20 Ways ADB Is Helping the Poor

ADB's overarching goal is to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific. ADB believes that a region free of poverty is an achievable and realistic goal. The following list of recently-approved, ADB-financed projects illustrates the broad variety of ways in which ADB is supporting development in the region, thereby helping the poor.

Crop Diversification, Bangladesh: Some 160,000 poor farmers in northwest Bangladesh will raise their incomes through a project to help them cultivate higher-value cash crops such as fruits and vegetables.

Education, Kyrgyz Republic: Faced with the concern of providing skills for the labor force for economic development, this education project will improve vocational training and encourage students to start business on their own.

Emergency Assistance, Viet Nam: ADB provides emergency assistance to rehabilitate roads and bridges damaged by floods and tropical storm. The project will generate jobs for the poor as it entails labor-intensive civil works and will restore long-term job employment opportunities with the recovery of agriculture and the local economy.

Environment, Philippines: Manila's highly polluted Pasig River will be cleaned up over 15 years. The project aims at bringing marine life back to the river, and making it suitable for activities such as boating.

Financial System Reform, Nepal: Countries need to promote growth in order to escape the poverty trap and generate new employment. But this requires an efficient financial system to support business activities. This project seeks to reform and strengthen the system by addressing weaknesses in the legal, regulatory and institutional environment to allow increased participation by the private sector.

Health Sector, Lao PDR: Many poor ethnic minorities living in rural areas, where infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in Asia, will have access to health centers, hospitals and other essential health services.

Microfinance, Pakistan: Nearly 25,000 community organizations - covering over half a million poor families - will be trained to use microfinance. A microfinance program will finance 1.6 million small income-generating activities and 4,500 small-scale community-based infrastructure projects for a large number of poor, especially women.

Private Sector Participation, Bangladesh: ADB's participation induces private sector participation in development projects. A power project is a model for private sector participation. The project, the first ever power project supported by the private sector in Bangladesh will provide cheaper electricity for the people and alleviate power shortages.

Railway, People's Republic of China: A giant new railway linking poor provinces will boost the economy in the interior region by attracting new industries to the region and enabling coal, and other natural resources and farm products to reach markets and ports in the wealthier east. By 2015, the incomes of nearly 400,000 people will be raised above the poverty line.

Regional Cooperation, Central Asian Republics: The road linking Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic will be improved. The first subregional cooperation in Central Asia will realize the development aspirations of the land-locked Central Asian Republics.

Relocation from Railroad Track, Philippines: About 500 urban poor families who live in hazardous conditions by the tracks of the Philippine National Railroad, will be assisted and relocated on a trial basis. The project finances basic services such as water supply, sanitation and roads.

Road Project, People's Republic of China: Poor rural communities will be linked to cities in a new highway project. Feeder roads connecting the expressway to underdeveloped areas will raise over 400,000 people from poverty as they get better access to markets, jobs, education and health services.

Rural Development, Indonesia: A rural development project will generate about 185,000 jobs and increase incomes for 425,000 people in rural areas by developing about 750 community-based savings and loan organizations which provide funds for small-scale businesses.

Rural Electrification, Bhutan: More than 6,000 people, hospitals and schools in Bhutan will gain access to electricity. More use of electricity for lighting and cooking will improve the health of villages and education of children. Also small cottage industries will be able to flourish with access to electricity.

Small-scale Enterprise, Pakistan: Small- and medium-size enterprises will be financed to import goods required for export production. It will increase the country's exports by around $350 million annually, create 135,000 new jobs, supporting the livelihood of about 1 million people.

Street Children, Indonesia: Young female street children who are victimized by sexual abuse will get medical and health services and a "home" in which to stay. This NGO-led project will initially establish counseling programs for 500 female street children, and develop plans to address the needs of about 34,000 female street children

Training, Marshall Islands: About 1,200 high school students will make intelligent career choices and 600 trainees will receive training in skills centers in the outer islands.

Water Shortage, Nepal: The chronic water shortage in the Kathmandu Valley will be greatly reduced by an ambitious water supply project. Most of the 1.5 million residents of Kathmandu Valley receive piped water only for two hours every other day. Others get nothing. The project will divert water from a nearby river into the valley.

Combating Corruption across the Region: Over 300 anti-corruption specialists from around the region attended an Asia-Pacific Forum for combating corruption. The forum sought better ways of implementing anti-corruption measures. Fighting corruption is an increasing priority across the region.

Regional Poverty Study: Statistics tell one story, but meeting people and seeing their families, homes, and work places gives an entirely different perspective. ADB staff go to villages and spend some time learning about their lives, the poverty they face, and how ADB's activities can have real impact on them.