ADF VIII Donors' Report: Fighting Poverty in Asia

In November 2000, donors to the Asian Development Fund (ADF) recommended $5.645 billion as the level of ADF operations for the four-year period 2001-2004. Portugal and Singapore joined as donors to the ADF.

Key recommendations of the ADF VIII Donors' Report:

• Carry out ADF operations under the general ADB-wide framework of the Poverty Reduction Strategy
• Use ADB's instruments for advice and financing to pursue private sector development outcomes
• Give greater attention to cross-cutting issues of gender, environmental sustainability, and core labor standards
• Use ADB's special mandate and comparative advantage to pursue cooperation among the region's developing member countries (DMCs)
• Deal with drug trafficking and money laundering
• Take the lead in coordinating operations with other development partners to build partnerships and achieve greater development impact
• Ensure that ADF funds go to the DMCs that can make the most efficient and productive use of them; a system based on the priorities of the Poverty Reduction Strategy shall be used to allocate such funds
• Good governance principles should be applied to and reflected in ADB's internal governance