International Conference on National Poverty Reduction Strategies

• Author: Gita Bhatt
• Pages: 10-11

Page 10

Ideas and proposals were the purpose and the product of the conference. Reflecting the extensive consultation (including four regional events) that had already taken place, the international conference refined and reinforced the main messages that had been emerging from stake- holders and partners. Chief among these messages was a strong endorsement of the PRSP approach, which all agreed had made important progress in a relatively short time. The PRSP gave central focus to poverty reduction, strengthened participation in policy making, and provided a single strategy around which development partners could align their development assistance.

The conference simultaneously highlighted many areas where improvements were needed, with greater efforts required on moving beyond refining the participatory process to focusing on content and effective implementation of countries' strategies. In his opening remarks, IMF Managing Director, Horst Köhler, noted that poverty reduction takes time and sustained effort, and he cautioned that while we need to be "ambitious" in our objectives, we must be "realistic" in our methods. Recurring themes during the conference included the importance of building the capacities of governments and civil society; the need to set realistic goals and targets, especially growth targets, and manage expectations; the need to factor external shocks into country strategies, and for the international community to revisit the availability and flexibility of instruments to deal with the shocks; the desirability of considering alternative policy choices in the PRSP process; and the importance of flexibility to allow for different country starting points.

The various discussions centered around several key aspects of the PRSP, notably its call for broad participation and country ownership, comprehensive policy actions rooted in an analysis of country needs, and supportive actions, such as better alignment of donor assistance with the PRSP goals and effective monitoring that would allow everyone to gauge the progress being made. The following points raised the most interest and debate among participants.

* Participation . The PRSP approach was acknowledged as contributing to more open dialogue within governments and with, at least, some parts of civil society than had previously existed. As the same time, the need to strengthen and institutionalize participatory processes, with respect to a...