Regions and Countries

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p. 7 of 22 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Poverty Reduction and Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Cambodia

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II. Poverty Reduction and Country Operational Strategy

50. To implement ADB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, ADB is assisting the Government in the formulation of the second Socioeconomic Development Plan 2001-2005 (SEDPII), which will develop the Government’s strategy for poverty reduction. In Phase I of SEDPII preparation, a national workshop chaired by the Prime Minister was held to initiate discussions of lessons learned from implementation of SEDPI and proposed elements of SEDPII.¹³ Major lessons from the SEDPI assessment are to (i) develop the plan in a participatory manner to achieve wide stakeholder ownership of development goals, (ii) set targets that are realistic within a macroeconomic framework, and (iii) monitor SEDPII implementation to ensure that allocation of actual public investment is in accordance with SEDPII targets.

51. Phase II of SEDPII preparation will build upon the 1999 Cambodia Poverty Assessment by (i) conducting a participatory poverty assessment, (ii) formulating a development plan based on a sound poverty reduction strategy with achievable targets and supporting sector strategies, and (iii) developing mechanisms to monitor and evaluate implementation of SEDPII.¹⁴ The formulation of the plan will include several workshops to ensure extensive discussions with all stakeholders and will culminate in a partnership agreement. SEDPII, to be completed in 2001, is expected to form the basis of the Government’s efforts to produce a Poverty Reduction and Strategy Paper (PRSP) in compliance with new requirements of the IMF and World Bank. A draft interim PRSP was prepared with ADB assistance under Phase I of SEDPII preparation.

52. The Cambodia Poverty Assessment recommends three elements for a poverty reduction strategy — (i) promoting rapid economic growth, especially in rural areas where most of the poor live, (ii) expanding access of the poor to health and education services, and (iii) addressing the needs of vulnerable groups through provision of a social safety net. The 2000 Cambodia Country Operational Strategy: Enabling A Socioeconomic Renaissance (COS) complements the developmental goals of the Government, and is consistent with the recommendations of both the Cambodia Poverty Assessment and ADB’s new Poverty Reduction Policy, which recommends a focus on economic growth, social development, and governance.

53. ADB will support the Government’s efforts to reduce poverty in three priority areas. The first priority is to support broad-based labor-intensive economic development in populous rural areas where most of the poor live. This will be accomplished through interventions in water resource management, rural development, agriculture sector development, and natural resource management. The second priority is to assist human and social development to enhance equitable access to the benefits of economic growth. This will be done through investments in education, health, and water supply and sanitation. The third priority is to promote private sector participation in development, particularly for labor-intensive non-agricultural activities, by addressing key institutional and infrastructure weaknesses. This will involve interventions in transportation, finance, and energy.

54. This focus of interventions is tailored to fit the country’s needs, support the Government’s development goals, complement the activities of other aid agencies, exploit cross-sector synergies in the program, and take advantage of ADB’s strategic position in Cambodia as a regional multilateral financial institution. At Government request (and based on assessment of country needs, ADB strengths, and the activities of other aid agencies), ADB has made a long-term commitment, contingent on Government commitment to necessary reforms, to support development in the critical areas of water resource management, education, and transportation. This will involve coordinating efforts among aid agencies in facilitating government ownership of sector development, capacity building, and priority investments. To ensure maximum development impact and poverty reduction, location-specific interventions will be concentrated, to the extent possible, in the populous rural areas of the Plains and Tonle Sap Regions where most of the poor reside.

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