lncludesroductionfhealth duaationaterialsn Tetum" RIworkshopsorhealthadresndproject tafiprovisionfmedical uppliesn 13healthenters.

HealthManagementrogramme started n 1999by CaritasAustralia includes

supportingcoordinatedatholic ealth yster!achievingustainableealth ervicenruralclinics, stablishingonsistent inimum tandards-of

health are n att cattroric

:ltli:::*d supportinghe developmentf a communityased ealth aresystemnpautsnes.

4.3.3.3WaterSupply Sanitation

Programmesncludebuildingwater supplyand sanitationaoilities,sfengtheningofwareJmanagementgencies,onstructionfwells, epair fwaterdistributionerworKs,etc.The ollowing resome ftheprojectsnder ateisupply nd anitation:

P.*.

frlphgla+ro. srqied - jointly managed y CoffeeMpW fty Ltd(Australia) ndCMpS&FEnvironmentalAustr;!a) andfunded y eusAn, focused nstrengthenlngater.managementgencies,nd ehabilitatingrbuildingwatersupplyand anitationacilitiesnruraland rban reas.

EnYironme4lg!-Hgabhtd Sanitation roiect 1999-2004), uildsorl he wo.k ofthe fiIstproj€ct, nd ocuses nthe east dyantagedommunitiesn fivedistricts.

Liqqiq4?nd_Etmera Water Proiect. implementedby CCF, provides accesswater or 3,500people n two villagesn Liquicaandone n Er-e.a. It is

to potabletunded y



CountryRepo*s:Ea3t imor:A Countryn Transition

AusAID, CCF and in-kind contdbutions rom local communities. lthough nearing

compietion,t is suspendedsofmid-1999.

Otheractivitiesnclude malldrinkingwatersupplyprojects, ublichealtbprogramwitha safe water component, ocusingon constructing imple wells, r€paidng water

distribution networks,andprcviding waterto isolatedhamlets.

4.3.3.4AgricuttureRurat evetopment

Someprogrammesn agricultureandrural development re hefollowing:

East€m slandsVeterinary Servic€sProiect- focusgdon strengthening xtensionserviceswith a focuson poorer armersand village women, and providingsupport or theIndonesianovemment's ruoellosis rogramme. his projectwas impi€mentgdrom1989-1998ndmanagedy theNew SouthwalesDepartmentfAgriculture Australia).

Agricultureand RegionalPlanningAssistance rogramme sought o improve the

capacity of agriculture-related gencies o plan and implementsustainable rojects andprogrammesor community evelopment. hisprojectwasmanagedy Acil AustraliaPtyLtd.

BobonaroRuralDevelopment roject 1998-2002) prepares longer enn(12-15year)rural development rojectbasedon investigation nd assessmentsf developmentpotential, nstitutionalcapabilitiesand piloting of community-basedarticipatoryplanningprocesses.his project,also managed y Acil AustraliaPty Ltd., is currentlysuspended.

EconomicDevelopment rojest 1995-1999) provided uppon o 17,000 amilies,orapproximately 00,000 eople.Theprojecthad wo key components:. Increasingheincomes fsmallholder armers y establishingooperativesmostly or cofee, but alsovanillaand ivestock); nd 2. Improving he efliciencyof procurementndprocessing,

andpromotingexports, f coffee. mplemented y the NationalCooperative usinessAssociation,he secondcomponentalso included agdcultureextensionactivities,planting shade rees, ncreasingproductivity,as well as a health component oragricultureworkers.

Rural DevelopmentProgramme involves training in panicipatorytechniques or staffand he introduction f sustainablegriculture echniquesor participantsfrom threehamlets n the Comorovalley). Thisproject gets unding from CaritasAuskalia

SeveralEast Timoreseorganisations ave also implemented mallerprojects.TheseorganisationsncludeYayasan inaSwadaya imorTimur(whichhas eceivedunds oragriculture rojectsrom the New Zealand overnmant),he BobonaroCatholicparish,andETADEP.

4.3.3.5Govemance Law

Progtarnmes ndprojectsundergovemanceand aw include the establishmetrt f a legalaid organisatioq apaaity uilding n providing egal assistance, onitoringof human



rishts violations.development f human dghts training and education oumes or

cJrmunity groupsard oiganisers,nd establishmentf an ind€pendent edia'Among

the organisaiionsnvolved n theseprogrammesare YayasabHAK, The Asia Foundation

(TAK USA),andCommissionor Peace ndJustice

4.3.3.6CapacityEuitding

Capacitybuilding ptogrammes nd projects ocus on improving he performance f

iosiitutions and organiiations, ncluding developinghuman resourceshrough training

prograrnmes,est;during work units and changing ines of communicationand

rn"n-ug"rn"nt. apacitybuitdingor strengtheningr bl]ilding- f local NGOs includes

propo'salwriting skilis and improvinggeneralorganisationalnd managementkills

towardsmore eflicient.gffectiveand sustainable rogrammes.

A project undercapacitybuildiflg was the establishment f ETADEP, a local NGO, in

tstf, fundeC y USAID. TheETADEPhasbeennvolvedn establishinguralbranches

for its creditunion,drilling wells for drinkingwaterand workng with smallerocal

NGOS o prcvidehands-onraining in micro-enterprisgcredit systems,-watercatchment

and amily healthsysiems.t hasalso establishedn institutional ndhuman esources

centren bili to teach killsessentialo the nstitutional evelopm€ntflocalNGOS.

Another prcject was the creation of an NGO forur4 funded by AusAID, under the

Bobonaro Rural DevelopmentProject This forum facilitates mutual cooperationand

coordination mong ocll NGos, govemmentand donors.A component f CARE

Cantda's Cqpacit! Buiwing and Community Sef-MqnagementProjecl - fonded by

CIDA- strengthinsthe institutional capacity of local NGOs to deliver development

serviceso householdsargeted y theproject.

OtherNGOs who havebeen ecipients f funding or capacity uildingfiom variousdonors rePikulandPosko.

4.3.3.7ncome eneration

Among the livelihoodprojects mplemented re livestock aising,micro-finance r

micro-iredit, animal husbandry,cattle farming, haberdashery, nd handicrafts These

projects re mplementedy localorganizatioN, uchas he Salesianrcthers Baucau)

-d th" BobonaroCalholic Parisl! or local NGOs (e.g ETADEP (Dili)' Sadep

Foundation(Suai), YayasanBina SejahteraLestari (Ermer4 Lospalos),and Yayasan

Bina Swadaya).

5. Critique/Assessmentf Government trategies

Analysts state hat East Timor can be expected o be reliant on outside help for many

years given the destructionollowing the 1999 violenceand it is drought-prone

However, they areoptimistic about the future of East Timor - it hasgeat potential to

recover conomically.hisoil-richcountrycangetneededevenuesrom ts o{fshore il

a.nd as ields n theTimor Gapdue o be exploitedrom 2004 BBC) Earnings rom



CountryReports: ast ihor:A Countryn Taansition

cthersuccessfulil andgasexplontionand he resulting oncessionss well as exponscfmarbleandotherhard ockminerals ansupplementncomeromgasexpo.ts..{DB reports hatEastTimorhasbeenudicious n its allocation f TimorGao eceiDts.for example,an erdowment und. "Such a fund could act as a stabilising oice,safeguarding

ncome rom resourceales hatrightly belongs ot only to EastTirnoresecitizensof todaybut also o their childrenand grandchildren.',lso importan ncomesuppiementor the govemment re remittancesrom the 20,000EastTimoreseivinsoverseas.

IMF noteshatpositive evelopmentsn EastTimor during he ransition eriodhaveputthe countryback on t.ack. Thesepositivedevelopmentsnclude he rise in domeiticsaving, establishment f basic economic and institutional frameworh and theestablishmentf fiscal controland foundationsor the development f the financialsector.

Despitesuchpositivedevelopments,owever,MF cautionshat the sustainability fsuchdevelopmentsvgr ime emainso be seen. t explainshat avorable evelopments

in outputgro[th consumer rices, rade andbank deposit lows have not addressedcrucial ssugs,uchassizable nemployment,agedistortions,nda lackoflongerrerminvestmentrom heprivate.Also, here s growingpoiiticaluncertainty s ndep;ndenceapproaches,nd there is a need o developas soon as possiblecommeriiai legalframework,andandproperty aws,a foreign nvestmentaw,a labor code,bankruptcyproceedings,nda mecharismor djsputeesolution.Moreover,o ensure ustainabilityof projecrs.t is crit ical or EastTimor to build i ls capacityn macroeconomicmanagement_t is in direneedofcontinued omprehensiveechnical ssistances wellas ntensiverainingandskillsdevelopment.

World Bank lists down six main lessons rom the expe.ienceof internatronalorganisations,ilate.aldonors,and others n assistingEastTimor. The lessons requoted eren fuiil

z It is helpful o coordiiateassistanceffons from the outset,becausehisfacilitatesheassessmentndp.ioritisation fneeds,and educes emandsyforeignexperts n he imeofa limitednumber flocal counterparts.

Z Early adoptionof a basic and easily enforceableegal and regulatoryIiameworkhelps o reduceuncertainty. he frameworkmustbe simplebutsufficiently comprehensiveo minimise

the scope for discretion n ltsapplicability.

2 Clear inesof authority, esponsibilities,nd obligations ithin andbetweendecision-makingnd consultative odiesexpedite he implementation fpolicy.



Country eporB: ast imor:ACountryn Transitioh

Z Establishmentf k€y institutionsmust receivepriority. and thesemustallocatedull icientiJndso ensure dequateralf ing ndrhe ormationlocalmanagerialapacity.

Z A basicmacroeconomicramework oesnot needo be complexo facilitatesounddecision-making. esourceallocation n the economyshould be

efficientlyguidedby the market.and. to rhar end, paymentand bankingfacilities must be restored quickly, with due regard to emcrencyandcompetition; basicandsustainableiscal framewo.kmustalso be adootedand nlorcedl heoutset.

Z EastTimorese ationals'wnership nddi.ect esponsibilityor implementinglne reconstruchon trategyand for establishing ound macroeconomicmanagementre essentialor success ndcanbe achieved nlv with theirparticipationtall evels fgovemmenr


6.1 Summary

EastTimor ies n the southwesternacificOcean.t hasa total andareaof 14,874 m,with close o 900,000population.primarily an agricultural conomy, he agriculturesector rovidesmostofthe employmentn thecountry.

A greatmajorityof thepopulation reEastTimorese.The country'smajorreligion s

Christianity hile Tetum,Portuguesend ndonesianre ts threemajor anguages.heagricultureector rovidesmostofthe employmentn EastTimor.

EastTimor s considereds oneofthe poorest reasn Southeastsia. Latesr$aus csshow har rsGDP s estimated t US $344millionwhiie rs cDp percapita s esumatedat US$344. About55 percent fthe EastTimores€allbelow hepoverty ine.Thepoorare dentifiedmostlyas subsistencearmers, roducing ontraded ood; in ruralareas.TheGINI coeffciencts 0 31 Thewealthiest 0 percent ouseholdi avecash ncomesthatareonly hreeimeshigherhan hepoorest 0percentIMF).

Life expectancys around 0 yearsor womenand49 yearsor men. nfantmortality ate

(pe. 1000)s 149. Therearearound15 medicaldodorsper 100,000 eople, no rneilliteracy ate s 50percentin some uraldistrictshe lliteracy at" i" abon"Lo p"r"ent;.An estimated5percent fthe populationaveaccesso electricity nd unningwarer.Centuries f armedconflictandun_restndercolonial ule or invadingpowerand heviolence f 1999havebeenmainly the underlyingeasonso. poverti in EastTimor.EastTimor_ as enderedotaliy nutileafter he1999 iolence. ie teritory,s socialandeconomic estructionaspromptedhe nte.nationalommunityo inteNe; andprovideeme.gencyasslstanceo the East Timorese. Massivereconstructionactivities,panicularly nfrastructure, ave beenundertaken nd state nstitutions,ncludingan

beof



3untry Reports:EastTimor: A Country n Transition

:n!e m government,he IIN Transitional dministration astTimor,havebeenset up.A! present, astTimor s beinggovemed y a Second ransitionalGove.nment nd tsCouncil of Ministers,entirelycomposedof locals, eading ts people owards fullrrdependencen 2002

As a respooseowardseconomic ecovery, he govemment as established policyiiamework or macroeconomictability. t has underlined numberof principles osir-engthenovemance. Among these pdnciplesare transparency, ccountability,ellicieat and effective public service, ntegrity, customer-iocused ork, decisivereadership,nd espohsiveo localbusrnesses.

Bilateral ssistanceascontinu€do pour nto EastTimor. Trust unds or tne countrvhavebeenestablishedor the country's econstructionctivities. These rust fundsinciudeUNTAET TrustFund, o be administered y the transitional overnment, ndTrustFund or EastTimor (TFET) o be managedy World Bank n c-ioseooperation

withADB.

UNTAET rust und inances rojectsn theareas foivil service nd udiciarycapacitybuilding;and covers he cost of all recurrentexpenditures f the East Timoreseadministration. ncluded n the p.ojectsare the rehabilitation nd re-equipment fadministrative,olice,andudiciarybuildings. nd or the raining fcivil servanrs.

On the other hand, programmes nd prcjects under TFET include: communitvempowermentnd ocaigovernance;il i community mploymenteneration;mergencyinfrastructure ehabilitation; small enterprise;

-heaithsectoi rehabilitatron and

development;griculture ehabilitation nd development;mergency chool eadiness;

watersupply ndsanitationehabilitation; icrofinance;ndeconomiicapacity uildingInternationalrganisationsavealso mplemented number fprogrammes noproJecNin EastTimor. lnternational rganisationsormallycontractocaiNCos to implementtherrlrogrammes r pro;ects.The government onors nvolved n EastTimor includeLISAID,AusAtD,CIDA NZODA andNORAD. SignificantNGO donorsnclude heChristian hildren's und CCF),Misereor Germany)ndMissio Germany).

Local NG_OSr EastTimorese rganisationsavealsobeen nvolved n implementingprojects. heseNGOS nclude he NationalCommissionor Human .igtrts fOWeSl4MI .Biii SwadayaTimor Timur, and SerikatpekedaSeluruh idoneisa (SpSI,lndonesianWorkersUnion).Therearealso ocalbranchesf intemational rgantsatrons,

such as CaritasEast Timor and yayasanTimor Aid. CatholicNGOS have alsoimplementedrojects ith theCatholicChurch.

Thedifferent rogrammesndprojects re n theareas f education nd raining,health,watersupplyandsaritatio4agricultufe nd development,ovemancend au, capacrtybuilding,and ncome eneration.Education nd ;ining p-rogrammesremainly n theform of teacherand vocationaltraining, including i.piou"ment of curriculum;scholarshipsor secondary nd tertiary students, pgradingand expandingechnicaleducation;pecialnterestcou$es or poor children; onstruction f schooibuirdings;andprimaryeducationr earlychilddevelopment.



coeryRepo%

DiFerenrprogrammesandproiect

," x,:r11ru.;#"'i:-,3x1.ii:li.i4:1ff:L1u".,,,,,",ru;i"*","*;i,"_#il,#i,"Tp*i#;."_:#f

:,",],,.,f:,Jfjfl#fl*#ftrffi:?H*iff:::##:#['J'"#'tr.:#,,jrJ;*Ttlnl,'""J:"1%T:'ff,nl[T,1ff

:":ffi:":Tfl#T,i,]"[.T:;*,incrudevete

ftIff,ffi,Ti,:ili::iJffiT:;

W,'6*t*:g#mrli*f*;:#d'fl,,i:;ffi*"t+l**,*i*#rurl*:FJ:'#::.HfiH:,m*,,:ll#**?l,""i:ffi,iJ:':ffil"';*h:l!

I[:J:,.ifi;:Hix.,îl.i:x'ff1i:{j*,i!!xi:t"Jf'"?l;arufnxp$,'*t*l:"\1"*i*;;:;J T:ilJi*"

vuv"*ein,qir,t.1T'.::H',;;1,,f1f":i :?Ji";:$l

6.2 Conclusion

Z For centuries.astTimorha

;$.ai1+r,#,lj,:#il';,{*:,',rifid:iH['nill"t#",",-ux:,i;.li#-h,"fj:',*_.*z The socioeconomicdestucti

countryotally,;;-'",i,ll,'iil,,'::.-1:T the^reeeiolenceen h€

i::""TS:*''o"*itv'#"Jd;':iH;:ii,T;Ti':l':,"":frr'lj



C!!!ggE!!:€esf. ninor:ACountrynTransition

7 EastTimor s expectedo berelianton outside elp or manyyears, speciallyln the a.ea of capacitybuilding. Human resourcedevelopmentandmacloeconomtcanagementrehigh on the ist for skills rainingamong hepeople,

articularlyn govemment., The transitionalgovernmenthas established

socroeconomjcrameworks o guide thedevelopmenr.speciallynce r hasobtainedullHowever,a lot remainso be done,especiallynstrictly enforcing such frameworks, and intnvolvement

and adoptedpolitical andcountry towards genuineindependencer statehood.polishing uch iameworks,

encouragmg rivate sector

z A numberof programmesr projectsn education, ealth, griculture,watersuppiy and.sanirarion,govemance.and income generar-ion ave beenrmprementedy the

GO and NGOSo address oveny However,here s aneed or th€seprogrammesr projectso be coordinired na " o-n.J unJpanlcrpatedn by lhe peoplehemselvesn order o maximise esources swell asensureuccess.

East. imor is a.small ountrywith a smallpopulation.The assistancet hasrecerveo. spectally tter the 1999 violence.has beentremendous. Itsabsorption.apacitymightnot be able to match he Lremendousmount;iassrsrancet hasbeeneceiving Careful tudyshould e doneas eqards astIrmors capacityo absorbjs-d_visheassistancer needsndshou'ideceiveandaccept.

v



Country eports: ast imor:A Countryn Transition

Sources

AsianDevelopment utlook2001:publicationsndhighlights.

http://www.adb.rgt/Documents/BookVADB/2001/Highlights

ADB Count.yAssistancelan.btpt/huaaa{.gD.glg.

A ShortHistoryofEastTimor.htto://www.geocitiesontcapitolHill/Senate/712l

BBC CountryProfiles:EastTimor.http://news bcco uk.

CountryAssistancelans:EastTimor. http://www.adbrg.

EastTimor CountryBrief. Theworld Bank andEastTimor.h[p!4s iryJgddbalkllg

East Timor LINTAET, justice and refug€es one year after the ballothttp://www.\teb mnesty rglai.nsflindex/AsA570042000

EastTimot.

Horta,Ramos oseandEmiliaPires. 001.How Will theMacroeconomye Managedn

an Indep€ndentastTimor?An EastTimorese iew. Finance ndDevelopment

A quarterlymagazin fthe IMF. Vol. 38, No. 1. htto://wwwmf ore

InternationalCOs n EastTimor.http://www.etan.orq

NationalNGOS n EastTimor. htt0/l aMryjt@-erg

http:/hvww.imf rg/exter

Nest,Michael.Overviewand Assessmentf Development ssistanceo East Timor

http://www.aic.n)'u.edu/zubgliualTilqqPlillh@!

NGOFomm. http://www.geocities.contetngoforum.

Pereira, Agio. East Timor - Govemment, NGOs, and Civil society

http //www. idwatch.org.au/news/20/05/htm

Tenenbaum,inda. 1999. The UN in East Timor: All the Trappings f a Colonial

Protectorate.ftpfl:Uuryj{ly$plg.

The UNTAET httpJ/www.un.org,iDeplv

Vaidivieso, uis. 2001. IMF Staffstatementst DonorMeetings. ttp/la|.^{jrqlgrg



C.""t.V R"p"rtt' E" I

Valdivieso,Luis, et al. 2000. East Timor: Establishinghe FoundatiorN f Soundacroeconomicanagenent.,ttpyl*wwi,nf.orei?*;ailiiij;?

WorldBankAdministered rustFund or EastTimor.httplwww.worldbank.org.

WorldBank Civil SocietyCollaboration.rogessReportor Fiscal ears2000 20Ol



Indonesia



PoVERTYN INDONESIAPAULINE EBUCAS

1. lntroductionThispaper s partofa studyof poverty eductionnitiativesby gov€mmentndNGOS n eight

ASEANcountries, amely:Philippines,ndonesia,Cambodia, ietnam,Myanmar,Lao,Tlailand.andEastTimor. Thestudyaims o present comprehensiveiew of povertysituationand herosponseso povertyby aLffercnt ectoa n thc eightcountries.Also, t aims o comcupNith recommendationso developmcDtGOS egarding reas f inteNentions r collaborationwith their respectrveovcmmentsowards overty eduction.Thestudymainlyusedsecondarydata writtendocuments,ooks, ndmtemet).

Ihis paper ocuses n Indonesia.t is divided nto six parts. The irst part presentshe

introduction. he second artdescribeshe demographicrofileofand povertysituarion

in Indonesia.The third discusseshe main causes f poverty. The fourth eaturesheresponseso poveiy by the government,nternational nd local NGOs, including

international onors, and the church.The fifth presentsan assessment y somQ

institutions ndanalysts n themuitisectoralesponses,anicularlyhegovemment's,opoverty.Thesixthpfi presentshe summary ndconclusion.

2.

2.1

Profile

Geographyand Demography

Republic f Indonesias an island epublicof Southeast sia, constitutirgmostof theMalayArchipelago. ocated outheastf mainlandAsiaandnorthwest f Australia, herepublic asa total land areaof 1,826,440m'] (705,192 q mi). About half ofIndonesia'searly13,700 slands re nhabited; ll are ocatedn the ndianandPacific

oceans.with a totalpopulation f207.4 million(1999statistics),t is aonsidereds heworld's ourthmost populous ountryafter China India and United States.More thanhalfthepeopleive in Java,where akada,ndonesia'sapital nd argest ity, s located.

An agricultural nd manufacturing conomy,he country'smain expotts are rubber,tobacco, ndsugar. Although he slaods rehome o more han100ethnicgroups,mostlndonesiansreof mixedMalayoriginsandpracticeslam- Major anguagesreBahasaIndonesia ndJavanese.



Cqffy Reports: oveny in tnaonesia-

T$te 1.T@l landareaPcpula!on

\lain\{ai

r Reli

2-.2. Socioeconomicituation rior to l gg7 AsidnEconomicCrisis

Indonesiaadenjoyedremendousconomic ro\a,thn the 1980s nd 99os,partly dueo tsabundanraruralesourcesndn..*..i;n *l rn.nriu.i"i"g io'.;,,... ,"o"rr.{s a result, anyndonesiansad nreredhemiddle lass

TheGDP groMh during 9g0-90was6.I percentperannum;t wentup to 7.6 percenterannumduring1990-95 nd7.8percentin 1996.This ",iri"""iiv i'ig;g.o*n.u,associatedith impressive iversificationf tf,"""onornv

anj'rt._g'tp#_un"" ortl"anufacturinsectorwhichrew ta ate f i0 ;;r;;;;";;;;'ti.i*..i',,rr_s,""a

ccountedoraquarterfthenation's.cDpnaon"riun"'"poJ,

oiriri"iii" *ia" ,ung"f manufacturers,rcludingextilesnd pparel,ooa prolucts,ni'p"iioii"rn,"urr.f,"owth of merchandisexports vera!ii,",."at",.n rd;;e;iil.,f,ffiT l"#l"li,o***

durinse86-e3,ut eclined

Indonesia'sross nvestmentmte \rr'ent p from 24 percent fthe GDp in l9g0 to 32e.centn 1996.Domestic avinqsrso.grew,nd ndonesiaontinuedo financeabout0 percentof its investm€nt o;esti

percentfthecDp (wo.ra"unra

rrru,lf ls$1996' hedomesticavingsatewas31

t:lg ytjh consistently aintainingigh economrc rowth, ndonesiarsomadeubstantialrogressn social evelooire.ntndpoverty r;dication.henumber fpoorf,",!]"

l r".9"-".j1.qoppediorn omilionniezoooi""ili"'i","r

p"p"r"r.O. r,r l lronn 1996 ltyo). Also, ncomedroppedrom3rin tril :;;l;#?H:l}ff ffi;*"

bv heGini oenicient

On the employment ront, however. hnot"atr,at'auiinfos;;il;il';Tfif;,;ffiH:;,lJ,ilTT::';';rti::""q,T]annumomparedo a labourorceorowhofJ_l p.rl"t r"a""a-"rp[inn"n,

gro"dledined_from8 p..".nt p"r. -urn-drrrngs85_90o I g percenturing.990_95 heate -r pen nemprovmentumpediom32 percenrn lgrd ;" t.a;iJd,l; 1995. herooremt unemploymentasmore.seriousn theurban .au,iincr""."a n.ornO.fercentn t990to 10.9percentn 1995) ndurn."gth";;".u; (i"".""r"i ti., e.te.centn leeoto l t.5 percentn lee5 for th;;;;:r;-;";;;; ei"i",L,li ^"_,u"

2074 million (1999

Rubbel tobacco.suBahasandonesia.avanise

' Dalagesentedn thispamgraphre romworrdBank,AsiarD€velopmentarkand Lo.



Counkt' Reports: overty n Indonesia

ihird ofthe total wo*ers suffer from underemployment measured s working lessthan15 hoursperweek). Nearly two+hirds of total employment s still accountedo. by theirlormal sector.

2.3 PovertySituationofter theAsian CrisisWith massiveayofls and high inflation following the Asiancrisis, he incidenceofpovertyn Indoncsiaignificantlyncreased. 998 tatisticsCent.alBureau fstatistics)show hal the numberofpeople living belowpoverty ine had reached 0 million, i.e.40olofthe populationcomparcdo l l% prior o the crisis). Incidence fpovertyat thea€gregateeyelwasaround 4o/o. n urbanareas,he number fpoor incr€asedy 10.Imillio4 comparedo 16.l million n ruralareas.

In 1999, overtyncidenceeached 4.2 percent,llom17.6percentn 1996.Thecrisis:induced urge n povertyplungedan additional15 million personsnto poverty.The

number f.poor ncreasedramatically nd heconditionofthe poorworsened.overtyworsened n urban areasfaster than in rural areas. Urban poverty increasedby lOipercentwt le ruI:a1overty inffeasedby 78percent.

Irbfe 2: Socioeconomicndicators

3. Causesf Poverty

3.1 1997AsianEconomicCrisis

Indonesiaexperienc€d n economicshockafter around a decadeof unintemrptedhigheconomic routh.The economic risis hat hit Indonesian the middleof 1997brouehtaboutsetbackn economic erformance, orespecificallyn improvementsn humindevelopment e.g., education and health) and remarkable reduction in the poverty

GDP US$142.5 iuion1999)GDP us$ 7602000)GNP aGIM coeflicient 0.308 1999)Human evelopmentndexPovertyncidence

RuralUrban

l8.2Yo

Annual roMh rateLife expectancy t birth

MaleFemale

64years68years

Adult lliteracyateMaleFemale

7%170/o

Infantmortalityate per1,000ive births) 43 (1998)



CountryReports: overtyin lnaonesia

li:l*l::l 9?P e.wth droppeddramatically lom over 7 percentper annumbeforethecfjsrs eriod 0a negariveconomicrowth f_lj.2oo n lSog. fhi, aggregarencomeshiftsignif icanrlyeflecredhe mpacior urrencyevaruarion..\hich rearedconomicupheaval,eadingo high nflation;ate Said, 00i).

After aboutone year_ofcisis period, he Indonesianconomyseem€d till far fromrecovery. hiswas eflectedn aneconomic rowth ateofonly 03% jn lggtg

3.2 Drought,politicat Instability dnd Etnic_Religious onfticts

The long droughtand forest fues in 1997, ollowed by political instabilrty r thetransitional eriodhaveworsenedhe socloeconomiconditions. ucheconomlcelatedfactors sskyrocketingrices, eclinen agricultural roduction, hrinkage fthe formalsector. nd a.hugepressure n the ove-rallabourmarket ,"u'"-"uu',J

uj""rr" .o"ru,rmpact, specialrvn themostwlnerabreg.oupsofthe popuiation. oiitiJJ ,n"tuu i yensued s thedictarorship f Suharto eltana 'ire r"nrittn p.*"..

"oi"iii"-'rr"t"uiri y

continued s henewpresidentWahidwasrcmovedonly after wo y"u...

-

ff," fufl ofsohartoalsocataiyzedariousethnicand religious"""fli;i;

;;;y,;;. of lndonesia(e.9.EastTimor,Westpapua,Aceh)

4. ResponsesowardspovertyReduction

4.1 Government

Whilepov€rty eduction adneverbeedurins 970o r994,or he irst t.n.iff1T.'il1i*:tified

as,a evelopmentbjective

*a "i"ntuurotui"ri.i;;,;;;;;#;rH in?liil;ljrfj *t"cit tarsetsoreductionEven before he 1997crisis. he Covemment f Indonesia ad alreadyattempredoespoDdo the needsof the poor thr(berow)heserogram;ildffi;#_?:*:;;fJ":",,"#,11-

prosfamsseeabre

Table .P AIIJ. rover$ AllevtatronPromrmhFc ;h r . . j^Progr{mmc -bjeclt"e DcrcriptionsL P+K r ncorne-gcneiEi

projector Iandtessarmcrs)ru nErease ncomesof smallfanners drough setf-help groupsano 10 orga zc lhem to gain

acccsso crcdit

Joint pro1ect Eiieei- fiJMi stry of Agriadture and BRIBanlt begimingn 1979;

.l Has incr€ased averagemcome of participatingtarmersup to 40yo;

'l Covers 3 provinccswitlfinding from ADB and IIFAD 1.mT gnpresDesa-@gd) ru acu.leraE ploverty reductjon

in less developedvillages acrossStarted in t9gt. Cdsists of;tund Rp 20million pervillage.Attempts to pro\ide assistancedirecdy to the village commllnitv



Co.ffry Reports: Poverty in Indonesia

4. 1.1 SoundMocroeconomic olicies

Soundpoliciesand initially favorable onditionswere identifiedas the main factors,cont.ibutingo Indonesia'successrl povertyalleviation.Household xpenditure ndincome istributioflwere elatively qualat the startofthe New Order n 1970,as mostIndonesianserepoor at that time' and this allowed leibility in proglafl targeting.Furthermorc, rban-ruralmigrationwas relatively ow in the 1970s,while rural-urban

income isparitiesemainedelatively mall.Variouspolicies ndprograms,nstrumentalin bringingdownpovertyevels, einforcedhese mall ural-urbanisparities.

Other eoentnterventionso help he poor includeminimumwagepolioies argetedourbanareas, cross ll provinces,nd specialeffods in the areas f watersupplyandsanitation. lforts o alleviate ovenybecame iflicult between 990and 199?.Setiawan(2000)notes,wo reasonsnderlayhisdifficulty,namely:L Targetgrcupswereharderto identify hanbefore; nd2. Government'soncemwith poverty lleviation ecameessthanbefore, ince he budget or alleviatinghe causes asmore estricted nd he costsofsuchprograms erebecomingmoreexpensive.

4.1.2 StrengtheningSocialSafety Nets

Thegovemment trengthenedocialsafetynets o respold o the needs fthe poor. Itadoptedmeasureso incr€asehepoor'saccesso food andessentialealth ndeducationservices. lthough he programmes erenot immune o allegationsf corruption,heyseemo havegenerallymet heirgoals.Over hemedium erm,however,here s a need1oshift he ocusofpubiic policy o addresstructural ov€rty,whilemaintaining muchsmaller but better targeted safety net p.ogramme to protect the most vulnerableIndonesia asa number f poverty eduction rogrammes,ew ofwhich appear o haveworkedwell. A majordrawback fthe earlierprogramrnesppearso be heir op-downapproach,nsistencen subsidies,nd ackof accountability_hese eed o be carefully

reviewedand restructuredo reducepov€rtymo.e effectively.

4. 1.3 DecentrolisotionScheme

Thepolicy of decenralisations in majorpart aimedat addressingegionaleconomicdisparities nd improvingpovertytaryeting.The policy enables hese ssues o beaddressed uchmoredirectlyand sensilively, speciallywith functioningdemocnticinstitutions. nhanced re hepossibilitieso empowerhe poor,mobilise heir crcativeenergies, nd ni tiatea genuine artnership etwesn oveanment,ivil society, nd he

obie{rir€ Ire!criDliotrrIevel to undefiake gmss-rootspovertyalleviatior activitjes.

3,TAKESRA./KUKESRA To intensify poverty alleviationefforts

Assists poor familics to startsavings by providiq them with

i tial depositsup to Rp 2,000p€rfamily. Administeredby the StateMinistrl' for PopulationGKKBN)



totttry n"po.c, Poverty n Indonesia

:cor to eradicatepoverty. Good govemancealso supportspoverty reductionby

:rcressing omrption nd nefliciencyn delivering ublicserviceso thepoor'

r.1.4 SocialSafety Net Progrommes

:he government stablishedseries f new andexpandedrogrammes idelyknown as-,heSocial SafetyNet' ot JPSprogtammeq an acronymof its Indonesiannilrne Jari'E

Pengaman osiil. Suryahadit. al (1999)state,heprogarnmes ere ntendedo help

proi""t th" traditionallypoor andnewlypoor sufferiag-flomthe crisis n.three areas,

nameiy:LEnsuringthe availabilityof food at affordableprices for the poor; 2

Supplementingurchasingoweramong oor householdshrough rnploymentreation;

.nd':. Pt"r"*ing ucc"sJof the poor to critical socialservices, uchas health and

educatlon.

Ihe plan to introduce ocialsafetyn€tprogrammes asfirst m€ntionedn the revised

govemment udget, raftedn lateJune1998 Based n hebudget lan,around7 4ol"of

6Dl, or np Z0.itrillion wereallocatedor social afety etprogrammesOutofthe totalRp70.5 rillion budget, round 3.50lor Rp 58.8 rillionwasallocatedor various ypes

oi subsidyprogta.*es. The remainder16.5%) of the total budget a'ound Rp 11 7

trillion)was foi employmentenerationrogrammes,upportot educationn the form

ofblockgrants ndscholarships,ndotherexpendituresor health-relatedervices'

ln September 998, he NationalPlanningBoard(Bappenas)nnouncedhat a nation-

wide ociat safetynet programme as beingdevelopedThis programme onsisted f

four schemes: food security, . employment eneration r labor-intensiverojects;3

social rotection education, ealth,amily planning, ndsocialservicest nd 4 SMEs

pro.oiion. The otal budgetor these rogrammes as argeted t aroundRp 17 rillion

(6.5% fthe totalbudget).

4.1.4 FoodSecuritv aims o help he poor - including henewlypoorbecause f

ihJ crisis-. to fulfilt theirneeds or food,whichmay havebeenhindered y both

falling real ncomeand ood priceescalation.his schemes implementedhrough

four activitiesrood reserves,ood assistanceor thepoor'cash or foodproduction

intensification,nd agticulturalnput subsidies.hegovernment as ried o achieve

theseobjectives y establishingariousprogrammes, ne of which is the Operasi

I'asatKhusus OPK).Under heOPKprogramme, neofthe largest ndmostcrucial

schemesnder oodsecurity, ach ligiblehouseholds allowed o purchase0 kg of

riceper monthat a highlysubsidisedriceof Rp l,000/kg.'This s comparedo the

marketprice or medium uality ice n Octobero November 998periodof aroundRp. 2,5b0&g.Originally,only households nder the lowest categoryof o{Ilcial

classification ere eligible o participaten the programme.' But coveragewas

expandeduring hecourse fthe year.

' Theprogrdmme trttedwith l0 kg.I The ofiaial classifications olated by thc NatronalFamih'Plaining Or$nization (BKKBN)



i Co{rntryReportsrPoverty n Indonesia

4.1.4.2EmplorrmentGenerationPadatKarya) - is in .esponseo the threat ofburgeoning nemployment eaausef economic ontraction,orcing irms to eitherlay off partof their workers or shutdowncompletely. Padatkarya s a massive abor-intensiveeffort initiated in variousareasn Indonesia. ts two mainobjectivesare; 1.Provide ncomesupporto the unemployed nd he poor;and 2. Createproduction

benefitsn the form of Iasting ocialcapital,ncludingpeople'skillsand enterprise.Since1998,PadatKarya hasgrown o include13 sub-programmes,nvolvingeightexecutingagencies,andreachingmore than300 districts. Theseschemes re fundedprimarily through re-allocated unds from donor agencies'ongoing loans,other re-directed esouaes,and iom other newly designed nitiatives.

4.1.4.3SocialProtection helpsensurehe supplyof importantpublichealthandeducationservices,particularly for women and children, to protect against urtherdeterioration n circumstanceor the future seneration.

4. 1.5 EducotionProgramme

With the assistancef extemalaid agencies, .9.,ADB and heWorld Banl, Indonesiarapidly designed nd implemented scholarshipsnd grantsprogramme alled SGp(Pl€ase eebox 2 at the annex).Though SGP,secondary nrollment at€s ncreas€dbetweenschoolyearc1997/98and.1999/2000,andprimary enrollmentstay€d elativelyconstafi.

4.1.6 Health Programme

Thegovernment, ith help rom donoragencies,stablishedhe JPSprogam in health.The our activities nder his scheme re: 1. provision nd maintenancef basichealth

servicesn Puskesmashealthcenters);2. midwife's servicesor poor families; 3.nuldtional improvement;and 4. healthguaratte€scheme t thedistrict level.

4.1.7 Small nd lediumEnterprisesSlvlEs)chemes

Thisprogrammes administeredy heMinistry f Cooperativ€sndaimso helpheSMES n the form of credit.To datq th€ govemment asallocatedRp 20 trillion insupportof SMES,but the allocationof this programmes not reflected n the budget forSSNprogramme. nder his scheme, MEsareprovidedwith technical ssisrancenoacaesso credit o furtherdevelopheirbusiness ndemploymentctivities.

4. 1.8 FinancialSupport

The funding to expand hesevarioussocial safety n€t programmes om6smostly ;n theform of loansprovidedby the World Bank, ADB, andbilateral ono.s,eitherdirectlythough prcjectsupportor indirectlythroughprogramoans hatprovidebudgel suppon.



Country eports: overtyn Indonesia

1.2 lnternational and Local NGOS

NGOs, eligious rganisations,ndcommunity roups ave nitiateda number fpovertyalleviation rogrammeso complementhe govemment's fforts. ntemationalNGOS,suchas CARE, CRS, World Vision, and ICRC, have mountedsupponprcgrammes,particularlyn food relief operations. heseactivitieshave received inanoialsuppo.tfrombilateral onorse.9.AusAID,USAID, andCIDA). In addition, new nitiative ncreating civil societyJed mechanismaimed at strengthening he capacitiesof the poor,calledCRP Community ecovery rogramme),asbeen ormed.

4.2.1 Relief assistance nd food security

An NGO, ParamitaSocial Welfare Foundation YKSP), initiated a food secu.ityprogramme, istributing ood aid to needyhouseholds.ormed n 1995by a groupofreligious eaders nd Buddhistentrepreneu$,t deliv€redn Septembe.-October998approximatefy 0,000 ood parcels consisting f l0 kg rice, I kg sugaralrd,% kg ofmung beans) o poor communities n Nonh takana, CentralJav4 and East Java.Ahhough nitiated y a Buddhist ommunity,hc pfogammedid not discriminate gainstreligious ffiliation, thnicity,ace,or gendcr.

4.2.2 SocialDrotection

ln the areaof socialprotection, everalNGOSand CBOShavealso nitiatedactivitiesdirectedowardhelping hepoor,Activities ncludeassisting treet hildren ndassistingwork€$ ind altemativemployment.

4,2.3 lAicro-credit schemes

NGOs run hundredsof small miaro-creditschemes hroughout he country. Onepromising chemeinks provisionof microfinance ith the buildingof poor people,scapacityo help hemselves. GOSare forming strategicinkageswith BRI andBankIndonesiaor thispurpose.

5. Critique/Assessmentf GovernmentStrategies

The challengever he medium o long erm or the ndonesian ovemments to realise

thepotential ecentralisationolds o reduce overty. he irststep owards hisend s todevelop workable trategy uicklyand nitiate ts implementation,eginningwith theworstpocketsofpoverty (ADB, 2000).

The pov€rty-reducingoteotialof decentralisationould only be realisedf the poorcould make heir voices heard.The ADB reiterateshat in order lor this to happen,womeasures re necessary:ecertralization nd mobilisation.Decentmlisation ust bedeepenedy graduallyaking ocalgovemanceo thevillage evel.Thecunentproposalsfor decentralisationo the district evelare a majorstep n the right direction, ut the



Cd.l1?yReports:Poverty n Indonesia

rrocesswouldneed o move irrfher.Thedistrict s still inaccessibleor themajorityof:he uralpoor Civil society .ganisations,uchasNGOs,havean mportantole o play:r rhis regard.Until recently,he politicalclimateprevailingn Indonesia adnot been.onduciveo NGOactivities

TheSSN^programmeasa keyelementn thegovernment,scsponseowards ro@cung:hepoorfromtheworsteffects fthe crisis But theprogram ad hadmixedsuocessnieaching. nd supp-ortinghe poor. Other coping strategies includingrelianceon.ommunityand religiousorganisations- had been more important hai governmenttrogrammeso thepoor.The issueof mistargeted nd misusedunds was highly conspicuousn newspapercoverage;.the€ovemmentacknowledgeduchshortcomings.appenas,or example,admitredhataboutRp.8.6 rillionour of the otalRp. 17.9 llion ;i SSN unds n fiical\.ear1998/1999,were misbudgeted,nd used to fund ',supplementary,,programmesrSetiawan,000).

In addition,Setiawan otes,anecdotal_videncendicateshat,unfortunately,n manycases he progftrnmes argely missed he target groups. t shouldbe emphasised,however,hat effectiveness.ofhe programmesariedaciossprcgrammes ndregions.)ome programmes ad high coverage mong he poor and showedsom€ easonable

11"*i: :f]irg"lng.while someprogrammesn somedistrictsshowedow coverage

and rttleor no argeting

In spiteof its weaknesses,hecrisis o a certainextent.Thelifel ines.Launchedn 1998,January 999.

SSN. rogrammesadhelped eoplen dealing irhrhesubsldrsedice schemeOPK) wasoneof rheeffectivethe programme ad reached0 million householdsv

The schoiarship rogramme as relativelvsuccessfulrmpressivef the SSN programmes,t displavedhouseholds nd gave !ery tangibleassisranceoDeneltclanes.

The PadatKarya public worksprograrnme as a loosecollectionof programmesnvaious ministries, imingat providingemployment.n its detailed ssirs,i.,entf thisprogramlne,AusAID (1998) identifiessix weaknesses,amely: L failu.e to reachwomen: 2. minimalcommunity onsultatioq . no NGO nvolvement;. no tmnsparentmechanism;.no ong+€rm ositivempacts; nd6. nocapa"ity uilding ompon"nt.

The act hatpoverty limb€d venwhenSSNprogrammeserebeingmplementedoesnot_mean hat theseprogrammes erea failure.Relatjve o the oui*h"lrning pou".ryproblem aused y Indonesia'simultaneousrises,hese rogrammes erequrtesmall.

::i,:i.Tll:. jF o:'etopmenrudsetorsSNprogrammeinly lgeel2000wasRp.5.6rflrrlon, ress han halt a percentof GDp. AIso, the allocationsor someof theseprogrammeswere not even disbursedduring the fiscal year, as administrationmechanismserestill beingput n place.

as well. Found o be the mosta positive bias towards poorera relatively large numbgr of



6,rntry neport eo"erq in tnO"neti"

Based nan MF study,hepovertydeclineby more hanhalfsinceDecamber 998has

#;i;J; fr;" testorationfstability,someecoveryn economicctivitv'anda

i*ii*'i" lrt" oii"" of rice due o plentifut uppliesn the market ndnot from the

government'sSNProgrcmmes

6. SummarYndConclusion

6.1 SummarY

ln an increasingly lobalisingworld, managementcolomiesareconfrontedwith new

;"ii;;;;;. ihi; it ;.ply deionstrated v Lhe inanci"landeconomic risis' acedbv a

numbeiofAsianountries,ne lwhich s heRepublrcl Indonesla

Republic f Indonesia,onstituting ostofthe MalayArchipelago,s localedsoutheast

;;';"i;iil ;;; ;J oonr,*.tt o"r utt.utlu it t'ut " tot"t land

-area

of l'826'440 m'?'Wii-fr

".iA populationf 207.4milliorLt is considered-asl" Yt]91:

fourthmost

ooputou,"ount,y"R"r

china. ndia.and heUnitedStates'More hanhalfthe peopleive

in ava,where akana.ndonesia'sapital nd argest ity, s located

Althoushtheislandsarehometomorethanl00ethnicgroups,mostlndonesiansarcof;i;J'Lt"l"y originsandpracticeslam. Major languagesre Bahasandonesia nd

l"uunar". ,C" agri-culturaland manufacturingeconomy, he country's main exports are

rubber, obacco,andsugaJ.

Indonesiahadachievedremarkableeconomicdevelopmentoverthepastdecadean

U".n,until t"""ntty, consideredo beamong he bestperforming astAsianeconomiesot"i tfr" p"rioa tgis to tgsz, the ndonesianconomy rewat anannual ateof nearly

iy","""'"f

the fastestaod most ever achievedamongdeveloping ountries This

e*pansion asmainlydrivenby themanufactudngector, hichgrewby more han 10yo

p"i -""* over he ;eriod.At the sameime,exportsparticularlyrom thenon-oiland

lol-d gut t."totg, gtewaround 07o, lsobecam€ n mportant ource fgromh other

rn""ro'""onoti" -irrlicators

performedsimilarly: the cunent accountbalancewas

."i"Li""a on average nder3% of GDP; gross oreignreserves f Bank Indonesia

"ontinu"ato increaseleaching 288 billion in June1997;and nflation averaged 02

over heperiod, while real capiia ncomegrew &t anannual ate ofnearly 6910

Th€Asianfinancialcrisisthathit lndonesiainthemiddleofl99Tbroughtaboutsetbacin economic erformance. DPgrowthdropped ramatically ndligh inflation atewere

few of those'adversempacts fihe crisis The ongdrought nd orest ir€sduring1997'

iollowedby political n;tability n the ransitional eriodcontributedo theworseringof

,o.io.""o''o'1""ona

ions'Suah colomic clated actors sskyrocketingrices, ecline

in agricultural productior\ shrinlage of the formal sector,and a huge pressureon the

ou"."ult uUot arket arecited as ausing a negative ocial mpact,especially n the

Dooulation'smost wlnerable groups.



Afterabout neyearofcrisisperiod,he ndonesianconomywasstill far from.ecovery.Thiswas eflectedn an economic roll,th ateofonly 0.3% n 1999. At itspeak n eariy1999,poverty ncidence eached 4.2 percett, rom 17.6pe.cent n 1996.Althoughoficial estimatesadbeenupdated nd efined everalimessincehe crisis,and severalstudies adprovided lternative stimates,here s a consensusn two major indings -

at ts peakpoveny ncidence uring he crisissurged bout7-10percentageoints romits low in 1996,and that a largesegment f the populationwas in a r,ulnerable nddepleted tate. n absolute ems the adsis-induced u.ge n povertyhad piungedanadditional5 million perso.nsnto poverty.During his time rhe pove.tygap ndexaandlhe povertyseverity ndex' deteriorated,ndicatinghat the numberof poor inc.easeddramatically nd he conditionof the poorworsened.ove.tyworsenedn urban areassomerrhataster han n ruralareas.Note that urbanpoverty ncreasedy 103percentwhile uralpov€rty, 8percent.

Durjng he crisis,heGovemment flndonesia trengthenedocialsafety ets o respondto the needsof the traditionallypoor and he newly poor.Measures ere adoptid toincreasehe access f thepoor o foodandessential ealthand educalion ervices. hepoliay of decentnlization,n major part, aimed at addressingegionaleconomicdisparitiesnd mprovingpovedy argeting.

In addition o the decentralisationcheme,he govemmant stablished series f new

i4 :Iplnd{programs. hese rograms erewidelyknownas he socialsafetynetor

JPS JaringPengaman osial)programs. heseprogramsncluded:1. food securitv:2.employmentgenerationprogram or labor-intensive rojects;3. social prote;tion(education, ealth, amily planning,and social services); nd 4. SMEs Dromotion.Emphasis as given to implementheseprograms n a deoentralisednd iransparentbasis, nvolving district govemments;municipalities nd village communltleswere

expectedo contributeo thegovemmenttslforts o €ladicateov€rty.

The socialsafetynetprogramwasa key elementn thegovernment,sesponseowardsprotectinghe poor from the worst effectsof the crisis.But the programhad mixedsuccessn reaching ndsupportinghepoor.

NGOs. averelped n reducing overty n thecountry. In the areaofsocialprotection,severalNGOShave nitiatadactivities,directed owardshelping he poor Activitiesincludeassisting treetchildrenandassisting orkers ind aliernative mployment.naddition o government chemes, GOS un hundreds f small micro-credir onemesthroughouthe country.

6.2 Conclusion

7 The Government f Indonesia adalready mpiemented overtyalleviationprogrammeseven before the 1997 Asian economiccrisis. Sound

'indicates heaveGgeamount he incomeof repoormustbe increasedo cross hepoverly ine.' Indicates he ncomedistributionofhouseholdsbelowtheDovertvinc.



Country epors:Povertyn Indonesia-t

2 I

macroeconomicoliaiesplus avorable onditions ontributedo the successof poverty lleviation.

V "fhe 199'1Asianeconomic risiswas a serious etback o the considerable

gains he countryhadenjoyedn poverty eduction.However, his setbackdid flot deter hegov€mmentrom intensifyingts campaign gainst overty.It st.engthenedocial safetynets o respondo the needsof the poor. Itadoptedmeasureso increasehe access f the poor to food and essentialhealth ndeducation ervices.

SSNprogrammesavenot been ble o achieve s muchas t should ecauseofsome laws n programmemplementation.t is necessaryhatprogrammeimplementatione mprovedo better arget hose n mostneed.

ImprovingSSNprogrammemplementationan be done hroughextensive

information isseminationampaign nd intensivemonitoring.Particularlyon the monitoring ssue, he .ole of civil societyorganisationshouldbeconsiderederiously; participatory onitoring ystemwouldensurehat heSSNprogrammeseachhe arget roups splanned.

There s a need or the Govemment f Indonesiao look beyondheseSSNprogrammes nd start o think about ong term and broadersocialpolicyprogrammes.ttentionmustbe focused n the effectivedesignof a socialwelfarepolicy for lndonesia s t moves tom what might bi a prolongedeaonomicrisis o a hesitantecovery.

Thegovernmentasund€rtakentapso helpSMEs,suchas nitiatingmajorreforms o improve he policy environm€ntor SMEs.Morc stepscan betaken o addressheconstraintsn SMES.Recent egulationsnd estrictionsimposed y localgovernmentsrea concern swell aschangesn thepolicyenvironmentesultingromdecentralisation

NGOsandcivil society laya crucial ole n povertyalleviationn Indonesia.Theyhave nitiatedand mplementedctivities o complementnd supportthe variousgove.nm€nt rogralnmes.s manyNGOs show heir capabilitvin planning nddelivering SNprogramme.oresyslematicffoni shouldbemadeo involveNGOS n these rogrammes.

v

v

v

v

v



Co{'ltry Reports: in lndonesia

Sources

-A.}|mad,htishamalld Lue Leruth; "Indonesia:mplementing ationalPolicies n aDecentralizgdontext Special u.pose rogramso Protecthe Poof'; Inte.national

Mofletary und,June 000

AsianDevelopmentank; AsianDevelopment utlook2001";2001

AsianDevelopment ank;"CountryAssista[cePlan(2000-2002):fldonesia", anuary2000

AsianDevelopment ank; "CountryAssistanae laq(2001-2003)indonesia",August2000

AsianDevelopment ank; CountryOperatiooal trategy:ndonesia", arch2001

AsianDevelopment ank; Iodonesiar ountryEconomic eview",April 2000

Asra,Abuzar; Povefiyand nequalityn Indonesia Est imates, ecomposition,ndKeyIssues"; sianDevelopment ank

Asra,Abuzar; Urban-Rural ifferencesn Costsofliving and heir mpacton PovertyMeasures"; sianDevelopm€nt ar*

Chaudhuri,Shubham,et. al. "AssessingHouseholdVulnerability to Poverty: AMethodology ndEstimatesor Indonesit';World Bank,June2001

Feridhanusetyawaqubagus;Globalization, overtyandEquity n Indonesia";Centerfor Strategiesnd ntemational tudies, akarta; ovember 000

Grootaert,Christiaan;SocialCapital,HouseholdWelfareand Poverty n Indonesia";WorldBank

Haryedi,Emmanuel,Microfinance nd he Poor:SomeRealityChecksn Indonesia";ManilaSocialForum:AsianDevelopmentankandWorldBank,November 999

Islam,Rizwanul; Indonesia: coromicCrisis,Adjustment, mployment ndPoverty";

IntemationalabourOrganization,998

lslam,Rizwanul; PovertyAlleviation,Employm€nt, nd the Labor Market: Lessonsfiom the AsianExperience"; sia andPacificForumon Povert],: eformingPoliciesand nstitutionsor PovertyReduction: sianDevelopment ank.February 001

Pdtchett, La et. al. "Quantifying Vulnerability 10 Poverty: A Prcposed MeasureApplied o Indonesia",WorldBank,undated



Co.'tEy Reports: Poverty ih Indoneria

Radelet,Steven; Indonesia: ong Road o Recovery";Development iscussion aper\o. 722, Harvard nstilute or lntemationalDevelopment, arvardUnive.sity;June1999

Raviez,R. Marisol, "Searchingor SustainableMicrofinance:A Review of Fivelndonesiannitiatives",Developmentesearch conomics roup,undated

Robilliard,Aane-Sophie,t. al."Crisisand ncomeDist.ibution:A Micro-MacroModelfor Indonesia";WorldBank,June 001

Said,Ali, et. al."The Impact fEconomicCrisison Poverty nd nequalityn tndonesia,';Symposium n PovertvAnalysis ndData nitiative PADD: Philippine nstitute orDevelopment tudies ndTheWorldBank nstitute, pril-May2001

Setiawan, alti; "The Poorat Risk:Surviving he EconomicCrisis n Southeast sia";FinalReportofthe Project SocialSafetvNet Progams n Selected outheastsianCountries.1997-2000:Centr€ or SoutheastAsian Research,nstituteof AsianResearch,niversilyof BritishColumbia.

Sjaifudian,Hetifah; "Increasinghe Transparency f Govemment-Sponsoredoverty

Projectsn IndonesiahroughCommunity-Basednformation";ManilaSocialForum:AsianDevelopmentankandWorld Bank,November 999

Sumarto,Sudarnoet. al. SafetyNets and SafetvRopes:Who Benefitedrom TwoIndonesianrisisPrograms The"Poor"orthe "Shocked"?:WorldBank,undated

Sumarto,Sudarno, t. al. "SafetyNets and SafetyRopes:Comparing he Dynamic

Benefit ncidence f Subsidized ice and Public Works Programsn Indonesia,';ThirdAsianDeveloomentorum:World Bank,June 001

Surbakti, oedarti, t. al. "CountryPaper: ndonesiaPovertyDatapolicy,Managementand mplementation)";ympoliu4on PovertvAnalvsis ndData nitiative PADD:Philippine nstitute or Development tudies nd The WorldBank Instjtute.ADril-May2001

Suryahadi, sepet. al."TheEvolutionofPovertyduring heC sis n Indonesia, 996tolq99-':WorldBanl,undaled

Suryahadi, sep,et. al. "Coverage nd Targetingn the Indonesian ocialSafetyNetPrograms";Manila Social Forum: Asian DevelopmentBank and World Bank,November 999

Theard

Aslanarr. Peter: PovenyReduction nd EconomicCrowlh:Insti

Experience";Asla



' Coqrtay Reports:Poverty in Indonesia

World Ban( "Memorandum of the president of the International Bank forReconstructionndDevelopment,he nternational ev€lopmentssociationnd heIntemationalFinanceCorporation o the ExecutiveDiteclor on a CountryAssistanceStrategy fthe WorldBankGroup or Indonesia',;ebruary . 2001



Co{htryleports:eove*y n tnaonesG

Annex:Tables

Table4. PercentagendNumberofpopulationBelow hepovertyLine 1g76_tgg6)

yurce,sps, tatisttAtAtb;;EAid;;;-iifr .

T

tia an, 2001: Compitectfon;;ious sources

Percenage oipdp-u-ii?i6iTEiifr

lhe Poverty Line

Ntrmberof PoputationEEi6ithe Povertw I iâ aMi l t i^- r

Urba.r Rural Total urban Ru.al Total1 9 7 6 38 . 8 40.4 40.1 10 .0 14.2 54.21 9 7 8 30 . 8 33.4 8 . 3 38 .9 47.21980 2S.0 28.4 32.8 42.31 9 8 1 2A.1 26.9 9 .3 40 .61 9 8 4 21 .2 25.7 35 .01987 20.1 16 .1 17 .1 9.7 30.01 9 9 0 1 6 . 8 14 .3 15 .1 9.4 17 .41993 r 3.6 13.7 8 .7 1 7 . 2 25 .9|996 9 .7 1 1 . 3 7 .2 15 .3

able5. A ofSSNP s n Indonesia

securltyGovemment Quasi-gov'i NGOs Incd ComtiesFoodsubsidies;OPK markcropcnuon)

Markelopemtion;DannaWadla

CRP communifyrecovery rograrn);Suarabu;Peduli/StriYKSM

Dapurmum;l'KSM

cmproymentgeneration

Padat arya(PKPS-PU;P3DT;PKH;P3T;PDKMK);PDM-DKE;KDP(kecamauncv.Prognm)PPK

Padatkarya;Ltr.YUIMS

CRP;PPSW-ICA;YSM;PLSP

Wanu€Koboi

socralFotection JSchola$hips;BOi(subsidyforI schoots);chool

Igrailq health

] scnlces:

I nutritional

I seMces; mntsorhospital; MTAS

I Guonlenentary

] feedingor schoolI children)

DarnaWanita CRP;UPC;PPSW; IRLllPKBI

RT,RW;BungaSeroja op€rasiK5

SMEs KDP;PDM.DKE CRP; PEKAPEK;YAKKTM crafr KSI{/CBOs



CountryReports:Poyerty n Indonesla

Table6. FundinsAllocation or SSNPro for the 1999/2000iscalnTyPe Agencig R€sponsible GOI

(millionRo.)Donot

(tr|illionRp.)Total

(millionRp.)FoodSocurity'I OPK'!

Fanningsubsidyt Fisheries

subsidy

Dept.ofsocialAIfair

Dept.of Agriculture

Dept.ofAgriculture

tt7,603

SocialProtectiont EducationI Hcalth

Dept. of EducationDeDt.of He3lth

654,880880.900

JobCreation Dept. of Udan ardReaionalDcvelooment

1,000,000 1,000,000

SMEs Bapennas/D€pt. fIntorior

792,009 792,009

Total Fundins 3.996.489 t.647.536 5,644.025

So rce: Setiavan, 001



CountryReports:Poverty n Indonesia

Box 1 MainFeatures f the Decentralization rogram

Administratlve a5Dects: Law 22 of 1999 devotves m6t functions of governrnent to

lndonesia regions - 28 tt ovincesand over 350districts andcities. The key exceptionsarenational defense, nternationaL etations, ustice, potice,rYFnetary, evetoprnentptanning,

retigjon, and finance. The dist.icts must pedorm important functions, inctuding heatth,

education, nvironnEntal nd nfrastructure ervices. heProvince asonly a minor rote,rnainty n coordination, and baclstoppingdistricts and cities that cannotyet perform theirfunctions - which ntay be an opening or an expandedprovinciatrole. The Provincer\illalso continue to perJormdeconcentratedcentrat task lmplernenting egulations furtherspcjry the remaining roles of the central and provinciatgovernrY€nts,ncluding settjngstandards for seMce deti\r'ery.The central governtrEnt can annul regional bylaws and

regutations hat conflict with national lawsand regulations,but the regionscan appeat tothe SlprefiE Couri against he cente/s decision.The intergovemmental egjonal autonorryadvisory board with representatives rom the center and the regions is to advise thePresidenton issues oncerningdecentralization.

Flsc.t aspects: he egat rdrn€workLaws 2and 25 of'1999)MLIdrasticatLyncreaseheregional shate of general governhent spending.Preliminaryestimatessuggest hat whendecentralization is fulty impLenrented,he regionsMtl spendsonE 8 to 9 percent of gross

don€stic product (GDP), r wetl over .lOpercentof generalgovernltEntsPnding, and over

doubtewhat heyspend ow.The bulk of thiswitt be controlLedy the districtsand cities.The center will share sorne of the resource revenu€swith the regions -_ for 2001arnountingo some 1.3percentof GOP - but this witl only benefita few regionswith

For rnost regions, he general grant M{t be the ftlain sourceof rev€hues.Thisgrant wilL bea minirrum of 25 percentof centrat govehn€nt revenues - sonle 4 percent of GDP or2001. The generalghnt Mtl be distributed by a fonruLa hat has sofi€ equatizingetefiEnts, but guarantees glant at least eguaLo the recurrent and developnEnt grdnts

received in the p6st -" irrespective of other lncorne.The equatization orruta does notadequately consider expenditure needs for minjtnal seMce provisionand thus, Poorerreglons outdbe shortchanged.urtherrnore,he centeraangrantspeciat rantsbut thearnounts are smalt gi\€n the current budget eN4ronrnentand lheir attocatlon has beengiven tittl€ attention so ar.

Regionalgovernnpnh will al5o be allowed to borrow, but borroMng will be tinfted by afornnrLa or total debt, by individual Ministry of Finance l'loF) approval or foreiEn loans,but Mthout the guaranteeof central governrnent.The GovernrEnt can Pt|t further limitson regional bofiowing, and plans o prohiblt reglonal borrowing or FY 2001, except fromthe central government.Bankand other donor lendingto the re€ionsMtl for now be abteto makeuseofan existing nLendjngechanism.

covernmenthas ssued egutatlons n financial managementnd procurernent f theregions.These egulationswoutd atlow the regions o largely determine heir own financiatnEnagefilent, accounting,and procurement system within (broad) guidelines from thecentral government. his arangen€nt nsls a weak€ning f the countrys fiduciaryenironment, and a fragnEntation of the rnarket for governn€nt ptodlrefiEnt, as localprocurenEnt regulatlons ould avor tocal suppLiers.

To strengthenocalown evenue ourceshe Governrnentas evised he law 18 of 1997on regional taxes and levies, The revis€d law atlows regions o estabtish axes as tongasthey obey certain principtes.while these principlesare sound, he weak rnonitoring andenforcenEnt capacity of the center rlsls a return to the pre-1997 ays n which local taxesbecarne serious arrier or internal rade.Source:World Bonk, 2001



Coont! Reports:eoverty inl nO-nesla

Box2. TheScholarshipsndcrantsEogram(SCp)

Tm.ffi:i;Jl:.Tl,"l"1"fi_..*lTjiry,!*,.thg ry9.FJ.nrdents-. particuradyiunior=ilfl fml,l:*t::,*l*1s:!":E!-ry,1;;qd;j-;ieil;,; fi:",ijTl,.lll:;ffi,,?, :,::,.j::lllj::ngg"i:,-,:-iil;, i,#'i;#:'efi$# iJHg,?l#i:ilBnrFling resourceso pupts anascmob. Therect svstemrof

ro sareeuard ran.Er.h^,)SGp ntrodxed monitoing

systerns nd schoolconrnitteesi:#lT,#H'n."ly;"lf g;-:= :::."r d ;iilft ;: fil;?,"';iH'.1."frlil,"Tjffi1"*"';ff*:,'"-* f r::':5'-sd ##-;;#';J:11iffiil:i?ilHilt1::ff*tl.*:Hil.":L::r.::",:lrsi sFiisi-,ffi;iiT;THl,,ilTi*,:Hffijhann€led irectly to recipientsttrrougi;the ;st offi.",

"mort tnnouutiu" *""ur.l

burce: AsldnDevelopmentBo/1k,Ao1

R$ults: Through.theSGp,each yearabout4milhon sclElaBhrpcnd 130,m0blockgran6 nave been

ffiRfi':f;::"1: :'lf#";L:.'"'lf iJ".Tf'"*'Y*itt' oe,inains;,;t r.-,inG,"e.p",."nt

p",11toerc.*"im;tilil;1"#;'.,?1111i,",i:::il*j#trH;![l[:H:i;":N:ffHbmronng ystem ug8estsew probtenE irh.misdirecbonr improper seof fu-nii na.gr.o ,r...o ,n. targetin', Lessonsearned include the need to develop *nu. iror,""ir* i.-i""otiu"n?,-go*rnrr=n,orlamzatiomand strengthen ocal caDac to n|anage.hrs type of project. The SGpdrrect tunds channering rocedurehassincebeenadaptedandexten&o uy thJbovemrieri;;;; ;;;#;h."f,



LaoPeople'sDemocraticRepublic



PovERTyNLAoPEopLE'sEMocMTtcepuaLrcPAUUNEREBUCAS

.t

t . Introduction

*: ff'^l.-l:*:ydv-:l,poy""y

Tq*ion initiatives ygovemmentndNcos in oisht::r,rfl. "_"I11".f"":ty:

Plutrppjnes,ndonesia,ambodia,ieham,Burma, ao,Thaaia,anoEasr I tmor. I he_tudy almsto presenta comprehensive iew of poverty situationand theresponseso poverty by different sectorsn the eight countries. Also, it aim; to comc up wthrecommondationso developmentNGOSregardingareasof ilterventions or collaboratlonwithlir-l"rq*]*" t9':^Tents lowads povefty red;ion. The studymainiy rrseJ.ecoooaryOat"{wntten ocuments,ooks. nd ntemet)

Il: L:-t"l-!"yr::on LaoPeople,s_Democraricepublic.r is dividednrosixpans.

rne rrrsrpan s the tntroductionThesecond resentshedemographicrofileandpoverty ituationn LaoPDR. The hirddiscussest" rnaiocau.i Ji poverty.The

3,:1hpart.eatureshe responseso povertyby thegoverffnent,m#aiiJ,iar uno ocut:\rn-rs.ncluolngntemattonalonors.nd hechurch.The ifth presentsnassessmenl

oy some Dstltuhonsnd analysts n the multisectotalespons€s,articuiarlyhegovemment's,opoyerty.Thesixth artpresentshesummarynd onclusior,.

2. Profileof LaopDR

2.1 Geographyand Demography

l-aos,.ofticially aoPeople's emocraticepublicLaopDR),is an ndependenttatec€ntrallyocatedn Southeastsia.Considired s Sourheasisia.sonii ianatoctea

mtion,LaoPDRsborderedyVietnamntheEast,ChinantheNorth,Mianmarn tre\onhwest, hailandn rheWest, rdCambodian tireSor.rth.f,""upiiil

uiJ farg"rt"iryfLaoss Vientiane.

Tlr:,colnr)'.9s_aotalarea f 236,800mz gj,429mir). Its roral opulations 5.22

3,:"îllôll'.1t'r:,yithnannuarrowthfabourmirrion.uorli #ioinn rza; r.Depeoptelve In the mountainousesions;.he remainderive along heMekong uver

aod tsbranches.More han80perceniliven ruralhamlets

A lery mountainousre4Laohasa richandvariednaturalesourcease.t is the coreofSe economicorridor,,connectinghesub egional conomies.rirna.iiy ag.icufturat,t"ounty has imber,coffee,and in as ts malnexports.

\lajor languagespoken y the popuracereLao andFrench.The najor erigionn thecsrnny is Theravadauddhism



Co{rntryReporB:Pove.ty n LaoPeopte'sDemosraticRePublic

Table 1. DemoTotal area

Populalion

Econo

Ma'orMaiorReli

2.2 Povertysituation

l,ateststatistics how hat he country'sGDP is US$ 1.4B. Its GDPper capita,on theotherhand, s US$ 330.5.With a Gini coefficieflt f44.4 (1998),t ranks 21s out of 162

countries.Poverty ncidencen the couotry s at 38.6%,with 26.9y" n the urbanareasand4loz in theru.al areas.

Life expectancyt birth s 55yearswhile nfantmortality ate per1000livebirths) s 75.Male adult lliteracy s l8% while femaleadult illiteracy s 40o/o. Only 18% of thepopulation aveaccesso adequateevelof sanitation, ndonly32%o a'reaaaesso safedrinkingwater.On the educationalront, Lao children ndergo n average f less hanrhree ea$ofschooling ndqualityofeducations modest.

Table2: SocioeconomicndicatorsGDPGDPGIM coefficient

Human indexPove.tyncidence

UrbanRural

Life expectancyt birthMaleFemale

-{duh lliteracy ateMaleFemale

lnfant mortali 000 ive birthser l

.ADB Countryand StrategyPrcgramme2002-2004 eports, he poverty incidencevariedsignificantly cross egionsandprovinces, s well as between rbaaand rural areasPleaseseeTable3 for povefty ncidence cross egionsandprovinces t the annex).The incidence f poor and ultrapoor thosepeopleat 80 percentor lessof the foodpove.ty ine) s highest n the northerfl rovinces nd owest n Vientianemunicipality.ln theperiod1992-93he ncidence fpoverty n thenorthwas58.4. It declined lightly

9l,429sqmi

Timber, coffge,and in

us$1.4 (1us$330.52000

l2l"'outof 162200038.60/"26.941.055years 2000)

18%40yo



GountryReports:Pove.ty n Laoeeopte-ioem.raUc nepOtic

::25in 1997-98 The-southernegionhad heseoond ighest roportion fpopulation

-i\'1ng n povertywith 45.9percentn 1992_93nd 38.4 n 1997_9g. hecentral egioniad rhe hirdhighest,with 39.5n I9g2-93and34.9percentn 1997_98.

{s theabove tatisticsndicate,hereductionn povenyacrossegions ndprovrnces asrot uniform. For instance,n the Vi€ntianeMunicipality, he-percentagef the poorlecreasecl t an annualrate of 13.9 pe.cent,whereasn the northemregion, there.centage eclined t an annualateof 2.1percent.n thecentral ndsouthem€gions,fie percentagefthe poordiminished t annu;l ates f2.5 and3.6percent,especrrvely.

Icross provinces, ouaPhanhn thenorthwas hepoorest rovince, ith 74.6percent fis population.livingn povertyn 1998.Othe.pro;inceshat exceeied 0percent ftheDoverty ncidencewere SpecialZone Saysomboon, hongsaly,Louang Namtha,Oudomxay, nd Houa phanh.(SeeTable i for percentage'otiooi ty ."g,on" unoDrovincest heannex)

Not only did thepoveny ncidence ary n the regions ndprovinces, ut alsobetweenurbanand ruraia.eas. Theurban-rural isproponionn termsofpoverty ncidence.waslarge WôrldBank,pRSp 2O0l). In tgtT_i9g8, the incidence'ofpoveny was zO.S

f:::ii^l:1,:r,b,1areas,and 40.9 percent or rural areas.Althouih .urar po\,erty,

panlcuraly nthenorthem rea, s extremely igh, uralpovertyhasbeen educedmoiedrastically.omparedo urbanpovertyduring he 1997_i99g eriod.Ho**"r, ,n"orn"0rspropontonsavewrdened. heGini ndex stimatedercapita onsumptionrasJ5 7percenrn thisperiod,omparedo 286 percenrn 1992_i9qJ.

T'herewas.clear vidence f wide gaps n access nd qualityof services erweenherlcnest nd the pooresl ADB. I999) An estimatedhree_loldualitygap in social

,ervrces rovision xisted etweenherjchesr ndpoorest

For education,et schoolenrolmentsor the ricbest/poorestere?g percent/44ercent

:::^:T lll"? T!:ots..nnd8.percent/4ercentor secondarychoots.nryonepercentr Inepoorestamtlies adet to thepost_secondarychools

::.fl:":r: :: :!1,q1""liom rh€ poorest amiliescompreted rimaryschootcompared

wirn one-natt or tl]e nchest amilies Therewas shortage f textbooksano Detter_qualified €ach€rsn theruralareas. tudent erformance"L, *"r" lo*a, in in" poor"rtprovrnces,longside igherconsumptiolalesand owerenrolmentharge. s a result,children iom poorer amilieshad little accesso skills training nJ'Jrnpi.ry_"n, o.

income-generationpportunities.

Pahemser\aeenhe ichesl nd hepooresror qualiry ealthervicesrequite rmilaroeoucaron ervrces nry E percenl f the poorest sedmodemhealthcareervices,comparedo 22 percentof the richest.About 90 percentof the poorestusedselt__nedicatiofl Lackof safewaterandsanitation ervicesn a.a u."u, J*t ituted to highprevalencefwater-bome iseasesmonsheDoor



3. Determinants nd Causes f Poverty

The ollowing aredeterminants ndcauses fpoverty (Lao PDR I-PRSP,2001)

3.1Theprimarydeterminantfpovedy s the degree fdce self-suficiencyTheprimary

indicator f wealth s livestock.

3.2Thesecondaryonditions f poverty nclude ack of arableand; ivestockdisease;

Doorhealthi irins out oflabor; lackoftechnicalklowledge,skillsandaccessibility;

insufficient lothing ndpoorhousing; revalencefshiftingcultivation

3.3The mostcommonlycitedcauses f poverty nclude in orderof prioriry):a) land

Droblems.) no cashnvestm€nto pay or ricewhile mprovementsrebeingmade,

i,1 iu"sto"kdisea.",d) natural isaJtersndpests, ) environmentalegradation,nd

q lack of*ater fot potentialagricultumlproductioq g) difficult accesso rural credit

3.4Other causosnclude: lack of village leadership,elocation, nsufficienthealthservices,oo manychildrcn,ackofcommercial kills, ack ofgovernment ssistance,

lowprices or agricultural roducts,piumaddiction,IXO contamination,nd heft'

3.5Seriousweaknessesr gapsn basiceducation ndhealthservices,ndby v€ry poor

rural intastructure including inigation, market access oads, and electricity make

rufal povenyworse.

3.6The country'smountainousenain, emotesettlements,nd ow population ensity

serveas barriers o accesso andcost-efiicientdeliveryofpublic services'

4. ResponsesowardsPovertyReduction

4.1 Government

4.1.1 Macroeconomi Policy Framework

TheLaoPDRgovemmentocuses n stabilising nddevelopingheireconomic tale hat

augmentshe nterests ndbenefits fthe Lao PDRpeople. o accomplishhis objeative,

thJ govemment as accentuat€dhe substancend value of macroeconomicolicy:

maintaininga low inflation rate andpromotingdomesticand oreign investments

Policieso improveproductivity ndgowth in poorregions houldbe directedowards

the componentsof the underdevelopmentrap Measures hat improve educational

attainmentandhumancapital formationshouldreceive fst priority not only becauseof

their direct effect on labor efflciericy,but alsobecause fthe role theyplay in improving

the effectivenessof inv€stments n infrastructue. The govemment emphasiseshat

padicipation and inlluence of beneficiariesare necessaryo imptove the provision and

oualitvofeducationand nAa$nrctureseryices



Cor,rntryneports:pove@Gopiopte,-ioelnocratiinepuOtic

4,1.2 Socioeconomic lans

Ihe gove.nmentonsiders ocioecono,miclansand theiraccompanyingudgetas the

$i+:iilJffi:i':TJj.:iil1'fJ'""".T*xffi::i:li::l*,T:[n5lanningor poverty lleviation

4.1-2.1 participation

:5"i::^ l?I!five-year-deveropmenl

l]11r.ar: rheresultof lenethy, uthishlynreracrrve.ocessesfdialosueandassessments,incepolicy_making"n ie LaopDR isundamentalyasedn coisensusuitdi"s i; ;;;;;;;,,i""i",ii"*li"o or"r",rocessn buildingenhancednstitutional apacity t if," prouin"iuiuni list.ict levels,thegovemrnentar edouran n_deDthant"li_*".y pt""ri,ig

"^"r;i"in-ui,to, p.ouin""Bolikhamxay).t is now extendi;g t to Houa phanhprovinceand Lter to otherrovinces.

A potent nstrumento. rural develo

f9*"1o11no^n,".;"*;;;;":fi ft ff,:,T,:3:,"i"JJ[T",j:il"l,:"lll1rmso identifyhedynamicsf rhedevelopmentrocessrovincesnd istri"t, fauo.,nd o coherentlylanadequate".ponseso tf," p"opl","u.piruiiori"i"""*pr"rr"atyherr losenvolvementn he lanningrocess.

4-1.2.2 Decentratisation

ffJ":ilTii'ilT,Hi:T';ffi l',Y i9::,ln:'t":' pianninsonrexrs apacirv

u""o,i,,gt,"r"'j.',;ii;lii;;i.,:'#',;:,"#fr:U:;JJ"#ftfi l"il:l X:i l lagesre henew mplementingnilsc.urrnrsehedevetopr"n,o,un,n", jiljlJtJ are equi'edoset pevaluatioiystemso

At thevillage evel, hese illaees ollectdataandobservehe iving conditions f eachamily n order o categoriseh-emntowealthy. elf_sufflcientnd oor lamrles eforeaking.oronnulaling.aranThe esuhing r";,r,h"" jr."id;"?u"ni""r'orl",,r n *r,i.n

::r::il: i:":,Xffi':f;Tji:tlX"".13his ffiientiv,' ..a".'i"a*rv "p*"ny.

asullagesseehem,mustbeunderstoo:lprioritiesaccordingly'hecauses fpoverty,

Thegovemments thus onsciouslvr("uono^-up'pru*inf ;;;;;;;;i"l$:trns?n institutionalised'ocesso ensurehat

fsllt{.tr,"tt1"d;;;;il;;",",7#T:lil,T*.fi,:'",hiff5l:'ilili;bl;;lX,j""

r"n . ,O"cial mphasisnpranrung,mptementation,onitoringn<rapacuy



CountryReports:Poverty n LaoPeople,sDemocratic tc

4.1.2.3Mass rganisations

Ihe nationalplanning or povertyalleviation,both h its participatory lanningandimplementationimensions,s supported ll over he country y anextensive etworkof"mass rganisations". hese rganisationsarryout mostofthe panicipatory ctivitiesatgrassroots level, work closely with the populatiorL and structure and mobilisedevelopmentforts at the ocal evel. Note: t is not mentionedn the reDortwhethetthese rganisationsere ovemmenrnitiated r ndependenrfgovemmenlJ.

The LaoPDR's massorganisations,s he coulrtry's mainparticipation iamework, haveastrategic esponsibilityn the achievement f the identifiedsocialgoals. nstitutionalstrengthening,he mprovementfthe individualcapacities ithin heorganisations,ndthe achievementof a wider social outreach with the view to lessenpov€rty throughparticipatoryommunity evelopmentre he main equirementseededo st.engthenhemass rganisations,speciallyn the uralareas nd o empoweringhegrassrootsevel omasterheirown socioeconomicevelopm€ntn view of pgrmanentoverty eduction.

4.1.2.3.1aoWomen'snionoWU)

The LWU concentratesn heaithand education ctivitiesat the grassrootsevel topromot€ ncomegenerating ctivitiesand all economic ctivitiesn whichwomenareinvolved,especiallyn the productive ectors uchas livestock, ishponds,nd cottageindustries.

The LWU ActionPlan 1998-2003)as our main hemes, amely: L policyguidelines

lq_lvomenandgender quity;2. capacity uildingandhuman esource evelopment;.childrenandwomen ights;and 4. povertyalleviation.A human esource evilopment

(HRD) prograrnmeormulated or the L\Vu should yield the following povertyalleviationmpact:50oZ fwomen n ruralareas aving ompleted asic iterary lassei;more han 5070of women n rural aJeas avingbasicprimaryhealthcareraining;and2000 wom€n having incomegenerating ctivities hough vocational kills tr;iningcounes,

4.1.2.3 TheLaoYouthOrganizationLYO)

TheLYO aimed o develop outh eadershipt all levels.The mmediateargerwas rohave50percent fthe youthcommitteestprovincial, istrict, ndvillage evelsn placeandoperationaly 2001.Themainpurposewas o enhancqkough skillsdevelopment,

informatioo ndparticipatorynvolvementn all levels,he roleoithe Lao youth n theshapirgofthe country'sevelopmentrocessnd uture

Froma povertymprov€menterspective,n tems ofinstitutional apacity nd mprovedcapabilities,he govemment'srogrammeor the youth ncluded2,500youth leaderstrainedat.all evels,more han4,000youthpossessingkills o makeall kindsofliving.This would contributeo decreasingouthunemploymentndqeatingwealth or theDeoDie.



Co6try Reports:Po\€rty n LaoPeople'iDemocGticRepubliq

{ I 2 3.3 The Lao F.ont for NationalReconstructionLNFR)

The -ao Frontenjoysn all parts fthe country he highest espector itsgenuinempacton localdevelopment,or theprestigiousole t plays n increasing olidaritywithin LaoPDRS multi-ethnicandpluralistic eligious societyand for its active nvolvement n

defining nd mplementingodes fethicalconductn majorprofessionalectors.

TheLao Frontaims o improvets managementnd echnical apacitieso respondo theaspimtions fthe ethnicminorities.At the same ime, hrougl its trainingandcapacitybuilding activities, he Lao Front contributesdecisively,especially hrough ruraldevelopmentrogrammes,o increasinghe knowledge nd he ability to dealwith rheethnicminorities,o. foreignpartners ndnational ctors like.

4.L2.3.4TheLao FederationfTradeUnions LFTU)

The aim of LFTU is to reg.oup he tradeunions rom the publicas well as from the

pnvate ector. bouton€quarter fits members76,000) re rom hepdvatesector. Inthe Lao PDR'Splanningcontext or poverty reduction, he LFTU is involved inpromoting nationalabor orcecapable f negotiating ageandsocialbenefitsssues,aadof respondingo thegrowingneedsn matters fmanagement ndknowledge fallrules egulatingabor elations.Also" he LFTU aspireso improve ducationalevelsoflaborers ndemployeesn all provincesn order o increasemployment hances.

4. 1.3 SupportStrategies

Supportstrategies re the strategicprogrammes nd projects hat the govemmentconsidersssentialromapoverty lleviation erspectivendwhichare he ntegral ans

of its approachowardsuplifting he povertysituation n the country.The followingprognmmes re hegovernm€nt'sactical genda:

4 1.3.I The IXO Decontaminationrogamme

Under hisprogramme,hegovernmentims o decontaminateegions ffected y tXO.-A.Jler5 yearsafter he war, the severeUXO contaminationtill affects15 ofthe 18provincesn Lao PDR.These5 provinces,nvolved p o nou are50percent fthe Laolenitory. TheUXO contaminationashadnegativempacts n humandevelopmentndthecountryaswell, it hasbeen ausing reathuman ufreringhrough illing at a steadyrate.

4.L3.2TheDrueControlProgramme

Because f therampant overtyn theNorthem egions, piumproduction asbecomeboth a symptomald cause f poverty n the country_ n this area, t is impossibleoeradicateovertywithouteffectively ddressingnd ocusing n he problemsegardirgoprum ssues.



:Arr?yReeo.ts:@

*;;:X.:,:*".::".I:l1l_l? "lo.lr," o,".atlctionfopium sa basicequ,remento315:::r,";;'.1:,lou"nv;."r"nr,"l'o,iri*iiil#ffi ,"ri, ff li:H:itri :ry .r,1*T:-": l::,1y:Tr:* "".""o*,i"*lii,"ij;ffi;;;;;;i,;,ii obkined rom heeliminationioplrm cuttivatlon and .om the reduction f drugbus€n thecourltry.

In 1996, he govemm€ntevisedts drug^controlaw (Arricle l5 of theCriminalCodenDrugTrafiicking r possession)_and'for hen^, ii.", tii, i"" .riiiiir,pron,un"a

*^:.lt:91"':lof opiumThescalesor penalties.h"r.""" 1""r""*j'",i0

/a,spositions

:l-"j- 9_:"" introduced_or precursorontrol. The d;;;";;;;; lr"" rnu,nffiffi"altemaliv" development,ommunity_basedi;;;;;;;#oi], anaraw

4.1.4 OtherSupportprogrammes

N?tignalPtpg!4!iala4=d eveloonrent

sorvins*ssuesink"d-"pfi;;#?"";,fl';.,ion'r*'iii''i1##.H:

HMAIDS/STDControl rogrammeerto preventhe u.h". ;;;;i;il;';f"ilP-nasrses

the esponseo bepur n place

Uitr".:iffi"",rp"dit#*i#iT#ftifiltiffii::Tllinrormation.au"u,io",oe,".i;, ;;l;:,ifli.f;}::il,the

provisionrbasic

*ffi?ffiffiffi,11d;:sses

majorenaerssuesuchs enderqualitv,

I t + :#:*Eâq=jtla!€gy

-.emefisl::s.lhe

tink between ustainableev€lopments

"fi i:i;::T':::H::lif"'*::i::"ient thoush"'orosi"ui''lnus"'"n'rasofnow.

Rregtes t the govemment reunderpreparation

5. Critique/Assessmentof GovernmentStrategiesPove.tys linked o limitedaccesso n

ffiffiff:i",Hfri*#i:: fi l i ;!;:ll':l"#ff1':[:"TTil

ff 1","::;.:1,''J*lril;{"",'tl?T:r f rl"i:::f l;:u*:t'sivenrioriry,"'"!"i*,i"",i;i 'i"r;:ti:ilT"[:.iT;:::i"ff"ff #J*i *

,tjigl:::r human evelopmenrasbeen low Despite ubstantialupporto rumanmprovement,tskey ndicatorsream(

;tx#::iffi:"f:;"i:::lil1rTj{+l:,?J.T'fH"f:1il::fj"i,'rix,."*i"esr'"sJrenei,,;;ffi:dJffiff ,",Tifi

:':l*Xl,;::1Ht*;,*f



Country eports: ovenyin LaopeopleliOemocraticepubtic

:!:^:-l-"l1lli1:is insufficie to.pay erchers nd healrhworkersTargeringhepoorest

areas asnot-been uccessfullyone. hus. herehasbeenno increasednhancemenlfrneseareas.Unsustalnabiexpansion f_physicalassetsat the expense f adequateoperationsndmaintenanceudgetshould

-beavoided.

1:*:.::r_*_]^11i"in managingand enforcingenvironmentalsafeguards.Rapidpopuratron rowth and resource_basedrogress ncrease he need for sustatnable

managementf natural esources

Private nvestmentsnd economicntegration an help reducepoverty.The greatest

nfl^"::]"^:Tg:i,lqej:nomic pponuniriesas ccurredn heMekoni iver omdor,wnerene pnvatesectorhasdevelopedue o accesso domestic rbanand ntemationai

marKersjalrrers o pnvare nvestmentndeconomicnteg.ration ustbe dismantledor€duce ovefiyandachieve evelopmentoals.

Thegovernment'sevelopmentoal s to eradicatebsolute overtyby 2010. Three eycomponentsf its po-veny eduction trategyare rural development,uman esource

:::,:Pf.::1,,-T1.ry9]!panicipation.ost overtys rurar asdJ,eflectio!npan o*agflculurar productrviry poverty reduction through the enhancemeitof ruralproductivity complementssustainable conomic gro*th in Lao pDR. Improved

:fl?:]:i:illlSjlo*iry is amajor ayo ncreaseial ncome.,"r"ut"

ro"ururt"t,ano avor heemergencenddevelopmentfnonfarmactivitiesn thepoorprovinces.

An. mprovement f labor productivityn agriculture an alsofree labor tbr nonfarmactivities. heexpansion f nonfarm ctiviti;-in ruralareasf,o"fa ,"rg", p.irurify ,f,"smallandmicroenterprises here he scope br economies f scares rimited.such adevelopments a condition or the transitionom subsistenceol ,oj"rn

"g.i"uttu."ector nd or amorebalancedevelopment.

Important olicy mplicationsromtheanalysisnclude:L Economic roMh hasplayed

l,*llTl1role n reducinsoverryn LaopDR;2. n*;;;; ;,?;ilas a morcaovantageousmpact npoornearhepovertyine hanhosearbelJw hepovertyine;ard 3.Theproportional enefits feconomi.g.o"tt ."""iu;J by ,i" ii"rr"i"tg."u*. ,nunthose fthepoor.on theaverage,conomicisebenefit"ar," rriun no." r,'"" l," ..urar9as.

6. SummaryndConclusion

6,1 Summary

TheLaoPDR consideredlandlockedatioq s bordered y Vietnamn th€east,Chinain henorth, urmanthenorthwest,hailand" ir,"*"rt, LJ C"iiolu'in',n" ,ou*,.witha otaland ndlater rea f234,800m, r,"upnuriJi".!!r,-iiv*i, v,.n iun".



I CountryReports:Po\rertyn Lao le's DemocEticReDublic

The countryhasa total population f 5.22 million, with an annual$owth of about 2million. Majo.ity of its people ive in rural hamletswhere hey engagen subsistenceagriculture. Therest ive in the mountainous egion and along he Mekongfuver and tsbranches.Major languagesspokenby the populaceare Lao and French. The majorreligionn the country s Theravadauddhism.

The Lao PDR has a rich and varied natural resourcebaseand is also the hub of theeconomic cofiidor linking the subregional economies. However, the country'smountainous e.rain, remote settlements,and low population density are barriers toac€€sso andcost-efficient eliveryofpublic services.

An estimated70 percentof population is illiterate, and life expectancyat birth is 55years.Only 18%ofthe population aveaccesso adequateevel of sanitation, ndonly3202have accesso safedrinking water. On the educalional ront, Lao childrenundergoanaverage fless han bree ears fschoolingandqualityofeducations modest.

ln the last five years,the Lao PDR hasachievedaverageeconomicgrowth of about 6percent erannumand educedhe ncidence fpoverty Aom 45 to 39olo.he ncidenceof povertyvariessignificantly cross egionsas well as bet\y€enrbanand ruralareas.Poverty ncid€nce s highest n the northemregion and owest n Vientiane Municipality.Whileeconomic roMh hashelpededuce overty,hedch havebenefitedmore han hepoor.

Sustainingpoverty reduction through equitable economicgroMh would bc a malorchallenge. hegovemment'smbitious evelopmentoal s to reduce overtyby half by2005.Aiso, it aims o eradicate overty n order or the La6 pDR to graduatetom thertatusof leastdeveloped ountryby 2020. It ta.rgets road-basedconomicgrowth of 6-7

percentper annumover the n€xt five years.The strategicapproach s to reducepovertythrorgh humanand rural development,nd people's anicipation,ocusingon: l.agriculture nd orestry;2.education; . health; nd4 road nfrastructurc.o achievetsambitious bjectives ith limited inancialand human esources,hegovemmenr eedsto priodtiseandphasen its povertyreductionprogramme.

Participation,decenkalisation,and massorganisatiossplay an important role in thegovemment'system fplanning or povertyalleviation. hegovemmentascarriedoutpafticipatorylanning xercisesn different rovincesn order o empower rovinces nddistrictso identiry he dynamics f development rocess nd o ensure eople,s loseinvolvementn povertyalleviation lans.Thedecentralisationolicy ncreasingly uides

rhe national lanningcontextas capacity uilds up. Thegovemments giving its fullattention to the prcvinces, as they are now becoming strategic units under thedecentralisationolicies

The national planning for pove.ty alleviatiorL both in its participatoryplanning andimplemgntationdimensions,s supportedall over the countryby an extensivenetworkof"massorganisations", arryingout mostofthe participatoryactivities at grassrootsevel,working closely with thepopulatio4 andsfucturing ard mobilising developm€ntefforts



Co{rntryReports:Poverty n LaoPeople,sDemocreticRepublic

at the local evel. Severalmassorganisationsndsupport trategies,dentified n thisstudy, erveas essential lemelts g thegovernment,soverty eductiolstrategy.All oftheseare very crucial in the developmentof the country and in the successof thegovemment'soalof €radicatingoverty.

It is_.noted.hat in order o stengthenand expandsocialprotectioqsomeoapaclty_building nitiativeswill be required.This would include nstitutional trengthening yencouraging_betteroordinationmonggovernmentgencies,ivil society rlanisationiNGOSanddonoragencies,s well as public participationn all government ffons toreducepoverty.

6.2 Conclusion

Z Lao PDRhasa rich and variednatural resourcebase. t hasbecomehe hubofthe economic orridor, inkingthe subregionalconomies. owever.almosrhalfofits prople.livebelow he poveny inebecausefa numberoffacton,foremost f which is unevendistribution f wealthbetweenural andurbanareas.

Z Givenwidespreadovertyand ow per capita ncome,he economic rowthshould.begiven priority, but assistancerom the internationalofiururyshould elpachieveeasonableeveropmenr.

Z The_main solutionso poleny, in order of priority. include: esolve icecultivation-related-issues,n panicularncreaseheamount fproductiol land;increaseivestock.holdings;olve ivestock iseaseroblems; rovide undingmechanismsor increasingivestockholdingsas well as microfinance ngeneral,more reliablecashcroppingwith appropriate nensionsewices,lncruotngoadsandaccesso markets, etterschoolsbuildingand eachers),improved ealth, leanwatersupply, ndelectricity.

7 The_solutionsto poverfy affecting women specifically nclude skills

9eve.lopnentor income generating ctiviti€sand markeiingof producrs,

familyplanningandbinh spacing, nd ice mills to reducewomen,sabor npoundingice.

2 Participatior\decentralisatiorland the Lao pDR's massorganisations lay animportantole n thegovernment,system fplanning or poverty lleviation.

Z Private investments nd economic ntegmtioncan help reducepovelly.Banierso privatenvestmentndeaonomicntegration uit be dismantledoreduce overty ndachieve evelopmentoals.

2 Policy andadministmtiveeformmustbe accelerated,nd institutions ndhumanesources ustbe developedo realisehecountry's otential.



CosntryReports:Poverty n Lao People'sDemocruticRepublic

Sources

AsianDevelopment ank; AsianDevelopment utlook2001";2001

Asian DevelopmentBank; "Country Assistanc€Plao (2000-2002):Lao People'sDemocratic epublic; ecember 999

Asian DevelopmentBank; "Country AssistancePlan (2001- 2003): Lao People'sDemocratic epublic;December000

Asian DevelopmentBank; "Country Economic Reviewt Lao People'sDemocraticRepublic",August2001

Asian DevelopmentBank; "Country Strategl, and Program (2002-2004):Lao PDR';August2001

Freeman, ick J.; "TheChallenges osed y Globalizationor Economia iberalizationin Two AsianTransitionalCountries: aos and Vietnam";DiscussionPaperNo2001/40:World Institute or Development conomicsResearchWIDER),UnitedNationsUniversity, uly2001

lntemational Mon€tary Fund and the lntemational Developm€ntAssociation;"Assessmentfthe InterimPovertyReductionStrategy apenLao pDR'; April 6,2001

IntemationalMonetaryFund;"Lao People'sDemocraticRepublic:RecentEconomicDevelopments",anuary 000

Kakwad,N. et. al. "Poverty n Lao PDR"; Asia and PacificForumon povertv:AsianDevelopmentank,February 001

Sisouphanthong,ounthavy;TheBasicMMAP PovertyProfileoflao pDR'; LaoMMAP Project,DRC;August2000

Sisouphanthong,ountha\,y;WBI-PIDS Workshopon Strengtheningoveny DataCollection ndAnalysis Vientiane, aoPDR'; Philippinenstituteor DevelopmentStudies ndTheWorldBan& nstitute;April-May2001

UnitedNations; Resident oordinator nnualReport1999 LaopDR ,;January 000

World Bank; "Interim Pove.tyReductionStrategypaper- LaopDR,, March 2001

WorldBark; "LaoPDRSocialDevelopmertAssessmentndStrategy,'; ugust15, 1995

WorldBank;"Lao PDR:PublicExpenditure eview ImprovingEfficiencyandEquityin Speoding riorities", ebruary 8, 1997



Country eports:Poverty n LaoPeop{e'sDemocraticRepublic 13

Annex:Tables

Table . lncidencen Lao PDR

Table4. e ofPoor ionsandProvincesRegiodYProvincer 1992-1993 1991-$9a Annual rale n d€crcNsel

VientianeMunicipaliw 24.4 t2.2 -l-r.9

Northern R€gion

OudorILxayLuangnamtbaPhongsalyHuaphanlLuangphrabangBokeoXavabourv

58.4

51 . I60.368.778.462.763.530.1

52,5

13.2

64.214.649.437.42t .2

-2.1

7.2-1 .0-1.3- l .0-:t.8-10.6:7.0

CenhalRegioDBoriloaftL\ayVienliane rovinceSavannalietKhamnuan€Xiengkhuang

Xavsomboom-SR

39.510.628 .145.143.75',t.3

34.925.8

31.14t .634.9

:2,517.8-2.9

-1 .0-9.9

Soulhem RegionSaravaneChampasackS€kongAtlaDeu

45.9

43.665.972.2

38.439.635.645.'145.3

-3,6

l . )

-4.1

-9.3

LAOS 45.0 38.6 -3.1



Philippines



PovrnrySrulrroN N HEPHtlrpprxes,

1. lntroduction

This paper s part of a studyof poverty eductionnitiativesby government nd NGOs ineightASEAN countdes, amely:Philippines,ndonesia, ambodia, ietnam,Burma,Lao,Ihailand,and East Timor. The studyaims o present comprehensiveiew of povertysituation nd he responseso povenyby differentsectorsn the eightcountries_Also, itaims to come up with recommendationso developmentNGOS regardingareasofinterventionsr collaboration ith theirrespective overffnentsowards overty eduction.Thestudy nainlyusedsecofldaryata writtendocuments,ooks, nd ntemet).

Thispaper iocusesn the Philippines.t is divided nto six parts. The irst part presentsherntroduction. he second artdescribeshe demographicrofileand he third, the povertysituation rom the 1980's. The fourth discusseshe main causes f poverty. The fifth

teaturcshe responseso poverty y th€govemment,nternationalnd ocalNGOs.The sixthpresentsn assessmenty some nstitutions nd analysts n the multisectoralesponses,panicularly h€ govemment's,o poverty. The last part prcsents he summaryandconcluston.

2.

, 7

Profileof the Philippines

Geographyand Demography

lable 1. DemoTotalarea 300,000xn'Population 76.5milion(2001)CapiLd ManilaEconomy AgnculturaLfudNtrialMainElpon ElecEonics,armenlsMajor Larguages Filipino, Tagalog,VisavanMajorRelLgion Romrn Caftolic

ThePhilippiness an archipelago,omposedfmore than 7,100 slands.ts total andandwaterarea s 300,000 m' with a coastline f 36, 289 km. Thecapital s Manila and he

three argestslandsncludeLuzon,Visayas, ndMindanao. It hasa population f aroundE0million,with an annual roMh rateof2 2 o/o.Morerhana thirdof thepopulations young,below 5 yearsof age. Workingpopulations only 60% of rhe otal. Aimost54Zoofthepeopleive in the urbanareas. With regardo ethnicgroups,he breakdowns as follows:ChristianMalay91.5%,MuslimMalay4%,Chinese .5%, orhers, olo.83oZ .eCatholics.9yoProtestant,% Muslirn,Buddhistandothers, oZ. Theoffrciai anguages Filipino butmostpeople peak ndunderstatrdnglish.

I This casestxdy dlaws hcavily liom Aldabaand Tuano 2001)



Couitry Report5:PoveltySituation n the Philippines


Povefy in thePhilippines asalwaysbeena ruralphenomenon,lthoughhe contribution furbanpovertyto total poverty is increasing.More than two-thirdsofpoor households n thePhilippinesive n ruralareas.

TheFamily ncomeandExpenditure urvey FIES) epo.ts, ased n official poverty ines,povertyncidencen the countryhasdropped lom 49.3perceft n 1985 o 36.8percentn1997',a decline fa totalof 12.5percentageointsn 12years.However, overty lcidenceincreasedy 3.2percantrom 36.8 n 1997 o 40.0 n 2000 Please ee able4 at the annexfor details).

High interregionaldifferences n poverty incidencesexist. Amongthe sixteen cgional areasof the Philippines,he NationalCapitalRegion or NCR, the administrativeegionof thePhilippines, omprisingMetropolitanManila) usuallyhas he lowestpoverty ncidence nvarious ears.Thegapbetweenhe regionwith the owest ncidenceNCR) andone ofthe

highest Biaol)was 37.5percentn 1985,41.2p€rcentn 1991and47.9 percentn 1997.Recentprovincial eveldata on povenyalsoprove he exist€nce f widening disparities;UNDP (1997)shows hat the gapbetwe€nNCR (Metrc-Madla)and he poorestprovince

Eomblon) ncreasedom 48.7percentlo72.8percentPl€aseee able6 at hear|nex).

While interegional disparitiesof poverty incidenceare high, greater intra-regionaldifferencesn incomenequality xist.Thedifferencesreveryslight rom hegini figuiesofthe regions n 1997and rom theyear2000 high nequalitywithin regions ersist,with theinequality f someprovinaesvenworseningsuchas hegini in Bicol which, rom 0.4362,became .4478 Pleaseee able7 at heannex).

The evel of income nequality aspersisted t high evelsduring he past30 yeaxs. venwith reductionsn thepoveny ncidencesuring he 1985-2000period, he Gini indicesnthePhilippines avehardlychanged. rom 0.447 n 1985,he €velof inequality ashardlychangedt0.451n 2000.

PhilippineHDi has mproved ver he past ony years;rom 0.419 n 1960, he country'sindexhas ncreasedo 0.749 n 2000 Lt'lDp, 2001). Howev€r,argedisparities xist n iheI-IDI in dillercnt areasofthe country. Among regions n 1994, he NCR had he highestHDI(0.819),while EastenVisayashad he lowest(0.493).Amongprovinces,Cavite(0.840),Rizal (0.813)and Laguna 0.774)had the highest ndicators, hile the lowesrprovinces,including Sulu(0.3'12)Md Tawi-tawi (0.384),had ess han half thesenumbers Collas-

MonsodandMonsod,1998).

Poverty self-rating surveys indicate that a la.ge majority of the population considerthemselvesoo..Mangahas1993)noteshat he rend n changesn individuals onsidering

' The NSCBpublisheswopoverty ncidences asedon ecoromic tmit: a ,orserold poverty ncide&e and apopulation (or i\diidnal) poveny ncidence.Obviously, he figur€s or these wo incidencesare difercnt withlh€ latter [cidence ,s $c higher igureaspoorhouseholds en€rallyhavea highernumberof membersmmpared o non-poorhousehoLls.



Country eports: overty ituationn thePhitipPines

themselvesoormay eflect he changesn the evelofpovertyofFilipinos. From a high of

74percentn 1985, urveyespondentsho rated hemselvespoor' droppedo 66 percentn

1988, hen to 62-'71 percentn 1991, and 68-70percent fl 1994. Recentsuweysby

Vangahas 1997)show a drop to 58 percent n 1997.On the otherhand, self-reported

povertyrends how hatpovertyhad ncreasedo 66percent y September000.

Life expectancys 69 years.On the otherhand,adult iteracy atesand€nrollment atiosar€

high at 95.1percent nd82 peraent,espectively.DesPitehe high iteracy ate,however,

overone-quarter f Filipinos 10 yearsand aboveare unctionally lliterate.While school

pa.ticipationatesarehigh,cohortsurvival ates'are ow. Ofthosewho enroll or grade1,

33 percentareexpected o drop out beforereachinggrade6, and 22 percentdrop out beforegrade4 (Monsod,1997;Wodd Ban\ 2001). Arnong hese, hree-fourths ome iom poor

households.Manasan t al. (1996)notes hat h€ ow survivaland completionatesprcve

that he qualityof educations not high. n the 1999 ntemational athematics nd Science

Iest, thePhilippinesaflked 7'n utof38 countries.

Govemments the mainprovider 90 percent) f primaryeducation.n 1995-97 overnment

spendingor publiceducation ad ncreasedo 15.7of total expenditurerom 11.2percent

fiom 1985-87 LNDP,2001).However,hequalityofeducationn thepublicschool ystemis still nferiorand agsbehindprivatenstitutions.

Malnutrition emains n importanthealthproblemn the countryas t contributeso child

mortality and morbidity. Estimates how that reducing he prevalence f underweightFilipinochildren y halfby theyear2000could esult n 20 percentewer nfantdeaths.

Table2. SocioeconomicndicatorsRealGDPGDPGNPGINI coefliciontHuma[ dovol

Povertyncidence% of Population)RuralUrbar

Annuar lationLife expectancy t birth

MaleFemale

Functional

Enrollment atio

tCohortsurvival ale refers o the ratioof the total numberof pupilswho enrol n the firstI'ear o the total numberof studentswho enrol n their last or graduating ear.

US$19210.7 illion

us$1.020.0

40.o2000)541%25.0%

69years2001)66.637 l



Cg4.y l:p9rts.I9y!4y Situationn thephilippines

3. Determinants ndCauses f poverty

The ollowing actorsareoftenspecifiedor the unsatisfactoryerformancen the reductionol Dovealv:

3.1 Slowcrowth andLackof EmploymentOpportunities

While he Philippines rewby anaverage f five pe.centromthe 1950so the 1970s,hedebtcrisisand he subsequentconomic epressionaused decline n GDp in theeariy omid 1980s.While therewas some ecovery n the mid to late 1980s, his growth wasinsufliciento increase ercapita ncomes igher han heeady 19g0 evels.Furtherboomandbustcyclesofthe economywereexperiencedhereafter.Unsustainedrowthhasbeenamajor actorfor.theper€nnially ighpovertyncidence fthe country. hJfailureofgrowthrsclueo.the tailue. in the ong-term,o resttuctureheeconomyo make t externall!morecompetitive ndallow broadparticipationy thepeopledeDios, 1993).,,

3.2 lnequolity in lncomesdnd Assets

Thehighlyunequal istribution f incomes as-contributedo the sluggishnessf poverty

incidenceor thepast30 to 40 years.Thehigh ncomenequalityeflits the higfr evelofassetnequality. heGini incidence llandholdings as rcriased rom0.Sl in 1960 o 0.57in 1990. imited and eformprogrammesrom the l93os o thepresent ave aileddue orne arge umber t loopholgsnd he evelofpolitical oppositiono these rogrammes

3.3 HighPopulationGrowth

De Diosnotes hat high population€rowth affectspoor householdshrougha smallerdisnibution fincomesamonghem.Thecountryhas ecorded neofthe highest opulation

groMh ates n the egion,at 2.6percentrom I960 ro 1994; his are s highei han ndonesiaand.Singaporeat 2.I-percent) ndThailand at 2.3 percent). e Guzmai 1994)notes hatcrude inh datesaredeclining ince1975, ui thisdicline hasbeensioq

"i:s.: in tS73 o

32.8 n 1983.De Guzman lsonotes hatcontraceptiverevalences quite ow (30_40%),ndan rncreaslng roportion f females re gettingmarried__ actorswhichmay mitigaie he!::ti* -Iry

Philippinepopulations projeaed o onty havea 1.99pe.aentgroMh tiom2000 o 2005.

3.1 BiasedPolicies nd lnderinvestmentn Agriculture

Total actorproductivity, n eoonomicmeasureor productivity,addeclinedn the 70,sand

19t,

Il,.y".

Tuilfr..9r.:to biased olicies, .e grantingefiectiveprotection o caprtal-

rnrensrve,mport-substttuhngectors) esulting n the increaseof ineflicient protectedindust.ies. ropp.oduction asalsosloweddowr! prirnarilydue o underinvestmentn theagriculturalector By the ate1980s nd.early i90s, the otal acto.productl\4tyTFp)in

th: Tongmyimproved o positivenumbers.Austda (2000)reports hat

.I.Fpbecame

positiven the 1986o 1996 eriod o 0.93percent,omparedo negative .89percentn the



Coulty Rcpo.ts: Poverty Situation in the Philippiner

1980 o 1986pe.iod.However, he Philippines aggedcomparedo its Southeast sianleighbo$ whose productivitygro\r1h was greate.than 1.2 to 2.2 p€rcentage ointsthroughouthisperiod.

3.5 lnodequate nd Unequal rovisionof SocialServices

Social ndicators in the countryare companble to those in SoutheastAsia_ However, thequalityof socialsewices asbeenquilepoor,and he rateofimprovement fthesese.viceshasbeen low.

In termsof health nadequacyn governmentealth acilities asbeen n ssue.Twenty 20)percent f poorhouseholdsavebeen orced o go to costlyprivateh€alth acilities.Along*ith inadequacyomes heunequal pread fgovemmenthealthacilities. or instance,nly25 percent fall barangays adhealthstations n 1990.Eachhealthcenterserved14,200personsn the NationalCapitalRegion NCR)but between 1,000o 44,000peoplen otherregions.Most governm€ntospitals re ocated n urbanareas, nd half of the physicians

and wo-thirdsofthe dentistsn the countryare n M€tro Manila.

In termsof watersupply,only 64 pelcentof the population re getting heir water fromformalsourceswhile 34 percent ely on self-provisioninge.g.,welts,handpumps,andrainwater ollectors).MetroManila has he greatest ccessrom formalsourcel,especiallvfromprivateproviders, hileMindanao as he owest.Thequalityofthe water n t-heurilareass worse han hat of urbanareas incewater reatment ostsare higher n the ruralareas.WHOreportshat water romanywatersupplysystemn thephilippinesis unsuitablefor drinking.

3.6 lnodequateTargeting

WorldBank 1996)notes he imitedsuccessf safety etprogrammeso improve he ivingstandardsfthe poor.Subbarao,hmedandTeklu(1995)statehat herearJ conceptualnddesign iffrculties mongsocialsafety etprogrammes,ncludinghe difficultyoftargetingrheir ntended eneficiaries,hich need o be addressed.hus, nstead f benefitintfro;fiesepublicprogrammes,hepoordevelop aysofcopingwith theirsituation.

3.7 Lackol Participationof thepoor in Decision-aking

Balisacan1994a) oles that the pooq especiallyhe largebut geographicallyispersedsectorse.g.,small armers,andlessuralworkersandunskilledulbanworkers). ave ittleinfluencen economic olicy making.The interaction f industrialnterests nd academictechrocratsntrcducedpolicies hat placedcontrolson tradeand finance,benefiting hegowth of vestednterestsn theeconomy nd eading o theunderutilisationf the poor'smajor esource-abor

At present,he marginalised ocial sectorsare represorted n Congess hroughthe partylistsvstem- 2-3seats ach.Whetherhiswill improve hecontent fpolicy in theoomlng earsremainso be seen.



h'tt y Reports:PovertySituation n the Philipplnes

4, ResponsesowardsPovertyReduction

4.1 Overviewof GovernmentPolicieson Poverty Reduction

4.1.1 AssetReforn5

4.L 1.1ComprehensivegrarianReformProgramCARP)TheCARP,signednto RA 6657or ComprehensivegrarianReformLaw in 1988, imed omhanceagricultural nd rural development y promotingsocial stabilityand increasingp.oductivity.ts strategiesncludehe ust andspeedyedistribution f agdculturaland,andtheprovision fnecessaryupport ervices. upport ervicesncludeprovisionofcredit andmarketing ssistance,gricultural xtgnsior\ nd ural nfrastructurese.g., rrigation, eederroads ndpostharvestacilities).

By the end of 1996, he CARP haddist.ibuted 3o/o r 4.3 million hectares f its orisinalrarget Gono,1997;FRIEjJD,1997).An additionat percent f the arget

wasdistributid ni997 (Adriano,1999).. This figure doesnot inolude he 1.4 million heqaresunqer aleasehold ontract,n which tenants ay a fixed leaseental o the landowner, nd 9,000hectaresistributed sa resultoftenantstockoptions. heCARPshould avebeenended yJune1998. Thewholeprogramwas not completeds expected ue o numerouselays;implementation.

L l .L2 Comprehensivend ntegatedShelter inancing ct (CISFA)In 1995, he governmenttartedmplementinghe CISFA,aimedat improvingsecurityofrenure n housing s increasingand priceswereconsumingmuchof the poor's ncome.Under his act, hegovemment llocatedmore hanp8 billion annually or housing ver he1995-1999eriod rimarily or urbanpoorhouseholds.

1. 1.2 Targeted nteryentions

The Phi|ppine govemment as provided argeted rcgammes n order to suppor poorindividualsand communitiesduring '.low-incomeperiods", e.g., intervals between€riculture product arvests.hesencludeemploymentenerationrogrammes,ivelihood,and oodsubsidy chemes.

Thegovernmentashadmore han weotyyears f experiencen publicworksschemes.tslast majorscheme,he CommunityEmploymentDevelopmentrog.amme(1986_88) asdesignedo spur mprovementsn rural ncomeshroughheuseofunderemployed

abor,andfocused nroadand rrigation onstruction.While t wasp.ograrnmedo utilise12.8millionperson ays,t wasable o employ nly 8 millionperson aysasdisbursementsell by halfoftheP2.2billioncommittedund. College fEconomics ndManagement995,WorldBank1996).

'The Departuentof Agrariat Reformreported ut anadditional215.9?9hcctareswere distributed.only 54

percetrlo[ largct lor rhe ear.





Co{Itry Reports:PovertySituation n the Phi lippines

tating nto considerationheweaknessesndcriticisms fthe pastprogrammes.n mid 2001,ihe Kapit-Bisig IAba sa Kahirpan,popularlyknown asKAIAHI, was aunched.

KALAHI's thrust s to placea p.iority emphasis n redistributiveeform hrough ive core$rategiesn targeted oorcommunities. hese re:

I Asset eform, which includesagrarian, quatic esources,nd urban and reform,together ith the affirmation fancestral omains.

2. Full provision of the requirements f human development ervicesespeciallyeducation,ealth, nd lutrition,waterandshelter, ndelectricity;

3. Generationf employment nd ivelihood or urban nd uralpoor;4 Participationn gov€rnancend nstitution-buildingy appointmentn key national,

economic,ndpoliticalpositions,ndsectoral odies, nd5. Providing basic sectorssocial prctection and security from violence through

legislation gainst omestic iolence, ecurityof workplac€ f the informal sector,etc.

4.2 NGOResponses

1.2.1 Sectorsand Areos of Work of NGOs n the Philippines

Ihe Philippiness known o haveone ofthe mostdynamicNGO community n the world.More than 40,000NGOSexist n the Philippines Racelisand cuevana, 2001). Theyinclude various types of organisations, uch as social developmentagencies,civicorgarisations, ommunity basedgroups,church related associations,rofessionalandbusiness ederations, tc. The so-calleddevelopmentNGOS, hat directly work withmarginalisedroups, re€stimatedo be 4-5,000.

From nfluencing ublicpolicyand mplementingocialprogrammes,hilippineNGOs havecreated ignifiaantmpact n variousareasof the political and socio-economicpheres.National olicies elating o agrarianeform,environment, ousing ndurban and reform,decentralisationnd local governanc€! ooperatives, ealth reform (i.e_ generics aw,HIV/AIDS),gender ndwomen's ights,and ndigenous eople's oncerns re someof theimportant ssueswhereNGOShavesuccessfullymade heir mark.PhilippineNGOShavealsobeen ecognisedn their networking ctivitiesat the local,nationaland intemationallevels. In recentyears,after hepeoplepowerrevolutionof 1986calledEDSA I7,NGOShavealso beenpioleering n forging [ter-sectoral artnershipsn various ssues. Theseincludehe implementationf agrarian eform,disaster reparednessnd relief operations,

community asedprimaryhealthcare,HMAIDS responses, icrofinance nd livelihoodprogrammes.

BeforeEDSA , manyNGOSwe.e eitheranti-govemmentr did not relateo govemment tall. Also, quite ew had collaboratioovith the business ector.Howeveqas many NGOs

EDSA is anajor highway tr Metso-ManilawherBmillions of people locked o dernand lrc ousterof Marcosrn 1986. Thispeoplepowerrevolt wasrcpealedn January200 toppling urothcrconuptpEsiden! and tlus theiabels,EDSA I and I.



c9!!t.y !9p94{9f91lj ! 9n ntheftrilippines

maturedn the moredemocratic nvironmentpost_EDSA), theybecamemore open nrelatingwith the govemment nd hep vatesector. Thiswai morepronouncedt the ocallevels, specially fte. hepassagefthe l99l LocalGovemment ode,mandatinghe NGOand.privateector articipationn developmentouncils.n" nutu.eoift itippineNGOSas

l_"*]:; ,lld1!, :1::tintermediary rganisationsasgiven hemcomparativedvantagen

un9"lTlng actlvrtres. romotjng oordinalion nd even collaborationmong variousstakeholders.

Thenature fNGo work n thephilippinesprimarily nvolves ducation,lainlngandhumanresource evelopment,ndcommunity evelopment. theractivitiesNilOs are mvolved nincludesustainableevelopmett nd'the

.environment, €althandnuidiioa"n,".pr,"" "ooivelihood development, ender and development, ociat ,"*l"es,- m]cro_creOit nd

microfi ance, ndcoop€rativeevelopment.

"":::g::t:l*livitiess,.majorityof NGOSare nroeducationnd raimng,advocacy,

nerworrcng. ommunrtyorganising, nd capabilityand institutionbuilding. Other coii

competenciesnclude livelihood, project management, esearch,pubttcation andoocumental|onesource obil jsation.edical ndhealth ervices,ounsii ing,ustainablerntegratedreadevelopment,onsultingervices,nd ending,inaniingandgrants.

Majorityof theNGOsare nvolvedwith women, outh,andchildren.Othersectorshatareoerng erved repeasants,rban oor, ndigenousommunities,nd isherfolk.

4.2.2 NGOResponseso the poverty Situation

NGO responsesgainst overtycanbe categorisednto majorareas: dvocacy, rganrsrng,deliveryofsocialservices.ivelihood rogrammes,ndskills rainin!. ini"irn, ofuauo"""y,rhis can

furtherbe subdividednto eionomic1e.g.oreigna"U,, n7"--pofily; or political(e g-,human ights,govemance,ndcomrption.l.MostNbos are nvotuJJn ti,e tuu". tr,un

:1ll:.lTlTrainings etivered y.NCOs re very muchaiverse.-Organisingork trasdetrnrtety onedown in the lastdecade.A moredetailed escription i the responsessgivenbelow n table3.

Table3. NGO

c. Seclolal

nalised

Innuencingotrcy<conomicnapol;rrcal:an;cip-tonn-por'cy,processcsndo0rcrmechanismg,$arenes,aisingor

Intuenciig local policies;participationE locaicouncilsa*arencss aising n lhe communitv.Influencingpecifise.offi i--fr iiTgzri-diffi urtfipgor ousrng,oconulew,etc.

Establisling ommudty asea roups,sslOnehemlistrengthcdngheirorsanizatiorls

I In the survey, hesearerefe ed 10as,,corecompelencies,,y NGOS Tuano.200t)



Countryneports:poverty-Situationn theFhilippines

b. S€cloralOrgadsing

of SocialServicesa Health

b Educationc. Socialwclfare

J. Livelibooda lncorne-generatingl@G

b lv,lcroRnarcerojEE

5. Skills Trainitr

6. R€licf and Rch hirif;t;

5. CRtTteuE/AssEssi,rENToFpovERTyREspoNsEs

Various individualsand institutiorsovemment rogrammesr

'ls provide the following crititque/assessmentsre

CARPA worid Bankreport 1996)notes

hat the progress f agrarianeform n the countryhasiii,l'l"{1""13,#?,i"1!'r"1i1""fiiJ;1ryry'i".".r,"'ili"a';"il "dentn urarr:::d:',**;u;;';#'#iijT:"i#,"fi1"'.:'."'lTi?:ifl::.Tlfl:i"'+ili#::t-rtnoutecessarilyontributingo agricuttuialm",_"y

". f.*il" eEs resultof tlerogramme'selayedmplementation,,therehasU""n ia".p."u-a nin"iui""onu".rronfro,liil:itllll

landsnronon-agricukuratses.M.oreover,edistriburionas aggedmost orarge nvate stateshereandholding.inequality, ,t

"*o^r. l-i.uLiu in ,ugur"un.,

:o:onutand.othe.ree rops, ndnont;dirional.export"r-"0;:;."#;;;;"

r,",*,t" canps ts esrrictionftenancyorms. enancyrohibitio_ns

"1"J"fr"

"pp"a""Lryr the andlessoor omove p he ,agricultural

tadder,,nd"sp"ciaily

; r;;lriJirJ#i,,*o.ro,

Urban andReform

l:!1'-:tlot-l"*

""tbeently a]rocatedotheprogramme.or nsrance,esourcesb. the ommuniry ongagerogramlCMp)-ascnemenvitrictr oorho"."rr"oiali.".,ry pr."rlur"rbanandwith heassistancefa soveanmentgency,aveOffenston"oi.targetXu.aos qqT) oreshal esshan tenth ifunO.o, f,"Cwp aaU"* u.,""il, , l i"u*o orr,"g r,rst woyears f implementation.ocial ousingaws. ad

".O'f*i"f"i,r"il, ,heover_ailtrategy^f govemment.sousingrogrammesf," a u, UrriJ"'"1o.ifii*,,ng o.n.lt,aoarso eenegressjvelanto1q97) o;nts ut hatgovernmentuJ p[u,O"O r"ur".

Activitiestttlpingorganiselaboiuniorqtarm=fio@saffi urtipoorgrouDs.etc.

rmpremcnurseJlrrrroFffiGElriidlfficale,

1r'u!!!3!q!4l:! I:V'AIDs pre\enriorlrc .cours€sor sclected

1l,1t"r""u"gp-grro.t--r"*".;dprole".toi*b."l-dffi iG3Iqefll. baltercd |omel! ard orsaniTrne<d,,n .i,"A--" -,^

a_ssisungana,fnan-ingsrnaUpro6cr-sfoiconun-un\groupsanductvidualsCiulngcredr@

commrl-oitiesndscctor n

skils trainipto"iae

"me.gcncy_e-icess fiis ti-po"a[ stretrer,Edratons,etc.alRet igstetsorconficts;



financial ssistanceerunitofhou;ncome,ou.er'orJlutti;'ffi1i#f:,Ir:Tffsproolrcrffnesearedor he pperndmiddle

EducationP.ima.yschoolcompletion ates

ffi11i;r*rr$i:##f.,r,T:jf#*:*ill;;:Hocomeom poor amiliesnapooii".;..i :;r;;'-;:':Tl:',.,'l' "yctearemuchmoreikely

:r'""xi*rni:i""'"',"::l-i'"x*:::':;Fff!tf':'ili;fjtrfiif4,,11,".l*il:ff"j:,:ff:l*fffi.",,,":":1?"1:j,n* ;"**leducarionworrdail;6;il'i""il,::*:'lil,:..1,*i","ff

",$;i.ilil3ilr"T-jffiff'ffil"*ffi#g:ff;ff.:?:fr'#;",i#; ffil'', 11'&""i," ",,iry,r,"CreditGovemment-ownedandcontrolled

;,",",:f;J:;';1j,&mhi.J,,fi'';jiii",:$t:,J::,f:"iiiil::lservice,nsur

*:Iii::m*l##m**:*:,:#:h,,bt";f::,T.".,";[*4ffi**:ii';[:tr$r:,Tii:Tn"",ff:'uri;f#F#d:':SocialServices

Vonsod 997)andLlt\Dp 1997) c

}: x;#ij***;*T{"{::iilii:1!u!ilTrji:rfr,iffil*f hrruff;#ffq::hrd#rif;:,"ff#flff?#:*,,H"$1flil;T:,'J;1"#i',:.$.h;;;#;,%.li,oJo'il"o.ooon,on".Publicspending n health nutrition rp.'..ntbr coF. iorfu;',i;"l"fld^tip.'lation has eennthe anserom .5 o0.7

;y;'11,,?rhidll"*,",'HJtr:#rf:**T'fr*i,J:ff:; :.*:"::rj*:SRA

countryReports: overty rtuaiionG G phiGpines

],hj,1'1i:l"t"Tilxil.H,?ifo-i"^':t*:-"^Try.intuse,or^rearocatenancjaresourceso::5ii['J;ffi1.'"""?:H"#j::i'::"i;';'"fii 7,:"3iL1H:","1iHn::l;::1""1: 13"fiff:l;T":*"1J":","-iil'",11'."1;"ft,"iX;'fl:'ry?f.il'"H:i:J:"",l"gT::,'t:i,i:',8,#",",::T:'fi:;:lJ".,:JT:I"*"ili::#:','iJseReyesndelatr",qsst'A"_"i";#:?ffi: ffi: i'.HTf;:fifft:ff:



iiiiili#'l"i"f"T:1fr'll*";:l::,:':Tl"-99'::i'fr""''emainedot.one'1'vp6

:n:ffi".j;l[djiti; ffil;f

':r;:iJ,';:*iH"fi:"t ;ffi:l#fi:,ifil

TbeSRAalw ufferedfromt " fo(ol,r'inn,

'Mcovernmentfficiarsuta

i.:, ff iJt"_ff;.v,or.ra-"."i"oufiffi fi i""".*;,i: l ;ffi l i:iMonsod,1998).fi:fJJ:?;fr,*'"na*'',ii" .i"r,vJ:u"'l.1ffi1;1lffi:;ll[i#:'i;!;]

Publicofficials mayffj ;ff :"J?I"ffi ;Hilli:1;[#lil3Ji'iffJ"nl".:liJTl#,",yi,l:::"'d "ui:1''i#fi1,x1il,3fifj"Tl.J:#ii::,:,,^":.*"vicu.rfr

"i"i,.;Gfil,ffitffiliiIn runntng

iT.J?".,T*,1'"".".::-,:".::&'

niv","#';J;;,::i#;l| Lack of pubricawarenes's,;;;H'-

""" "''valre, ved)

progammes f thesRo ,-*" *- jTl,^lio a-p{or methodof communicatngthe

i::f;iff ""*:1".:l*"'tiX'1:::'*a:*i"''*itTiX',1#:','J,',ffigf

"ilH:ff."";;[::Hl*$g;,:i:i1:i!r?sgT"a"'"i;""";iil"sili;f;j$lffi;11fi:i9"*

or espondentsnApril

NAPCThe ollowingare he ailuresNPC t999)anddeDios(1999)pointoutre: heprogrammer

vThe poveny

tar.g-ets..likerhose*"i"p"i"i"'ii.'sfl.i

wrnout. ny. orrespondingnti-poveny

NAPChasnsr"adon"enrraili;r"'a*:lllt-"ioot being

coordinativeodv hefinancedvaspeciar;;""r ^,i,Jij,ri,t"ffintrating)on implementingrograms

;l,xl::l;m:;"ffi3#1fir"ll"l" .Î::yrl in mprmenrn!asiJ,"f#,,",,","- rrretnoootogvof meetigovemmenthas promised,as its I

While ther,cor".iii",'"".i""r''il;;"::;:,T:il:ii'i:1.;"[,:TJ;j:i,'.1."1",',sunclear hether hichcombinarions

:l"1"Jfrffif:#*'"f"il#'i;;";;fi'ff;#;:T;#;:.ffiiTi:li.tseoluJfilJ tscommitment,z

%.cove.nment

asairedoffi:il:iff::J:epresentativeso theNApC. n electing

Meaowhile. alisacarL t al (2000)starrom he.tbllowing nadequareo."' j3

the,govemnentprogrammeshave ufferedinappropriateargeiinga""ii", i"""or$"l'i.and

resourceso achiev€many objectives,uonol jnappropriateproxy ndicarors:napirop.iul'Tlus

ihe goverrunentad ode\elop comnunLvv under heauspices f,rr" mfttpr" I1lio.r,,XToorlns

program or fte sRA beginning n rhethird quarterof



C..r|try Reports:Poverty Situation in the Philippines

performancendicators;na.rrow et of menusvis-ii-vis needsof poor communitiesandhouseholds;ndabsence fbeneficiarympactandmonitoring.

13

6, Summary ndConclusion

6,1 Summdry

Ihe Philippiness an archipelago,omposedfmore than7,100 slands, ith a total andandwater reaof300,000 m'. Thecapitals Manilaand he kee largestslandsncludeLuzon,Visayas nd Mindanao. Thecountryhasa population f around 0 million, almost54yoofwhom ive in the urbanareas.Morc thana third ofthe populations youngwhile 607o fthepopulation re n the labor orce. Majority are Christians nd most speakand understandEnglish.

Povertyn the Philippines asalwaysbeena ruralphenomenon- morehan wo-thirdsofpoorhouseholdsive in ruralareas.Poverty ncidencencreasedy 3.2percentrom 36.8 n

1997o 40.0 n 2000.

High ntenegional nd intra-regionaliflerencesn poverty ncidencesxist.The levelofincomenequality aspersistedt high evelsduring hepast30 years. venwith reductionsin thepoverty ncidencesuring he 1985-2000period,he cini indicesn the Philippineshave ardlychanged.

PhilippineHDI has mproved ver hepast orty years.However, argedisparities xist nfte IIDI in differentareas f th€country. Povertyself-rating urveysndicate hat a largemajorityof the population onsider hemselves oor.Life expectancys 69 years.Adultliteracy atesandenrollm€ntatiosarehigh. However, verone-quanerfFilipinos l0 yearsandabove re unctionallylliterate.

Malnutrition emains n important ealthproblem n the countryas t cont.ibuteso chjldmortalityand morbidity. Infant mortalityhasnot improved n recentyearsalthough heleading auses f death- respiratoryiseases,iarrhea, easles repreventable.

The ollowingare dentifiedas he maincauses f poverty n the country: lowgrora,th ndlackofemployment pportunities;nequalityn incomes ndassets, ighpopulation rowrh;biased oliciesand underinvestmentn agriculture;nadequatend unequalprovisionofsocial ervices;nadequatearyeting; nd ackofpanicipation fthepoor n decision-making

The esponsesfthe govemmentowardspoverty eduction rom 1986 o pfesentncludeasset eforms, argetednterventions,nd comprehensiveovertyalleviationprogrammes.Programmes nder asset eformsare the CARP and CISFA. Comprehensivc rogrammesinclude he SRA NAPC, and KAIAHI

On the other hand,NGO responsesgainstpovertycanbe categorisednto major areas:advocacy, rganising,eliveryof social €rvic€s,ivelihood rogrammes!kills raining,and



CountryReports: overty ituationnthe PhitiPpines

.eliefand ehabilitation.n te.msof advocacy,his can urthe.b€ subdividednto economic

{,e.g.oreigndebt,macro-policy)r political e.g.,human ighls,govemance,ndcoruption)

\{ost NGOsare nvolvedn the atter han n the ormer. Trainings elivered y NGOs are

verymuchdiversewhileorganising ork hasgonedown n the astdecade

The ollowingare hemainproblems r issues riticsandanalystsaisede: hegovemment'sove(yreduction rogrammes:

1. Problems ith mado€conomicndpoliticalstabilityn various pisodes fthe

country's coflomic istory.2. Comprehensivepprcach o povertyreduction s very recent stadedduring the

socialeformageoda fthe Ramos dministration.3. Diffrcultiesn implementingsseteforms s hecurentpoliticaleconomys still

dominatedy andednterests4. Inter-agencyoordinationroblems speciallyn implementationfpovedy

prognmmes.Theonly exceptions theCIDSSprogrammeedby theDepartment f

SocialWelfare ndDevelopment.5. Inevitability fpolitical nfluenoen designing overty rogrammes,speciallyn

allocating udgetor programmes.

6. Difnculty n locating nd argeting ltn-poorgrcups sstatistics re nsufficientor

identification f such roups.

7. Resourceonstraintsn povertymonitoring nd mplementingeyprognmmes

especiallyuring imesoffiscal deficits.

6.2 Conclusion

Poverty ncidencen thePhilippines as emainedelatively ighmainlybecause

ofthe slowprogressn reducingt in thepast wo decades. his hasbeenmainlydue o the boom and bustcycleof the Philippineeconomy nd he perennially

highpopulation roMh rates.

ThePhilippine overnmentas ust recently rnbarked n a comprehensiventi-povertyprogrammewhichstarted n theRamos egime,1992-1998) ndmost

often, rogrammesndprcjects avebeen isparate ndpiece-meal.

Currently,he administrationascontinuedo approachhepovertyproblemon amo.e comprehensiveerspective ut results of its thrusts cannot still bedetermineds hesearestill in initia l stages. owever, overnments confronted

with the ypicalconstraints:ackofresources,ifficultiesn agency oordination,weaknessesn locating he ultra-poor statistics suallydo not capture hem),politicalpatronage,tc.

NGOs,on the otherhand,havebeen nvolved n poverty eduction fforts for

more han hreedecades.Their ntewentionsange rornpureadvocacyo th€implementation f concrete ivelihood ptogrammes. However, these are

v



15

,

v

CountryReportsiPowrty Situation n the Phitippines

uncoordinatednd ofteo very micro-oriented.Thereare relatively ew largeNco-govemmentoint programmesfl poverty lleviation''.

, NGOShave been tapp€dby governmento participaten the formulationofstrategies nd thrusts of gov€rnmentagainstpovedy. However, in the

implementatiol tage, artne(shipsmong ectorsr high mpactprogrammestillremaino be seen.

While government kough the assistance f civil sooiety has formulatedcomprehensivetrategiesgainst ove.ty,what s needed ext s to agree n howspecifically he various s€ctorc and stakeholders ould contribute n theimplementationf thepovertyhrust.

The ight against overty s not of govemmentlonebut with tle othersectols fsociety.Noteworthyalso s the capacity f the civil societysector, articularlytheNCO5andPos, o assist overnmentn id€ntirying nd ocatingheult.apoor

and marginalisedroups. In addition,heir help n gathering ataon the actualneeds nddesires fth€ poorwill be highly mportant.Their nputs o the designofspecificprojects ndprogrammes ill alsobe crucial.

In termsof advocacy, GOSmust be activemore n the macroeconomicolicydebates s theseare crucial n determiningwhether economicgroMh in thecountrywill be sustainabler not. Lack ofgrowth hasbeen he key factor or thecontinued ighpoverty ates n the country oday.

'" Moresowilh theprivatesector,excsf,tprobably hosewith the PBSPor rhe Lcagueof CorporateFo$datiorswhichareNGOSestablished v the seclor tself



cDuntryReports:PovertySituationn the Philippines 16 i

SelectedBibliography

Aldaba, . andP. Tuano 2001). Reviewofliterature onPoverty ndEquity n the

Philippines, anuscript.

Balisacan, . (1994a). overty,Urbanizationand Development olicy.QuezonCity:

University f thePhilippines ress.

Balisacan, . (1994b). UrbanPovertyn thePhilippines: ature,CausesndPolicy

Measures,"n .tl4, Developmentevietr12 l), pp. 117-152.

Balisacan, . (1999).Causes fPoverty: Myths' FactsandPolicies. Philippine Study.

QuezonCity:University fthe Philippines ress.

Balisacan, . andE. Pernia.2001). ProbingBeneath ross-Nationalvemges: overty,Inequality, ndGrowlh."Presentedt he ConferencenPoverty,GroMh,and heRole

oflnstitutions, eldat AsianDevelopment ank.

Bautista, . andM. Lamb€rte1996). ThePhilippines: conomic evelopmentsndProspects,"n ,4.riar-Paci|icconornic ilerqlure O(2), pp. 16-31.

De DiosandAssociates1993).Poverty,Growth and the FiscalCrisis.Makati,Metro-ManilaiPhilippinenstituteor Development tudies nd nternational evelopmentResearch enter.

Gono,C. (1997). TheState fCARP Implementationn 1997 lnstitute n Church ndSocialssues,monograph.

Iftal, P. (1994). StateofPoverty n thePhilippines: n Overview,n IntalandM. C. S.Bantilan eds.).Understanding overtyand Inequity n thePhilippines.Makati,

Philippines: ationalEconomic ndDevelopmentulhorityandUnitedNatronsDevelopment rogram.

MIMAP (1995).'GoodSignsMead: PhilippireStructural djustmentMeasures,986-1994,"Micrc Inpacts ofMacroecononic Adju,ttmentPoliciesProject Updeles l (2).

Mangahas, . (1993).SelfRatedPoverty n thePhilippines, 981- 2", n Balisacan, ., et.al.,Perspectivesn PhilippinePoverty.QuezonCity,Philippines: niversity fthe

Philippines ress.

Monsod,T. (1997) "SocialReform:Do-Ablebut NotDone."Action or Economic eforms,unpublished anuscript.

NationalPeace onference1997).SocialReform or SocialRegression?: n Evaluationofthe Governm€ntls ocialReform Agenda.QuezonCity: Gaston . OnigasPeaceInstitute.



Country PovertySltuationn the Phitippinet

\ational Statistical oodinatingBoard 1996). Philippine overryStatistics.,' SCB,mimeograph.

\ational Statistics ffice. 2001).Preliminary esults fthe 2000Family ncomeandExpenditure urvey."Manila,Philippines

Reyes, . M. et al. (1996). UsingMinimumBasic ndicatorsor povertyMonitoring,"Micro Impacts f Macroeconomicdjustment olicies MIMAP),unpublishedmanuscript.

LnitedNationsDevelopmentrogam 1997).1997philippineHumanDevelopmentReport.MakatirHumanDevelopmentetworkandUrited NationsDev€loDmentProgram.

Lrnited ationsDevelopmentrogram2001).2001Human Development eport.

lVorld Bank (1993). Ihe EastAsiqnMiacle: EconomicGrorvthdndpublic policy. NewYork.OxfordUniversityr ss.

WorldBank (1996).4 Strcteg) foFightPo|e y: philippines.Washington, . C.: EastAsiaand he PacificRegionCountryOperations ivision.

WorldBank 2001)Filipino leportCad onpro-poor Serviees. ashington, C.iEastAsiaandPacificRegionCountryOperations ivision.





CountryReports:PovertySituation n the Philippines

r ible 6. Poveny ndSubsistencencidences, 2000

Region SubsistenceIncidence

HousehoQ

NarionalCaoitalRecion 12.7 9.7 1 .6I locos 43.5 37.2 16 . ICagayanValley 36.3 30.6 12."1Central Luzon ) ) 9 t 8 .6Southem agaloe 31.7 26.0 10.3Bicol Region 62.8 563 34.6Western isavas 51.2 43.4CentralVisayas 43.9 38.9 22.6Easterfl isayas 50.5 43.0 23.4WestemMindanao 53.0 46.5

NorthemMindanao 52.2 45.7 26.5Southe.nMindanao 46.3 4t.2 20.4CentralMindanao s7.9 50.9 27.7Cordillera dministrativeReEion

43.9 369 l / )

Autonomous egionofMuslim Mindanao

73_9 68.8 38. I

SourcerNational SlatisticalCoordinalingBoard (July2001).

Table 7.Gini Inci Resion.1997and2 )00Regioo 1997 2000 Changc

NCR 0.4662 0.451 l 0 .01 IIIocos 0.4251 0 4069 0.0188Cagavan allev 0.4130 0.4241 -00 l l lCentral uzon 0.3638 0.1594 0.0044Southern uzon 0.4247 0.4292 -0.0045Bicol 0.4362 0.4478 -0 .0116WestemVisayas o 4412 0.4654 -0.0242

CentralVisavas 0.4"t0 0.4696 0.0054EasternVisayas 0.4457 0 4901 -0.0444WestemMindanao 0.4684 0.4589 0.0095NorthernMindanao 0.4944 0.47 2 0.0192SouthemMindanao 0 4495 0.4573 -0.0078CentralMindanao o 4491 0.4394 0.0097CAR 0.4640 0.4508 0.0132ARMM 0.3406 0.3278 0.0128CARAGA o.4387 0.4 t31 0.0256

Source: SO 2001)



Thai and



PoVERTYNTHAILANDPauuNE EBU.AS

1. lntroductionThispapers partofa studyof pove.ty eductionnitiatives y gove.nment ndNGOs neightASEANcountries, amely:Philippines,ndonesia, ambodia, ietnam,Burma,LaoPD& Thailand,andEast Timor. The studyaims o present comprehensiveiew ofpove.tysituation and the responseso povertyby different sectorsn the eight countdes.Also, t aims o comeup with recommendationso developmentGOs egarding reas finterventions r collaborationwith their respectivegovernmentsowards povertyreduction.Thestudymainlyused econdaryata writtendocuments,ooks, nd ntemet).

This paper ocuses n Thailand. t is divided nto six parts. The first part p.esentshe

introduction.Thesecond an describeshe demographicrofileof andpovertysituationjn Thailand. The third discusseshe main causes f poverty. The fourth featurcs heresponseso poverty by the government,ntemationaland local NGOs, includinginternationalonors, nd he church. he ifth presentsn assessmenty some nstitutionsandanalysts n he multisectoralesponses,articularlyhegovernment's,o pove.ty.Thesixthpartpresentshe summary ndconclusion.

2.

2.1

Profileof Thailand

Geogr phy and Demog aphy

Thailand,ormerlySiamandofficially calledKingdomofThailand, s bounded y Burmaon the north and west, by Lao PDR on the northeast, y Cambodia nd the Gulf ofThailand n the southeast,y Malaysia n the south, ndby the AndamanSeaandBurmaon hesouthwest.he otalarea fThailands 513,1l5 m'(198,1l5mi'). Bangkoksthecapital rd largest ity. Thecountry s predominantly ountainous itha series fparallelrangesn thenorthem ndwesternegions.

Lateststatistics how hat Thailand asa totalpopulation f 62.3 million,with anannualpopulation rowth of 0.8%.The populations unevenlydistributed, owever,with thegreatestoncentrationfpeople n thecentral egion. t is about75yo urai

About 75 percentof the inhabitants f Thailandare Thai. The largestminoritygroupconsists fthe Chinese, ho makeup about 14percent fthe totalpopulation, rd mostareThai nationals.Otherminoritygroups nclude he Malay-speaking uslims n thesouth,hehill tribes n the north andCambodianndVi€tnameseefugeesn the east.



C!.Jntry Reports:Poverty in Thailand

Trble l. DemoTotalarea 513,1 l5 m' , (198,115qmi )PoDulatron 62.3mill ion 2000)

BangkokECOnOm Ag.icultural

Mainexpo.t fuaeMalor Languages Thai,Lao, BumeseMajor Religion Buddhism

2.2 Poverty Sltuatlon

Prior o the 1997Asiancrisis,Thailand adoftenbeencitedasa countrywith impressiveeconomic rolth and virtually ull employment.ts grossdomestic -duc, gr"* at aoannual ateof8 percentbetwe€n1980and 1990and continuedo grow dunng 1990s.Despitencreasingnequality,hebenefirs f economic rowth ricklei dow to thepoor.

The ncidence f povertydrastically ecreased.

Thisencouragingrend ooka downturnwith the onsetofthe Asianeconomic risis.TheTnaiBaht apidlydepreciated,ollowing.the.endfthe fixedexchangeate egimeon Julyi997 Theunemploymentate ncreasedubstantially nd h€ real arningsofthose who*'ereemployed eclined. iso, herewassignificantncr€ascn povertyanJinequality.

In 199E,_poverty orsened articularlyn theagrioultural ndconstructioneotors.There

*as declinen agricultural ommodity ricesand massiveay-offsof construction r off-rarn taborsr stimated t 1.2million. Most ofthose affectedmigrated ack o their ruraltillages.

L\DP reportshat hecrisisundoubtedlyegatedhe mprcssiveainon the ight againstpoverty.-he percentagef peopleiving under he povirty line,educed ftom 32.6yooll 4% during 1988-1996,urgedo 15.9olon 1999,affecting -8 rnillionpeople out of61.5million).Theaboveigureexcludeshe 3 4 million,,almoirpoor,,, ivingprecanoustyon heedge.

-?etYeen,1:88nd.l996.Thailand,s overty ncidence roppediom about33 percentof

ue F,opulatlono about I percent,ranslatingo more han 1 million people eing iftedo't ofpovertyeachyear.But with the onsetofthe financial fisis n ld97 an aaditionalmillionpeoplebecame oor,withthe rcidenceof poverry limbing o 16 ;;cent in 1999(.ADB.2001).

l,-t l€o1the-incidencef poverty ell across he boardbetween1988and 1996.The

\onleast hasalways.beenoorestegion fthg countrywith 19.4 ercent fits populationIn

-grn poverty n 1996.This igurerose o 24.0percent nd30.gpercentn l99g and

1999 respectively, s a resultof the economiccrisis.While the increasen povertyicidence in the northeast ue o the crisiswas quitesevere,he situationwas relativelyE 5e nthe centraland southemegions pleasesee ablesat the annex).



Co.r|tayReports:Poverty n Thailand

fhe poverty ncidencen Bangkokandvicinitiesand central egiondecreasedn 1999.Possibly,he crisishascaused nemployedabor o migrate ack o theirhometown. heycouldnot afford o live in the capitalcity,Bangkok,aad ts vicinities.Thus, he povertyrrcidence as sharply ncreasedn other regions,especiallyn the northeast, outhandronh.

Rural areashave been inhabitedwith the highest poverty incidence.Natenoj (undated)rotes hatvillages adexperienceduch arger eductionsn poverty ver ime, n relationrJ otheraress rom 40.3percent f rulal peoplen 1988 o 14.9 n 1996before he crisis.ubreak.However, his situation hanged uring he crisisperiod.The crisiscontributedic a sharp ncreasen the incidence f povertyboth n villagesand sanitary istricts. nrillages, he crisis highly ncreasedhe povertyby 48.5and 109.2percentn 1998andI999.Povertyncidencen villageareas toodashighas21.5percent ftotal populationn:-aralareas Please ee ablesat theannex).

Social ndicators remixed.While consumer pendingmightbe up, incomenequalitys

*ill a concem or Thailand.The 1999household urvey ecordedhat the top 20% of€amers ossessed8.5olof incomewhile the bottom20o)/oaned. tLly .8%of the total.Overalf nequality ppearso have ncreasedtom 5l.lyo in 1998 measuredy the GiniCoefiicient)o 53.3% n 1999, eflectinga steadynqease n inequality ince he crisis.Unemploymentaso/oof labor orce) nff€ased lightly rom 4.2% nMay 1999 o 4.4yon\!ay 2000.

Poverty nd nequality ontinueo bea characteristicfThai society.While he mpressive

lrorth ratesofthe early 1990s ended o reduce r transcend oncerns bout nequalitv.tu crisisof 1997 nderlined eep,egional, ocialandurban/rural ivides.

TheGini index evealshat ncomenequalityn Thailand s very high The ncome hareofthe bottom2070n 1999was3.870,muchworse han4.27on 1998.

Today', he Thai economy s graduallyrecovering.TheGDPgroMh rate hadbeen estoredfrom-10.8% n 1998 o 4.2yor 1999and4.3/o n 2000. It was€xpectedo be 4-4.5yoin:Ol I Exports in US$) haveshowna healthy rowth.The inflation ate s low and hecrcbange ate hasstabilised.

De+ite these mprovements,owever,headversempactofth€ cdsiscontinueso exlst.fbe p.oblemofnon-performingoanshasnotbeen esolved. he highunemploymentate.ominueso exist.Thedeclining griculture roduct ricesmaycause ardshipo farmers,

tirti@iarly thosewith small arms Natenuj, ndated).

I'bile expo(s andprivateconsumptionrowlhare slowlypulling he countryout oftherEc6sio.L he agricultural ector continueso be iII the doldrums,despiteextensivelo\€mmenl asslstance.fh slow paceof economic ecoverys not good or thepoor.The poorareunlikely oLrr€ enoughsavingor self-insuranceo go through extremely ong bad times. The



(qrrfy Reports:Poverty in Thailand

iformal safetynet existing n therural areass understress.Themigrants etuning to thenE-al reasareunable o find work.

Thereare hopefulsigns, however.Jobcreation n all sectorshasbeenhigh mainly due tof€ $ccess of the exportand tourismsectors. Expo.t-manufacturintndustries ave$sorbed hejob ossesn agriculture.

O!'erall, herehasbeena gradualmprovementn th€ healthof the economy rivenbysron_qxports ndan accommodatingiscalpolicy Tourismhasatsocontinuedo be anDportantelementn promoting conomicecovery, ccountingor 5%ofcDp ln 2000.

Trble2. SocioeconomicndicatorsGDPGDPG\?

GI\II coefficient

Humaa ent ndexPo!€rty ncidence

RuralUrban

Iate

Life expectancyt birthMaleFemale

3. Determinants ndCauses f poverty

3.1 1997AsianEconomicCrisis

The AsianFinancialCrisis hatattacked siancountries n 1997 s consideredo be anajor cause fpoverty n the region.Theeconomic risishascaused reatJamagen theiccioeconomiconditions f millionsofpeople,n thiscase,n Thailani.

-{fter the economy ontracted y over loyo in 1998, ea.lGDp grewby 4.2yo n lggg.\loreover, heprospectsor 2001weresomewhat eaker. ubriciebt wasstifl at a highievelof55% ofGDP.

-{dult llitemcy ateMaleFemale

Infantmortalityate per ,000livebirths)

124.4B11999

53 3 (1999

68.6 ears1999)

2.8%6.1Yo







Ilorerer, manyNGOSput mo.e emphasison developmentprogrammeslmost of whichilo€d to promote elf-help ndcommunity-strengthenedrogrammes.

I! the 1980sand early 1990s,most NGOs were dependent olelyon funding fromifiernationalNGOS. heywere herefore eavily nfluenced y agendasfthe latter.The

fhai govemment egano provide unding or certainNGOS n the l99os.However. odae. mostNGOsstill relyon foreign unding

The sovemment's ttitudes owardsNGOs had changed ubstantiallyn the pa$ twodecades.n the beginning, he govemmentaccepted haritableNGOs only ind waseEpiciousof other types of NGOS. It viewed NGO9 as an obstacle o the state'sd6elopment rogrammes.ater,some ovemmentalgenciesried o makeuseofNCOs'tnowledge nd irsthandexperiencenworkingwith localpeople.

4i pres€nt,NGOS' ol€sare well recognisednd incorporatedn the nameof people'sparticipation.The government ecogniseshe importanceof NGOs, which have

parricipatedn development ctivities n Thailand or some30 years. Approxmarely10.000ocal and 30 international GOsare nvolved n a widg varietyof concerns nd-tiriries (Racelisand Guevar4 2001), Sevenl NGOS participatedand rooK greatresponsibilityn draffinghe current conomic ndsocialdevelopmint lanofthe cou-ntry,basedon. the slogan "people-centeredevelopment..NGOs' recognitionhas beenbightenedsince he economic risis,panly becausehe crisisappearslohavea linkagerirb world ntegration,hichmanyNGOshaveopposedor a ong ime.

5. Critique/Assessmentf Government's esponses

To arulysewhetherhe govemment ocialwelfareprognmm€swere able o reach heIEopleworseaffected y the crisis, he Socio-Economicurveyrdid a 1999studyonbrsehold accessibilityo socialwellareservices

Tbe survey evealshat 13percentofhouseholds ere dentified spoorby poverty ine.Tbesehouseholdsere eligible o obtain ow-incomemedicalcards,aimed o provideblrh serviceso nearpoor households ith smallco-payment. nly 9.9 percent f rheEel eligible householdsbtainedow-incomemedicalcards. Of the 9.0 percent,5.8Fc€Dr with low-incomemedicalcardswerenorr-poor ouseholdsnd 1.3Dercenr erean poor Only I 6 and 1 3 percent fultra poorandpoor householdsbtainedhe cards(Table at heannex howshepercentagefthe poorhouseholdsho wereable o accesstb govemment'ssocialwelfareprogrammes).

:t total of34.7 percent ouseholdswnedhealth nsuranceard.Ultra poorandmarginalpor holding this card constitutedabout 3.8 and 2.? percent, espectively. hesehrseholdsshould othave aid of health ervices. heyshould old ow_income edical.rds for Aee.

Cdr|E!' Reports:Poverty in Thailand

T> SciGEcorcmicSurvels theonlynationwideource f data ormeasuringh€pove.tyn Thailand.



cd.ErtryReports:Poverty n Thaitand

Of the 59.5percent fhouseholds ith school-agedltildren, niy2 3 perc'ert ereable o

obaainovernment cholarship.Of the2.3 percentonly 0 2 ofultra poorand0.1percent

ofpooi householdsbtainedhe scholarship.hebenefitwent o nearpoorafld non-poor

rouseholdsy L9 and0.2percent.

Ofthe 31.4householdsith elderly, r y 3.2percent ad accessedhe socialpension orelderly.The other29.2 peraent id not have accesso this socialwelfareprogramme.

Delineatirghese3.2percent fthe total householdsnto 4 $oups: 2.2percent on-poo.

householdsadaccess, .3 and0-4percent ltra poorandpoorhouseholds,hile merely

0 4 percent earpoo.householdsadaccessedhe benefit.

Given he above tatistics,t canbesaid hat hegovemment's ocialwelfare rogtammes,

*hile meanto mitigate he mpactofthe 1997cdsison thepoor,werenot able o reach

the most ulnerablegroups,hepoorand he ultrapoor,as expected.Properargeting f

rhemost llnerablegroup s crucialtoensurehe succ€ssfsocialwelfare rogrammes


6.1 Summary

TheKingdomof Thailand, apitalBangkok, s bounded y Burmaon thenorthandwest,

bJ- ao PDR on thenortheast,y Cambodia nd he Gulfof Thailand n he southeast,y

llalaysia on the south, and by the Atdaman Sea and Bunna on the southwest

Predominantly ountainous,t has a total areaof513,115 km2 The country's otal

populations 62.3 million, with an annualpopulation rowth of 0 8%. Majority of the

habitants reThaiwhile he argestmino.itygroup s Chinese

Poverty nd nequality ontinueo be a characteristicfThai societywhile the mpressive

gowth ratesofthe early1990s ended o reduce r transcendoncerns bout nequality,

drecrisisof 199? nderlined eep, egional. ocialandurban/rural ivides.

Thailand ad one of the highestGDPgrowthmtes n theworld in thepast ew decades,

averaging.6 percent erannum rom 197't o 1996.Between1988and1996,Thailand's

poverty ncidence roppedrom about33 percent fthe populationo about I percent,

n-anslatingo more han 1rnillionpeople eing iftedoutofpoverty each ear'

Thecountry's conomic rosperityame o a sudden alt when heeconomic risisstmck

Tlailand in 1997.The incidence f povertydeclined teadily n the two decades p to

-997 Sincehe crisis, herehasbeena reve$alofthis trend. The atest igures how hat

:i 9e% fthe population re iving belowadefined overty ineof886 Bahtperperson er

roonth.Thecrisiscausedmanyeconomic ndsocial roblems,ncludingncreasedates n

u!€mploymentand nflation aswell as n povertyand nequality.

Povertyemains cute n some reas.Recent tudies uggesthat 92percent fpoverty n

Tbailands rural,with the northeastaving he highestncidence fpovertyat 19.4percent



C.qfiry ReportsrPoverty in Thaitand

ir 1996.This figurerose o 24.0percent nd30.8percentn 1998and1999 espectively

*bile the nc.easen povertyncidencen thenortheastue o the crisiswasquitesevere'

se situation as elativelyworse n thecentral ndsourhemegions

The Government f Thailandprovided hoseaffectedby the Asian crisis, the most

rllnerable sector,with various ocialwelfare rogrammes.hese rogrammesnclude: .iElth cardsystem or low income roups; . education chemeskough educationoan

programs ndgovemment cholarshipsor drop-outstudents; nd 3. socialpension or

eiderly.Howevet studiesshow that the programmeswere not able to reachthe target

beneficiariessmuchas heyshould.

Theparticipation f severalNGOs and heir roles n povertyalleviation n Thailand s

significant nd well recognised y the gove.nment. mphasis as beenplacedon the

importancafcommunities, ocial apital ndgrasvoots rganisations.his newapproach

leadso moredecentralisationnda higherdegree f stakeholders'articipation

6.2 Conclusion

7 The economic crisis has affected the whole economy, covering all

socioeconomicnddemographicroups.However, he mpacthasbeenhighly

uneven.Some eople &ve ufferedmore hanothers.

2 The main objectivesof future socialprotectionshouldaim for continued

poveny reduction, mprovement f the quality of life and self"reliance,promotionof productive nd freelychosenorms of employment s well as

decentwork opportunitiesor men and women,andproteclionof wlnerablegroupsh.roughroper isk managemant.n order o achievehese bjectives,t

would be necessaryo funher extend he socialprotectionsystemand topromote community-basedocial protection.This could be achievedby

strengtheningxisting rogrammes.

Z An efficient allocationof limited resourcess absolutelyessential.Well-

targetedsocialwelfare or safetynet programmes re imponant means o

alleviatepoverty.The comprehensiveinks of proper poverty all€viationprogrammoshouldbe developed y those esponsible gencies. n efficient

andeffectivemprovementfpoverty eductions ofgreat mportance.



CountryReports:Poverty n Thailand

)ources

AsianDevelopment ank,AsianDevelopment utlook2001

.{sianDevelopment ank, CountryAssistance lan(2001- 2003) Thailand;December2000

AsianDevelopment ank;CountryStrategy ndProg.amUpdate 2002 2004)Thailand;July2001

\atenuj, Sunantha;Povertyand Inequalityduring CrisisPeriod n Thailand";WorldBank,undated

PJapongsakom,. et. al.; "The Process f Formulating overtyReductionStategies nThailand';ThailandDevelopmentesearchnstitute, 000

Racelis,Mary and M. Guevara; Socio-Cultural actorsAJrectingPovertyandPov€rtyReductionh Asia;AsianDevelopmentank,October 001

TheNationalStatisticalOflice; "CountryPaperon Pov€rtyMeasurcmentn Thailand";Paperprepared or the Seminaron Poveny Statistics,Economicand SocialCommissionor Asiaand he Pacificn Bangkok, hailand; une1999

Lnired Nations DevelopmentProgrammes; A Glance at Poverty in Thailand,';http://w\wv rld .or.th/focuarea"/Dovert/s ancepovthalbtnt



a5untryReport3: overty n Thailand 1 l

Annex:Tables

Table3. Average overty ine ofThailand

Years198819901992t994199619981999

Table .Per of Poorbv Areas

19901992

1996

1999

\.rtce: Socio-l;rononticSun,ey,National StatisticalOltrceolThoiland: (Natenuj, ndated)

Unit:Baht

1988

t994

r998

473

522600636737878886

Sourcc: ocio-Economicurvey,NationalSlatisucal fEccofThailand;Natenuj. ndated)

able4. lncldencen lhalland ln oercentYeals Municipal

AreasSanitaryDistricts

Rural Areas WholeKinedom

l 98 l

r986198819901992t99419961998

1999

5 .9

8 .06 .93 .6

1 .6

1 .4

l 3

I3 .518.62t .8t8.2t2 .79 .65 .8'1.5

8 .8

27.325.840.333.829.'/2 t .2149173

21.5

23.029.5

2'7.223.216.3114t3 .0

15.9

Municioal Areas

S'urte. SacioL"coomic Sufley, National StatisticalOlliceoJThailand;NatenuJ,utldated)



sources^GLcononr sunev.uanon@a1

Table7. ofPoor Re

Source:socio-F,conomicSuney,Nitiino-Sn*ncar o.fThai and (Na enuj.undated)

Table8, Percentagef UltraPool Marginal oor,NearpoorandNon-poorHousehold'sccesso VariousSocialWelfare rograms rovidedby the

Government

Solttce Socio-EcononiSuney, Na@

Table6. )useholdncomef Yer ( aDltaHrPeriod Gini

i|ld€xQrintile

I

Quintile Quintile Quintile4

Quintile5

1988 48.5 4 .6 8. I 12.5 20.7 54.21990 52.4 7.3 I 1 .5 19.2 57.8t992 53.6 3.9 7.0 l 1 . l 19 .0 59.01994 52.7 4.0 7.2 11.6 19.9 56.7r996 51.5 7.5 I 1 .8 19.9 56.71998 51 . 4.2 7.6 11.9 19.8 56.51999 5 l l 3.8 7.1. l l . l 19.3 ) 6 )

t999Sociol

WdfareUltra Poor Mrrginal

PoorNearPoor NonPoor Atl

Householdslow incomemedicalca-rd

1.6 1.3 1.3 i a 9.9

Healthinsurance ard

3.8 2.7 6.5 2l.7 34.7

SocialPensionfor Elderlv

0.2 0.4 0.4 2.2 3.2

GovemmentScholarship

0.2 0 .1 o.2 1 .9 2.3



Vietnam



Povertyn VietnamJOHANNA ULUETA

1. lntroductionIiris papers partof a studyof poverty eductionnitiatives y govemment ndNGOS n eight{SEAN countries, amely:Philippines, ndonesia,Cambodia,Vietnam,Burma, Lao PDRiirailand,andEastTimor. Thestudyaims10present comprehensiveiew ofpove.ty situation:itd theresponseso poverty y different ectorsn theeightcountries.Also, t ajms o comeup'iiih recommendationso development GOs regarding reas f interventions r collaboration:rrb their espectiveovernmentsowards overty eduction.Thestudymainlyused econdary!:a (witten documents,ooks, nd ntemet)

l-:is paper ocuseson Vietnam. t is divided into six parts. The first part presentshe

:.i:oduction. The second art describeshe demographicrofile of andpovertysituation n'. : nam The hird discusseshe maincauses f poverty. The ourth eatu.eshe responsego:c\eny by the govemment,ntemational nd local NGOs, ncluding ntemational onors,and::e church. The fifth presents n assessment y som€ institutionsand analystson ther.r.risectoral esponses,articularlyhe government's,o poverty. The sixthpartpresentshe.;mmaryandconclusion.

2. Profile

2.1 Geographyand Demography

::. SociaiistRepublicof Vietnam, apitalHanoi, s located l Southeast sia, borderinghe3:f of Thaiiand,Gulf of Tonkin, and SouthChinaSe4 alongsideChina, Lao PD\ and--:jrbodia lts total area s 329,560 m2,with its land arcaat 325,360 m?. Vietnam s:;rlosed of low, flat delta n thesouthand north andhilly, mountainousreasn the far north::. :lorthwestegions f the country. An agricultural conomy,he country'sexports re ice,:'::ee. te4 rubber, rude il, garments,ndseaproducts.

i...ent estimateseg hepopulation f Vietnamat 79,939,014, ith ag.oMh rat€of 1.45%.The:,:,=rry''sbirth tute rs 2123, while its death ale,6.22 pet 1,000population.Vietnamhasa:,-rg population, ithhalfofits population eingchildren.

-.-e'ram'sethniccompositions primarilyVietnameseabout90%). Fifty-three53) minority

a::'jps accountor theremainder: oa, Tay, Thai,Hmong,Khmer,Nung,Muong,Cham,andr-s nountaingrcups.Chineseomprise .87o.

.- :ountryhasoneofthe highest dult iteracy ates n thedeveloping orld-- 96.570or males![c tl 29loor females.Households ith well-educatedeads rebefterable o takeadvantage:f i-remam's conomic oom hanhouseholdshoseheads ave ittle or no education.Urban



Country eports:ovenyn Vietnaln

householdsnd households eaded y someone f white_collar ccupation havebenefit€dsignificantlyrom hecountry's conomtc rofih.

Vietnam'sfficial anguages Vietnamese. theranguagespoken reFrencl;variousChinesedialects, hmer,andother ribalandmountain rea i=ngu:ages.ngtish ls increasingtyavoureaasa secondanguage.

Amonghe eligions resentn thecountry_areahayana uddhism, heravadauddhism, oa,Hao, Cao Dai, Istam, Hinduism,and Christianity p*d..il;il;"R;;; catholic, someProtestant).

Table .Total andareaPopuJat ion

CsDital

Eaonom\larn

exports

\ l i r r f

\l3rorRcligions


a:1"iT:!,1 remains soneofthe world,spoorest ations.Witha Gini coefficrent f.35, it has

:-<ed It0- 9y! -of 174countries 1998). Lateststatisticsf,"rll ti"i i#'""""r.y,s cNP per=--]a is US $370whiie its GDp Dercapita s US$ 400. ffrny-r"re""per"e"t (j7 %) of jts:E:cle li'e below he poverty ine. Ninetypercent90olo)fthe poor ive in ruralareas ndare:r..:i: nantly armers.Majorityofthesepeople elong o ethnici.orp,

- -:-'r povertysalsoprevarentn vietnam- It isnot,howevgr, opervasives n herurarareas.li:i ci tltepoor n these reas renewmigrants, suailyunregistered,n"rpfoy"a, or havenorriejobs Theyhavedifficultyaccessingasicocial service""

i:e ilco of childrenare malnourished,-4oZof whomsuffer rom severemalnut tion. Life1rc-r.cv rsabout67 years or males nd72 yearsor females.

llr-=c. i 5^millionyoungpeopleare added o the labour orceper year.25 million people,errc-.e for 60%of the abour orce,areunemployedr underemoloved.

325,360m79.939.014

Rice. offee.ea. ubber. eaprodrras,n de

Mahayana uddhism.-tenvadaBuddhism, oa,Hao,CaoDai, slam,Hinduism, ndChristianitv







Co.r|try Reports: Poverty in Vietnam

With he mplementationfthe couqtry's doi moi" policies reformationnd enovation), imedat transforminghe economyrom a centrallyplannedo a market-basedconomy n 1986,povertywas educedrom 70% n the mid-1980so around 00/0rr 1992. n 1998,povertyaisodeclinedo 37Yorom 58%on 1993. Poverty eduction uring his ime, howevel resultedrom

stfong economicgro*th rather thaa improved distribution Racelisand Guevar4 2001).Economicgrowthwasunevenlydistributed,hencepoverty s mainly concentratedn rural areas.

Nevertheless,ietoam'spolicyof"doi moi" (renovation)n the 1980's$adually lifted farmersoutof pov€rty. Under his policy, he gover nent replaced ollective armsby a system nwhich and is allocatedo individualhouseholds. t legalis€d rivateeconomicaativity andremoved ontrolon prices.Also, it legalised oreignDirect Investmentsnd eliminated radebarriers. uring hisperiod,Vietnam ecameheworld'ssecondargesticeexponer.

In 199l-2000,Vietnam'saverage nnualgrowth ftte was 7.5yo. he countryexperiencedconsiderablencrease n living standards. Vietnam becameself-sufficient n food andtransformednto

a major food expo.ter. The country's otal investment,ncluding oreigninvestm€nt,lso cseduring hisperiod.

Figure : Incidence fPovertv n 1993 nd 1998

Owftll lorsty

tr19!3 6tSS8

Source:Socio-EconomicDeveloDmenaenEewcbsite

Figure2: PovertyRatesAccofdingo MOLISA* Assessment

* Mnistry oflabour, Ilvalids, and SocialAiahs



GE*ry ReportsiPoverty in Vietnem

Sr.!: SocicEconomicevelopmententse ebsite

1-l-2 NationalTarget Programme or HungerErodicationand Poverty Reduction

(TEPR)

,4.majorgovemmentprogramme esponseo alleviatepoverty was-theHEPR! a consolidationof

rhe vdious governmentprognmmes to address he problem of poverty inVietnam This

ptogrunme intended o provide an integratedpolicy and planning fiamework and coordinate

ifr'Jns across ifferentsictorsandminist es. Theprograrnmelsoaimed o eliminate konic

hunger nd educshepercentagefpoor householdsn the aountryo 10%by theyear2000

Tle followingwere ome fthe HEPR-smainaxes:

l. Investmentn basicnfrastructure

2. Provision fcredit or poorhouseholds

3. Readjustmentf landdistribution4. Provision fhealthservicesor thepoor

5. Expansionf vocationalraining6. Assistanceor ethnic roups

7. Fund aising or poverty lleviation rcgrammes

Under hisprogramme,h€govemment asable o implementmore han4,000projectsn 1,870

disadvantagedommunities. he amount f creditallocatedor thepoorhasbeenncreasing n

1996,heBankofthe Poorwasalsoestablishedo provide oncessionalredit or thepoor.

4.1.3 Socialuotection rogrammes

Thegovemment lsodevelopedormalsocial roteotion rogrammesor thepoor' These onsist

of thi Social GuaranteeFundfor RegularRelief and the ContingencyFund for pre-Harvest

StarvationndDisaster.However, he benefits f the Fund or RegularReliefreached nly a

minorityofthosequalifiedo receive ssistance:4 percent f orphans, 5percent fdisabled,

and46percent fsolitaryelderly Racelis ndGuevara,001)

4.1.4Policy of creating opportunities for the poor

Another olicy response y thegovemments to create pponunitiesor thepoorand support

these eople swell. Thiscreation fopportunitiess manifestedhroughhe ollowing;

1. Increasing ccesso basicservices,uchashealth ndeducalion,

2. Developingnfrastructure,othphysical ndsocial;

3. Increasingroductivityn agriculturc;4. Inqeasinghe ncome fthe poor n urbanareashroughjobcreation;

5. Protectingheenvironment;6. Stengthening he abitity of the poor to access redit tkough programmes'such as

microfinancing;7. Raising he iving standardsfthe minorities;

8. Developiogsafetynets or th€ poorandvictims ofnatuml disasters.

9. Developinghe eaonomy;



Country epofts: overtyn Vietnam

10.Ensuring ocialustice;11.Encouragingamily andpopulation lanning, nd1 . Encouragingoreigndirect nvestmentr FDL

4.1.5 GO-Donor-NGOoverty WorkirE Group

A joint govemment-donor-NGoove.tyWorkingGroupwas createdn 1999 o undertakecomprehensivenalysisof poverty ssues. The goup produceda rcport enti ed Vietuam:Attackig Pover\t,combininganalysis f quantitative ata rom the Vietnam iving standardssurveys ndqualitative ata iom four (4) panicipatory overtyassessmentsor an in-depthanalysis fthepoverty ituatioon Vietnam.

The eport aysout a hree-prongedpproacho attacking overty LrNdata):

L Createopportunitiesor employment nd producinggrowth throughpromotingbroad-basedrowth and economicopportunities, nd by investing in human

developmentndphysicalnfrastruature2. Ensureequity through ncreasing eople especiallyhe poor) empowermentndparticipation

3. Reduce he rulnerability of the poor to unforeseen vents e.g. sickness, oorharvests)hrough hestrengtheningndsupporting fformal and nformal afety ets

4.1,6 ComqehensivePoverty ReductionStrategy (CqRS)

Thegovemment lsodevelopedhe CPRS, erving s a documenthat effectivelyncorporatespoverty reductionefforts betweensectorsacross ho country, and that guid€s,enforc;s, andmonitorsheactivities,nvolv€ment,ndperformancefall developed artGs.

The following arc maoro mechanismsnd policies,promotingeconomic rowh and createresourcesor poverty lleviation:

1) Create fai. andcompetitive usinessnvironm€nt2) Maintainmacroeconomictabilityhough improving radeand iscalpolicies3) Mobiliseand use effrciently esourcesor the poor hrough ncreasingnvestmentrom

state udgetor socialdevelopment4) Administrativeeform

(The ables t the amex outline h€ policieso be implementedy thegovernment u.ing he

years 001-2003.The ables ivea comprehensiveutlineofpoliciesandmeasures entionedin the2000 PRSPwith regardo themacromechanisms entionedbove).

4.1.7 NationolEmploymentGenerationprogromme(NEGp)

TheNEGP includ€s mployment romotion entres, ocationalraining,career dvising, ndtraining entres.On theaverage,obs or 1.2 o 1.3millionpeople recreated eryear. lpRsp,





Cdlr n gdts: Po\rerty n Vietnam-- --

5. Critique/AssessmentBased n the Assessmentn the2mo PRSP)

Despite -etnam's ongoingpoverty situatiorL he govemmenthas hadsignificant achievements

in povertyreductionover thepastyearsandhas been egardedby the intemationalcommunity obe adotrg the countries with strong performarce in poverty reduction. (Ioterim poverty

RedrctionStrategy apei,2000). Vietnamhasbeensuccessfuln implementing olicies hatgive p.iority to agricultural nd rural development, ontdbuting o hunge.eradication ndpo\erty eduction,ncome rofih, and he mprovementf livingstandardsn ruralareas.Also,ii has adoptedvarious mechanismso create obs and opportunitieswith help from th€qolemfl entand community.

Tb€perc€ntagefhungryandpoorhouseholdsn Vietnam eclinedrom nearly 0oZn the earlyl99)s to zoyo in 1995, and to an estimated l% in the year 2000. The percentage fcoftmunitieshathasno or ittle basic nfrastructureasbeen eclining.

h Lie 1990s, rowthwasdrivenby the rulal sector,whereagriculturaland, iterateandhealthylahlr were relativelyand evenlydistdbuted.Thus,growthwas accompaniedy remarkable.Eduoionsn poverty. Growthwould havebeenmorc favourablef policiespromotedmorehbNr-using ndustrial routh. Meanwhile, tructuraleformsntendedo promote mployment,erpons, and broad-basedeconomic groMh were set out in the Interim povertv ReductionSo-aegy aper IPRSP)or theyear2000.

However,he PRSPdid not ad€quatelyescribehe analyicalwork andconsensusuilding hat6e govemment ascarriedout fof designing socialsafetynet for workers n state-ownedderprises thatmay beadversely flected y structuraleforms. It wouldbe important fthePRJPwouldpromote quityand ecogniseome rovincesnd

vulnerableroups.

Remote reasi ne country may not benefit from faster employmentcreation,expect€d rom the reformpo3ramme, as what happened n the 1990s Hence, here is a need or regular and accuratepo\erty monitoring hat can identify emerging nequalityand higl ight the importance foees:res ppropriateo addresshepoveny ssue n theseemote reas.

so{,]rd sectoral strategies,promoting the delivery of high quality seftices to the poor rurallo.cmunitiesmoreequitably, ouldbecrucial or poverty eduction. herefore,hegov€mmentorgirt to pursuegovemance nd administrative eform to ensuresuccess fits Dovefi reductiongB-s

TbePRSPshould ikewise onsiderhe needo tackle ssues, uchasalienation om decision-ralitrg processes,he lack of meaningfuldialogue between ocal authoritiesand poor

iGlunities, andaccess o legal system or the poor, as thesearc central o the govemment's@. of promoting rassrootsemocracy.

kriermore, the proposal o develop ocal ethnic minority development lans shouldbe&rated in the PRSP. Expedencen Vietnam andelsewhere uggestshat strongcommunityFlicipation in the design, mplementation,rd monitoringof theseplansare important nr5eling relevant,ealistic, ndefectivedevelopmentlans.



CountryReports:Poverty n Vietnam 10

Gender ssuesard attempts o addresssuch ssuesare seen n th€ PRSP.However, the PRSPshould mphasisehe mportancefwomen participationn particular ctivities. t shouldalsousemorcrecentanalltical work on the situationof women n the country.

Summing p, the main critiques on the govemment'spolicy agendaon poverty reduction focus

on the need o. structuralrcfo.ms, es well as the need o promoteequity in the distribution ofresources .nd,/orpportunities o wlnerable goups. The need o addressnequality,panicularlygenderand ethric issues,are also essential o achieve he full poverty reduction strategy hegoverrunentas aid out.


6,1 Summary

The SocialistRepublicof Vianam bordershe Gulf of Thailand,Gulf of Tonki4 and SouthChinaSea,alongside hina,Laos,and Cambodia.With Hanoi as ts capital, he republichasatotal andaxea f325,360km'. An agricultural conomy,he country'sexpois are ice,coffee,tea, ubbel crude il, garments,ndsea roducts.

Lateststatistics how that Vietnam has a total population f'79,939,014,

half of whom arechildren. Around 90% of the total populationare Vietnamese. he colntry has one of thehighest dult iteraayates n the dev€loping orld,with 96.5% or males nd91.2oloor females.

Vietnam's fficial anguages Vietnamese.nglish s considereds a secondanguage.Amongthe religions resentn the countryareMahayana uddhism, heravada uddhism,Hoa"Hao,CaoDai, slam,Hinduism, ndChistianity.

Witha GINI coefficient f .35, he countryhas ar*ed I lorhout of 174countries.ts GNp percapitas US$ 370while ts GDPpercapita s US$400. Thirty-seyen37 %) of its people ivebelow the povefty line. Ninety percent (90olo)of the poor live in rural areas and arepfedominantlyarmers.Majority of thesepeoplebelong o ethnicgroups.

Some 2% of childrel are malnourished,4%ofwhom suffer rom severemalnutrition.Lifeexpectancys about67 years or malesMd 72 yearc or females.Aiound 1.5 million youngpeopleare added o the labour force per year.Twenty-fiv€(25) million people,accounting o.60%ofthe labour orce,areunemployedr underemployed.

Factors hat determinepoverty in the country include: unevendistribution of economicgrowth,minimal govemmentbudget fof basic social services, arge families in rural areaswith fewgainfullyemployedmembers,nfavourablelimaticconditions, 960'sVietnamwar, economictransition, ndAsianeconomic risis.

Among hegovemment's espons€sowardspoverty eductionare: he impl€mentationofthe doirnoi (Reformationand Renovation)policies and a policy to createopportunities or the poor;creationof a GO-Donor-NGOPoverty Working Group; mplemenlationof p.ogrammes, uch as



.d.t Raports:Poverty in Vietnam

ft liaiooal Target P.ogamme for Hunger Endication and Poverty Reduction (HEPR),

Cqrehensive Pove.tyReductionStrategy CPRS),SocialProtectionProgrammes,ational

E4lotment Generationrogamme; nd he establishmentfmicrofinancingnstitutions.

Cn:l society, omposedf NGOSand othersectors, lsoplaysa crucial n povertyalleviation.

-ftq make heirpresenceelt in key cities,suchas Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Civil society s;rrolred in a wide ange fcommunitydevelopmentffons.

Thegovernmentecogniseshe valueof NGOs n povertyalleviation. t supports GO works

ri:rougl the mobilisationand tapping of its own personneland material esou.ces or

:€1elopmentnitiatives.

Someprojects ivil society mplementsn variouspans of the countryare informal social

lrorection schemes(microfinancing). Farmers, other illterest groups, or gven whole

,-ommunitieset up these inancingschemes.Under heseschemes,membersmake regular

conrributionsndcan€xpect o get nsuranceenefitsn timesofemergenciesndold age.

Tle maincritiques n thegovemment's olicyagenda n poverty eductionocuson the need

tbr structural eforms; he need for equitabledistributionof resources; nd the need for

opportunitieso wlnerablegroups. The need o addressnequality,panicularlygenderanderhnic ssues,s alsoessentialo achievehe ull poverfy eduction trategyhegovernmentas

iaidout.

6.2 Conclusion

Vietnam'seconomicgro*th in the past yearshas alleviated he country'spoverty

situation nd n fact, t is oneofthe countriesn Asia hathassuccessfullyddressedhis

issue.Nevertheless,overtystill pervadesn the country. This s mainlybecause ftheuneven conomic roMh unequal ccesso resources f people.ack of capitaland

accesso basic ervices nd esourcesfthose n ruralarcas.

Govemmentesponseso poverty ocuson moreequitable conomic roMh as rell asevendistribution f resources.Among the govemment genda gainstpovertyare:creation of jobs development of agiculture; and provision of credit systems andmicrofi ancing chemes.

Civil society ndNGOs, ntemational lrd ocal,playa crucialpart n poverty eduction.Theycollaborate ithgovemment, oreparticuladyn achieving hort-termoals.

An important factor, contributing to Vietnam's progress n hunger eradication andpoverty eduction,s the supporthe country eceivesromothercountries,ntemationalorganisations,:rdNGOs through€xperienceharing,and the provisionof technicalassistancend unds.

,

,

,

,



(-y R€ports:Poverty in Vietnam

, \ietram hasstill a longway o go to achieve erolevelpoverty.Nevertheless,ts plansod policiesstated n the IPRSP, f successfullymplemented, ould paveway forfunhereconomic rowthandcontinuedeclinen thepoveny ncidelcen thecoumry.



Annex:Tables

.E X: IEterim PovertyReductionStrategyPaper IPRSP)PolicyMatrir 2001-2003

}*l \r.$ rnrl ()bi ulr il !\

\ \ l i ( fu . ( .n 'nn iHnr | S l f i . l | l t : t l ' r t i ( i . . l1 r l l , n ! ' ,1 . r . t r t r , tDr . ( ; f r ^ \ t r r .

l i l i ! ! l x ( " r r \ , in t l a f t : 'k ( l t , ta , r$n i rn ' \ i i , r th ( l ' , r ) r

, . ! i r r ; . , r ; . , i 1 ' . r r i n , , ' r , , r N \ ! ' . , r . r . , / r : r , i ]

\ i( ' innrr: I rerirr l t \crt) R('( lrtat i, ' rtlrnl({} Pip.t

l ' r) l irr \ I i lr i t lOll l 2l l i l-r

l1 ' l i ! iL \ r r i l \ t+x ' t ' r t \ d r l ' i r : : l l0 l l ! lnJ

i t . r : " ' , r { r t t r f t i : : r l r l r ' . . ! l r r ! i ; . i : l j J l i , l . r i r r ! i iu l '1 ; t L l l rr t t I

l . ' | : " . r ! r r f i r \ j , r r . L i j h , t f l f , a f r ' i . J r , . " ' l : l r L r , r n

( r : , . f , . ' . r l , f - l i , ' i ' " l r I l r l t . - t . , r . a r _ . , . . r . ' ! \ ' . . \ ' 1" ' l. ' : ! , I t . : r , n J .J , l , r . 1 , , ! 1 .t , r " ' 1 . . : ( a . : , ! n r r : ' r r r L a .. . \ : L , i r ' ! r :

t4 ! ! f r r , r ' . i ! r !L ' \ L t r r f \ l r l r ii ) r L . i t r ; . . L f f r , f J . - n l ' r r | r r ' . . n r . . , ' , ! r . r , h . r d , . l

n . r l i r , 1 . i r l f r I r . r I f , r i h , , r ' , , ! , , n i " t , , . r ! . , r ' , \ r , , , . r , ' . 1

r . j t . r f r r , ! . t i r l r r . f . r L ' r n i l 1 . n i i r . ' . . r ' r " r r : _ , r n r '

\ ' i r J ' i l '1 , , r r t r . l ; . r ! : r . ! :u , r . : i r , r t r ;1 i r r r l , ! r t . f i l i l , ( i : ' r i ' :

r : r , . r i D : r ' , . , i : n r ' ! . t , r ' , : l , - r , . 1 {L . ' , , { r ' , . t : . - . 1 , , ' l ! i . l i .

I r \ , . , r r \"

. . ' . : ' r . : ' | -

, . ( {o . l r r ! i ! 'N ' .

l r ' i \ r f 1 - l \ I l : r 1 , . ' i 1 , , , r , , L , r ' x ' , , i r J ' r i 1 , r . l , \ , l i t l , r , . f

l ! r ' r i - - . , r r r , 1 . ' r . r u ! r i r , ' ! 1 ( , . : r ' l \ ' ; r r t \ . r , u r t i r l r r 5 J \ J ' i l : r + ) i _ r :' \ ( { r { l , r ' r . : f . r \ .

r i , [ ! : , \ ! r f r r l \ L \ ] , r { ' r . ' i r r . r , ' i i r . r r ! r r r r l : r . r " i - r r

. , i : r r r , ! ) r ; ' r r l r . , r s . 1 r r r r - : i r r , l\ ' . , 1 , , ! , . r , ! i , r . r r : , , r . r i ! f f r f r ' L ' r n r i f , . 1 l i . f . r ' , n . l

: l r . r . - 1 : , 1 . , , r , , ' r r i l r l l | , . r r r . . l l r , r ' i - . , l . i r u r . r l: : t r l r

, . - ' l f i , j , r n r | J r l r : r , l \ : . r 1 . 1 . , . ! L r . * i . l ' . ' r , r . . , . r r , ' r .

i ' , , i , r I J . l i ) - r n i . r r L i ' \ \ , l l ,

i f r r ' : , , . " r . r r r , r ! , r , r i - r { , ! r ( - a l , r ' n ' , i r J s . ' . 1 . , ' r , , r ! ,

i n , i . , . , 1 r r r . , r \ ' r i . \ ' 1 f , . , f . I h i l . , r . l ' . 1 ' ! , , . 1 . , 1 r ' 1 ,

| . IL 1 . , rt , ! f i I ; ! 1 1 . ' r , i . . , : i L r i : ' i ' | { n r . , ^

u . r , l , : , . . : , r ( l f . l ( . : r : | L I | \ . , r ! I ,' , i n i . r . . ' - . i . . , ' ! r i r , : i 1 . r . . r r \ : ; . , r - , . ) i { | i r ' t ' . \ . 1 . ' , '

! i r i r , ] J ' l f l r i l l r : . r , : . t l i r . t , ' i - i l l .' . - r ! r ' . : ! l , ' . ! . . i r l l { ( t . } ' i r , r r .

I , , . . . " ' l l . l , , , 1 r , , , i ' f | 1 , . , n. 1 , . ' , r i . i l ,

: , ' , , r l , - . ! , r : ' r , i . , . i : r ' , ! { - r i . ! i r , . ! r , 1 . , : ir , : c a : r { r r , -, , r t ' i j r ' r 1 . ' r L l ! i ' r L L I r ' i f j I i i r L

l ! ; r ! r ' - , n J . ( l l r : r r i . : i r , t , , r r . . r ' . , L L , t r i t r! l r ! . l : I r r ' r ' . ' 1

. \ t - t r . r , . , r . . ' 1 . i . . , f , L 1 l . , . r , r ; r i , . i : r . . r f , ' 1 r . ! i r . l i j i i . 1 r . . ,

r i I r f r L : i f t . r , ( , r , i J . f . + r r ' : i r 5 ! : .

. . . . l - r l r ' , i ,

i , , , i r ' 1 ! , . 1 ' . : . r r ' : . 1 r :

Sourcc: PRSP2000,Woridbankn€bsite



h't fapaaE: Poverty n Vietnam

\ ; r tn: lnr : Intr . j t i r l , i l \ * ra\ Rc. l t l r t i { ro Strntrgi l , ip(rI ' i ) l i ! ! \ l t r r r ir f l l0 l - l l t i tJ

El r -d. Jr ' r ( ) t r4rn$I l rot i r i . \ : , t r r I r . i i r rs ! t { f ins : 0t . t r ] iJ

r i i . t , r 1 1 , . ; ( . \ .

I r r , ! r . r r " r r - ! f - . , - i , , 1 r t . I r : t , r , i . r ' I L t 1 . i : r r i r ! r l i l - l ' i i rt ' , r , n i r : i r i r , r I r t ; , r l L , : ' , - . i r ' l n . r , . , . , t - : r ' ; , . , . , ,I n 1 . . , , , : 1 1 r : i l' i , . \ f .

l L l l r ! ! , - r , r . r r r \ , r ! : : i . l ! r i r i lr r { r r ' J , 1 t . l l l i t i , r , . , , ! , r , r . l x 1 ! \ ( r l i

I t r r n r , ' l - i r , r , i . r r r ' . . i r ' r r ! r ! n . , r i , i : , ! n 1 , i . n l r . l i r ,j r r ! : r , r r !L \ l i ! L l fL : l1 : t r l l r : r1 , r l r I j , . r ! r . . r i r , j f ! : \ , j r i l r . : r1 , , . I \ ,

, r 1 r 1 i . r i !r f r r \ , -

! I : , 1 i ) r i r ( , j \ . , , : r I j i i i i \ r \ I I i . '

, . r . i l i r i . r . r [ i t r i 1 - ' , ] . , t . , , { . ' i ; i r , , r f . f j . . , f i , , i r r . . l , , d . l\ l i I i . r r \ . , r J h I n . \ i . a r l r f l i r . \ r , n , i , . , r r t , . . " r , ! , , 1 t . . t r , rl r , | \ l ' * 1 : : . , i r l \ r t | i ' , . n ! l | t r r . r . t ! t \ { . . r . 1 . r , r i , r , j t r . t

r r 1 , . r , r r r : , . . r :i j j r ' : . , ( l r ' r : i r , . r . 1 , . , I r r : r l l \ . . r r : r , I r . t r ( L , \ r ! , . 1r r r ' r r i i . i " l r , r i r l . l l - !

: J . d t t 1 : r t , \. ( r , , 1 ( r , 1 r r ' ( r l , ' \ . ! i r i , , r t , r J r \ 1 , , i , ! r - , h t , . , , ,. , . , r \, { i , . : : ia 1 h i ' , L r i 1 . r a ! l r r i , I r ' , , , 1 i : . . r l . t . ) : i t . , ! t i , , rt , r

' ' , r 1 . ! r . .r i i r l , , l ) l ' r . l . t r r ' r . . ' r . l

: / f 1 i r r r a : : : | l , l - ! j , ! - r r . . , I r ! \ t ! J i : , f j | l : 1 , . i , . t . . r , l r r ,r f ' r r . r r , r ! l L l t ! ( f l r ! ( I r , , r ' L , L : i . , ' ' ' r j . r . r : l | , r l j , r r t , ; r r f. r i : \ ' i , r ' L \ . , f . . , ( r 1 . . , , r , ! , u i i ,

' r i r l i . . , f l i l r l r , . : r r . j l r i t i J L r . : r : . ) , . i t ! i , f . . \

f r r ' f r r : t | L ! | r . l l r l r . r t \ r ) l i t i r n , . l . r l r r f , , . \ l | - ; . L { . l r r ,i r r . l 1 , .r , t ! . , r i | : . , 1 : , ! 1 . . 1 1 . . 1 1 .r ' ! , : r ! : : t r ! . r r r t | , , i . i . , I| t ' | ] | ' ] \ { 1 ' . | ] : ' l . l . | ' r ! ! f | . | t l . | ' | ' ' , l | ' | i 1 ' l ' ! l 1 | , { :

\ l r r \ \ l r h ! , . , . I f . . , r t r r r l . ,1t t . ,

l r r r , , , 1 " , r . I n | t. ; r . r : : i . r ' , f i , r r . , : r r t ,

. l ' , . \ I . l , l

. } . . l . ] ' : l n l i t , l i ' ' ' | | . j , ] | | i ' ! ' ' | . . f i l i l '

, , { i r . ' , . r 1h . r . l , < t r t J : - , . , r . . , r , r . r , r . . r r t L . . ; t . ! . ii r : , , f t r r ! . t , ! 1 . . , . . , : , " f f r . . , I r , ! j

\ ' r . r , l : \ - i . i , ' r \ , ) : t t r , . i r J . . i l r s i i r r i , rr ! . , r i r . r \ ) , r l I I \ t . ' r ' . . 1 | : I r . r l ! t : . ! i . . : r ! ! . . l , r ! 1 : : r : : i ! L

. ' . 1 , 1 . 1 . .

[ ' r ! , , ] I i , . r L , . i i 1 f u r . r , ' l . , : i l r : : , J . r l t k . i ] ( : r i i . r r i N , , t " !' , ' . r , r r ! i u. I r ' i . - ! , , r t : . i I r : -

\ . J . ' r , 1 ] l . , ' l , i . i r , . l f . . l , 1 l . i . . t . r . 1 L ! : , r . . . l | , j j . I ! .\ j . . - . i L r \ i ! 1 , : , r - 1 . , i l 1 . . l . \ . ' l . t J r t j | , t , . r . . . : , :

r , , 1 " . , , . , , . , : r . 1 i . i i r f , . 1 . : n r . r l l r t r i . r . , . r i . r r \ \ . . . . r L

;c ;CiP 1000,Woridbar $ebsrre





in Vietnam

vi{-lnami lntrrirt} Po}cr|r_ irdxrt ion SlrdaeglPnpsrI 'ol i . .r } l lr ir l0$l-Z {L}

|iolici$.tnrl llr:lrnrs Lltr.irl$ illrl":0al.l

Lr :dr : r t nun. r f r i$ l i , r r , i f l r r ,Lnr r , ' , l J | . i r i ' , e : r i j r l r r ra i

L leu l , l rnsn hr l i f i i r l ,rL r 1 , ! t ! :n6 j i1 , th ' i t r ' , i l r ! , \ lL r r i ! , nn , . rn ' r

lir.Frll irti ctlli i.nli!

l : : !Far i !1 i . l l a !x i t r r ' i r . !< r . .a r r , , , rnLr n , ,L \n ' ,d , i 's r , x r , i . , , l r i t r r l

r.ritr.,- dr, !"hf l1i':&.h']l! .ri nn'n_!.,r'J di!!r ',lnrt: rinr r'c"',r1rr

N 1i . i r , l i : h rn i ia r r ' , I i i , I 1 i1r n ! r i l l , N f i r l l - j . l . , t ! ' (n1 r ' !1 i

i . ! , ru$: : r ' l l i f i rn , !n i r ( r1r i r \ i , r r l r l ) .n i I r l -dd i r i r :

t J r i \ \u r r $ , r i rn , l . r rnJ l i , l i r l i : $x r ,1 ! r .nn( l r r$ t i r i , n { \ . i , l r ,

lnr|\.n,r. h;rnnia'nr|l1 , - rr ri '.;! |i.irtr+r

Sn l \ . , l , *hh r . r i r iLn : f t : l . r r i , , r rr ) n l i r xM$rs l l l , l l , : t i ( ! ,

{ |.rrrr thr n"}l.'\rna r.nii1iinr5 r, : tlnrlic rrl Dr.'rFhff\ |. I !1. rh.^

l ) ,1)r1xi i .xrr r \ t r ! \ h l l i r n\ i : r l $ \ i r r j( t * r ( r , r1{{re h ' l ,ch j l ,c : r ! " ! i , , r lar In ' : ' tnu. I ' r l \ nr rh l ,xrr

E,t Ir, '|l[ lir ir\ rrl ]rl:ir\i&! { , t : ! r ! 'a ,ur i i . ! '

. r 'J . \ r . t r i l , f n , in

I t ruunr ' , r i r l , r l , r i1 ' r , r , t r r t jt , r r r . ( r r \ rd k i t$n i r t r \1 nln l !L, r \ i r , , l i r \ r r ! r ru,q } | , ! !s In c,Nur i l r r r rx lh l i l i r r , , ti 'nhn1r! ( , IN i r r r )n, , r rd r t l . rNr '

L! i i rud t r \ r r l , l i ^ . l l l ( i { r ' r r r t r ! ! { t rx l t r \ ' , r \ i r r rn l s | lcr ! : .$rrer i ' {x lr r ' r ,ur , ! , i lu r l i r l ! : . n l l ( \ ] r i t rJ r l |vnc(. r : , ' l , ! r ; r i ,L ' ! i r l ! L1, r5!

rhr t l l \ \ ' r l . r , . | |0 . r lu\ r |$r nrcrui , ! r \u

|r \ ,n i , * l ,n l r ' rJ l i nrn sr ' t r r ' r rh l ! . !u(anrL ! r , ,$rh ! r$urn

l r : ! r ' r . ) r ( ! , ra i * L. t r i r ] .a. l r I , ( r r ! : l | t | -J i r r rL,p: i rnrr , ' lor ] ,4. r n l l

l r r ! 'N r ln! ! r l { ! , ! rxnr i i r ' f \ r r rL! ' r , r r r rLr i rL ' , r t, r ' r r \ a- ,u l i r t r r ,

!111r lh 1r i , ,nrrN, r Lr i : , ( r , i r { \ t r I Jr , ! ! , \ ( | ta,?: l ia . r . l1 . rnr t . r , : , itN, r ! inr l l ' l l iL t tnr i r i t lJ l r r r l (Nr$f r l r ' rh! r : r , r l l i ! n i r . l ' r( ( r '1 ' rn i r (11 ' rl , l t ih r ! r { ; t ! i t ! L+ , .

l rn \ , i i1 r \ ( i t , i ! n ! l \ t r , ! " lL , l i r i r l , l f rn r j i i r l \ 1 . r l t l i i rn r i I

l , r u ' r+ r f rd iL : - l | i , f ' I r l t 1 i ! . r \ f ,11 , ! ' i ,N l

l f i ln1r . ,hL la . i .F . ur r . r r nr . : ] c l a1{ t ! \ . r i r ( " lk ' i i r ] ]Nf . i , ,1 ) , ) . \ r 1 l r , . i f1 ! \ r ! l$ l f . ,n 1 l t . i r r ' : . d l r l i l . l \ r i , i nh : i r . r t i ! . \ .

l r t ; r . r . ! l lE r i \ ' -x i r ! l ; r11 ' r r t r !a : r \ j t n : ,u '$ run La i : l ! , ' \ ! r : r i r rn l

l r r r i ! " i 'anr l i . i l r r l ' . l l i y ! r . ' , r l iL . , , ! r i ! ' i r r l f l ; r r !n ' : ' r s | + !c l .

IL l cc i ' r ( r , j i , , : i l r t , , i . : , r1 i r in , jk i r l i . t n ' r ' h 'u { i r ,1 i . . r . : i r , - . . l , j r r! , , l f f r1 r . , ! ! , { r i ! , lL l f l , t r r+n i l1 r .

FRSP 2000-Worldbank website



Cpr.o-, Reporr5:overty ln VGtnam

',.'";lii:,l'lill:,i:liliill.ifi,,'",.*' ,",",.





CountryReports:Poyerty n Vietham 19 r

Socio-CulturalFactors Allecting Povertyalld Pove.ty Reduction n Asia, by Mary RacelisandMaritaConcepcion astroGuevala, paperpresenteduring he Confer€ncenpoverty,

G.owth,and heRoleoflnstitutions, eldat theAsianDevelopmentatk, Manila, O-12October 001

SocialSafetyNetsandPovenyAlleviationPrograrnmes.ttp://sedec.onestop.neLrmrrnap

TheWorldFactbook Vietnam,n theCentral ntelligence gencywebsite. ttp://www.cia ov

Vietnam 010:Enteringhe2ld CenturyOverview). ttp://econ.worldbank.org

Who GainedFrom Vietnam'sBoom in the 1990s:An Analysisof Povertyand Inequality-http://eaon.worldbank.rg