UNDP | Poverty Reduction

Strategies and Policies for Poverty Reduction

Poverty is multidimensional, involving not only a lack of income, but also ill-health, illiteracy, lack of access to basic social services, and little opportunity to participate in the processes that influence people’s lives. It is also pervasive, as 1.2 billion people around the globe still live on less than a dollar a day and nearly 850 million people go hungry every night. Poverty reduction should therefore be the centre of development efforts.

UNDP’s work on the strategies and policies for poverty reduction is anchored in three basic principles: the multi-dimensionality of poverty, the centrality of gender equality and the critical importance of a cross-cutting approach. We believe that economic growth is necessary for sustained poverty reduction, but it is not sufficient. Poor people should not only benefit equitably from economic growth, they should have the opportunity to actively contribute to its generation. Equity is a major dimension of the economic growth-poverty reduction nexus.

As a result, strategies and policies for poverty reduction must cover many areas. Key areas of UNDP support include:

Macroeconomic and structural policies - formulating the overall policy framework for growth for poverty reduction;
Employment for poverty reduction – strategies for the employment- economic growth-poverty reduction nexus;
Public resource management – focusing on fiscal issues, in terms of policies and management, to make sure they complement poverty reduction initiatives
Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) – making ICT work for poverty reduction through policy interventions
Civil society and MDGs – developing strategies for partnering with civil society in overcoming poverty

Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor

This initiative aimed to investigate the links between small-scale infrastructure provisioning, and human poverty reduction and human security enhancement in the context of MDGs. Under this initiative, two concept papers were prepared – the first dealing with the analytical framework linking small-scale infrastructure with human poverty reduction and human security enhancement and the second dealing with governance issues of small-scale infrastructure. Four country studies were done in community-level infrastructure development: Bangladesh, Senegal, Thailand and Zambia, followed by a synthesis study on the basis of these four country studies. In March 2006, the synthesis study was launched with a keynote speech from the Nobel Laureate, Professor Amartya Sen. Download Report | Summary Report

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Strategies and Policies for Poverty Reduction

Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor

Focus Areas Overview Strategies and Policies for Poverty Reduction Macro and Structural Policies Employment ICTD Public Resource Management Civil Society and Participation Inclusive Globalisation Trade and Human Development Debt Migration Intellectual Property Rights Development Finance MDG Support MDG-based National Development Strategies MDG Tools and Research UN Coordination MDG Data and Resources Gender and Poverty Reduction Resources Applied Research Country Office Projects and Initiatives Resource Library Events Contact Us Search	Strategies and Policies for Poverty Reduction Poverty is multidimensional, involving not only a lack of income, but also ill-health, illiteracy, lack of access to basic social services, and little opportunity to participate in the processes that influence people’s lives. It is also pervasive, as 1.2 billion people around the globe still live on less than a dollar a day and nearly 850 million people go hungry every night. Poverty reduction should therefore be the centre of development efforts. UNDP’s work on the strategies and policies for poverty reduction is anchored in three basic principles: the multi-dimensionality of poverty, the centrality of gender equality and the critical importance of a cross-cutting approach. We believe that economic growth is necessary for sustained poverty reduction, but it is not sufficient. Poor people should not only benefit equitably from economic growth, they should have the opportunity to actively contribute to its generation. Equity is a major dimension of the economic growth-poverty reduction nexus. As a result, strategies and policies for poverty reduction must cover many areas. Key areas of UNDP support include: Macroeconomic and structural policies - formulating the overall policy framework for growth for poverty reduction; Employment for poverty reduction – strategies for the employment- economic growth-poverty reduction nexus; Public resource management – focusing on fiscal issues, in terms of policies and management, to make sure they complement poverty reduction initiatives Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) – making ICT work for poverty reduction through policy interventions Civil society and MDGs – developing strategies for partnering with civil society in overcoming poverty Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor This initiative aimed to investigate the links between small-scale infrastructure provisioning, and human poverty reduction and human security enhancement in the context of MDGs. Under this initiative, two concept papers were prepared – the first dealing with the analytical framework linking small-scale infrastructure with human poverty reduction and human security enhancement and the second dealing with governance issues of small-scale infrastructure. Four country studies were done in community-level infrastructure development: Bangladesh, Senegal, Thailand and Zambia, followed by a synthesis study on the basis of these four country studies. In March 2006, the synthesis study was launched with a keynote speech from the Nobel Laureate, Professor Amartya Sen. Download Report \| Summary Report
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