Gender Assessment
Welcome Remarks
by
Sirpa Jarvenpaa
Regional Director, SPSO
Asian Development Bank
Suva, Fiji Islands
7 June 2005
Honorable Assistant Minister of Women’s Affairs Losana Salabula,
Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Emele Duituraga,
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen
As the Regional Director of the South Pacific Subregional Office of the Asian Development Bank, it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to this consultation on the ADB’s the Country Gender Assement for the Fiji Islands Thank you for participating in this important meeting.
ADB’s strategy in Fiji supports the Government’s National Development Strategy and makes particular effort to target poverty reduction, the overarching objective of the Bank.
ADB is fighting poverty in Fiji through programs that support sustainable economic growth, inclusive social development, and governance – and by building capacity both in the public and private sectors – with the objective of generating employment, and thus increasing access to cash incomes, particularly by the poor.
ADB’s recently approved Pacific Strategy – of which I have brought a few copies – is focused on the priorities of the poor and sets its operational targets as enhanced access to cash incomes and improved access to good public services.
For the benefit of those less familiar with ADB’s operations in this country, allow me to highlight that Fiji joined ADB in 1970 and is now one of its 63 member countries. Over these 35 years, these strategies have translated into programs in water supply and sanitation, transport, tourism, urban development, rural electrification, agriculture, and finance sectors.
However, the Pacific Strategy concluded that business as usual is not sufficient and that closer connection between ADB’s strategy is needed with its operation. So, it is very appropriate that this year, ADB is preparing its first full Country Strategy and Program to cover the program period 2006-2010. This will also be a first results-based CSP. Preparation of a CSP is based on a thorough analysis of the development conditions, the constraints and opportunities for development. Among these assessments – including poverty and hardship, governance, environment, private sector, and economic assessment - the Country Gender Analysis is an integral part of the CSP preparation process.
This Thematic Gender Assessment provides information needed to ensure that ADB’s assistance to Fiji is grounded on principles that foster gender equality –crucial, in scaling up development effectiveness of ADB’s development interventions. Closely tied to the strategy to reduce poverty is the objective of gender equality and mainstreaming gender concerns into strategy and programs. Country Gender Assessment provides us with recommendations on how to handle gender mainstreaming into ADB’s programs and how the Ministry for Women’s Affairs can incorporate gender consideration into its operations. This joint assessment will feed into the ADB’s Country Strategy and Program.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you hold a vast repository of local knowledge on your the gender conditions and what really works. Your inputs will help in determining the final recommendations that will be made in this joint Country Gender Analysis as the outcomes of your discussions – today – will feed into the Assessment that in turn will help to develop a better Country Strategy and Program. This meeting is a critical milestone to ensure that the Country Gender Analysis makes a real and candid analysis that has the capacity to contribute to the sustainability of ADB’s and the Government’s development efforts. Through your inputs, you have a real opportunity to help ensure that the support your country receives from ADB continues to fuel economic prosperity and gender equality.
I look forward to the report on your deliberations and inputs into this joint ADB-Government gender assessment and I encourage you to have a frank, open, and productive discussions that focus on achieving results.
Thank you.
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