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Annual Report of the Bank 1999An Asia Without PovertyMessage from the Chairman of the Board of DirectorsAsia and the Pacific have made tremendous economic and social gains over the past three decades. Per capita income has tripled. Average life expectancy at birth in the early 1970s was 48 years; now it's 65 years. Then, only 40 percent of the population could read and write; today, 70 percent of the region's adults are literate. These three decades of unprecedented economic growth and improvement in the standard of living have witnessed a decline in the proportion of Asians in poverty. Nevertheless, Asia is still home to the poor—two thirds of the world’s poor live in Asia. South Asia alone has more than 500 million poverty-stricken people, almost twice as many as in the whole of Africa. The 1997 financial crisis has worsened the situation by stalling decades of development and dragging millions of people back into poverty. Although the crisis has passed, the social aftershocks continue to be felt. Millions have lost their jobs and cannot find work. Women, children, the disabled, and the elderly are suffering most. Many are malnourished; more are prone to illness. Many children—girls in particular—have dropped out of school. But the financial crisis has given us a chance to rectify the weaknesses and strengthen Asia’s economies. By propelling poverty and suffering into the headlines, our attention has been drawn to the huge underclass that has been essentially untouched by the economic development of the past three decades. Many of us had become too complacent. Now is the time to harness our collective creativity, energy, and resources in the battle against poverty. For ADB, a poverty-free region is not mere rhetoric. Reducing poverty in Asia has always been one of ADB's fundamental aims. Now, ADB has rededicated itself to the fight: it has made poverty reduction its overarching goal rather than just one of five strategic objectives. ADB believes the most powerful weapons in the fight against poverty are pro-poor, sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. These are the three pillars on which ADB's poverty reduction strategy is built. This single-mindedness of approach is radically changing how ADB does business, with all ADB staff members making poverty reduction their priority. Starting this year, an annual ADB action plan for poverty reduction will be prepared, and country partnership agreements will be developed. ADB's commitment is that at least 40 percent of its lending volume by 2001 will be devoted to poverty interventions. All projects will have to show that they benefit the poor, directly or indirectly. In this Annual Report, you will find many illustrations of the ways in which ADB is already immersed in this work—by encouraging private sector development, strengthening management in the public sector, promoting good governance, improving the status of women, protecting the environment, and promoting regional cooperation. ADB supports the international and regional development targets established at summits in the 1990s, including the Strategy 21 goal of reducing by half the proportion of people in absolute poverty by 2015. Bringing the vision of a poverty-free region to reality requires stronger partnerships between developed and developing countries. One such partnership is the Asian Development Fund (ADF), the only multilateral source of concessional assistance exclusively for the region. More than half of the ADF lending supports projects with explicit environmental and social objectives. But the ADF resource will be exhausted within this year: its funds are urgently in need of replenishment. Of course, our developing member countries themselves have the primary responsibility for fighting poverty. We will help them in every way we can, but success requires cooperation and partnership, not only with and between governments, but also with nongovernment organizations, funding agencies, the private sector, and—critically—the people of Asia. Although the crisis-hit economies are showing signs of revival and the economic prognosis is positive, much work needs to be done to ensure that gains are sustained. We have long known that growth can reduce poverty by generating employment and incomes. We know, too, that pro-poor growth can reduce it even faster. We have learned much from recent experience in East Asia. We recognize that human development is the key to economic development. This means a proper balance between the economic and social agendas. It means ensuring adequate nutrition, health care, and education. It means investing in social capital and creating the right policy environment for those investments. In a world so rich in resources and brilliant minds, it is unacceptable that deprivation and destitution should still plague so many of the world's people, as has happened in many countries in the 20th century. Asia and the Pacific can be free of poverty. But this requires continued strong international commitment to this task. ADB has a clear vision of a poverty-free region. To achieve our vision will never be easy. But, I am convinced that with close cooperation with all our development partners, we together can free Asia and the Pacific from poverty, and make the region a better place where all people can live with dignity and hope. RELATED DOCUMENTS
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