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Annual Report 2003

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Moving the Poverty Reduction Agenda Forward: Priorities and Outcomes

Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set out in the 2002 United Nations Millennium Declaration. ADB formally adopted them into its operations in April of that year. The goals are to

• eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
• achieve universal primary education;
• promote gender equality and empower women;
• reduce child mortality;
• improve maternal health;
• combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
• ensure environmental stability; and
• develop a global partnership for development.

A further 18 targets and 48 indicators were specified as guides to their achievement. The goals are clearly reflected in ADB’s Long-Term Strategic Framework (LTSF) 2001– 2015 (see http://www.adb.org/Documents/Policies/LTSF). Achieving the MDGs continued to be a framework for measuring development progress in 2003.

Rapid economic growth in many developing member countries (DMCs) has been an important contributor to the large reduction in overall poverty rates in the Asia and Pacific region. Primary drivers of growth were strong domestic demand, sustained export performance, and a supportive policy environment especially for fiscal and monetary policies.

Prospects for further economic growth are, however, increasingly affected by global economic and geopolitical factors including the pace of economic recovery in industrialized countries, trends in long-term interest rates, and progress toward multilateral trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Round agenda particularly in agriculture and textiles.

While economic growth is essential for reducing poverty, much remains to be done to achieve the MDGs. In South Asia, sustained economic growth rates of 5–6% per year will be required to meet poverty reduction targets with particular attention to issues of malnutrition and access to sanitation. In East Asia and the Pacific, child mortality rates are falling too slowly, and the lack of infrastructure is contributing to poverty. Only 75% of the population receive water from an improved source, and only 47% have access to improved sanitation facilities. In Central Asia, poverty levels have risen markedly since 1990. The region is faced with a rapid increase in HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, with rising infant mortality, and with deteriorating access to education.

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