ADB for intensified efforts to fight poverty
Sunday, 16 September 2007
FE Report
Asian Development Bank (ADB) representatives called for intensified efforts to fight poverty during discussions on the Asian Development Fund (ADF), an endowment used to provide grants and low-interest loans to some of Asia and the Pacific's poorest nations, said an ADB press release.
While many developing Asian nations have experienced rapid growth in recent years, 1.5 billion people in Asia still live on less than US$2 a day, and inequalities within and between countries continue to rise.
Non-income poverty remains pervasive in Asia and the Pacific, with many countries in the region expected to fall far short of Millennium Development Goal targets on hunger, child and maternal mortality, clean water and sanitation access, and educational opportunity.
ADB's Asian Development Fund provides targeted concessional assistance to help Asia and the Pacific's low-income nations fight poverty by fostering economic growth and extending basic social services.
ADF meeting was held in Sydney. It was hosted by the Australian government, and attended by participants of 29 countries.
It is the first in a series of meetings to negotiate replenishment of the Fund for 2009-2012 (ADF X), during which donors and ADB discussed means of improving the fund's effectiveness, and priority action areas.
A special discussion was held with Pacific island nations to explore the unique development challenges they face.
The next ADF meeting is scheduled for November 2007 in Vientiane, Lao.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) representatives called for intensified efforts to fight poverty during discussions on the Asian Development Fund (ADF), an endowment used to provide grants and low-interest loans to some of Asia and the Pacific's poorest nations, said an ADB press release.
While many developing Asian nations have experienced rapid growth in recent years, 1.5 billion people in Asia still live on less than US$2 a day, and inequalities within and between countries continue to rise.
Non-income poverty remains pervasive in Asia and the Pacific, with many countries in the region expected to fall far short of Millennium Development Goal targets on hunger, child and maternal mortality, clean water and sanitation access, and educational opportunity.
ADB's Asian Development Fund provides targeted concessional assistance to help Asia and the Pacific's low-income nations fight poverty by fostering economic growth and extending basic social services.
ADF meeting was held in Sydney. It was hosted by the Australian government, and attended by participants of 29 countries.
It is the first in a series of meetings to negotiate replenishment of the Fund for 2009-2012 (ADF X), during which donors and ADB discussed means of improving the fund's effectiveness, and priority action areas.
A special discussion was held with Pacific island nations to explore the unique development challenges they face.
The next ADF meeting is scheduled for November 2007 in Vientiane, Lao.