RI faces tough task in poverty eradication
RI faces tough task in poverty eradication
JAKARTA (JP): Successful economic developments have reduced
the number of people living below the poverty line, but the
remaining 26 million poor Indonesians may be the toughest
challenge yet, says a United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
official.
As the world observes International Day for the Eradication of
Poverty today, Indonesia faces the task of helping what the UNDP
coordinator here, G. Ravi Rajan, calls the "hard core" poor.
"Economic growth has clearly contributed tremendously to
poverty eradication. But it has to be admitted this is the hard
core, this is going to be more difficult," said Rajan, who is
also resident coordinator of UN operational activities in
Indonesia.
"The challenge now is, to some extent, harder, though
achievable," he said.
Official statistics here in 1993 showed that 13.6 percent of
the population live below the poverty line.
Poverty eradication has been described as a government
obsession, and the observance of Poverty Eradication Day brings a
worldwide commitment to the problem.
Rajan spoke of a "moral crusade" when talking about the
estimated 1.3 billion people living in poverty worldwide.
He said the UNDP was making poverty eradication a priority and
allocated 40 percent of its resources to it.
Apart from Southeast Asia, poverty had risen everywhere over
the past few years, he said.
There are several causes but the two major ones are disparity
and rapid population growth.
"It is a fact that people are not sharing equally the benefits
of development," Rajan said. "Economic growth does more for
poverty eradication than anything else, but we need more equity
in the distribution of economic development".
Though poverty is an international problem, solutions must
still be local in nature, he said.
"You cannot do an international program for the alleviation of
poverty as you might have with other international issues. This
has to be solved at both national and local levels," Rajan said.
The UNDP helps by relaying experiences and helping to design
approaches which are conducive to such efforts.
The creation of an enabling framework is an often-overlooked
element because sometimes policies are simply not promoting the
eradication of poverty, he said.
Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar
Kartasasmita recently criticized the ineffective use of funds in
poverty eradication programs.
"We're actually not too short of developmental funds...the
available funds aren't being utilized the way they should,"
Ginandjar said.
Armed with multinational experience, the UNDP works with
governments to create strategies to help break down the complex
barriers restricting the poor's progress.
"Our job is not so much implementation at the provincial
level. We're usually at the upstream end. Here we try and help in
designing approaches," he said.
He said the complexity of the problem dictates that specific
programs have to be designed. "You cannot have a blanket program
anymore across a country. You have to identify them (the poor)
and have very targeted programs".
Rajan said it was important to create an environment where the
poor themselves are participating in their betterment.
While much work remains, Rajan recognized the strides
Indonesia had made.
"Indonesia is certainly engaged in it. You have to acknowledge
that Indonesia has done very well so far," Rajan said.
"It is a very interesting stage in a country's development to
reach this particular level and to go forward," he said. (mds)