Poverty, Access and Infrastructure in the Region.

Poverty in Asia affects close to 900 million people, or 75 percent of the poor in the world. Many countries in Asia are progressing well in reducing poverty and improving the lives of their citizens. However, still more needs to be done to reach the international development targets set for 2015.

The Asia and Pacific region is still in the process of recovery from the financial crisis of 1997. It is now having to face a downturn in the global economy. The crisis highlighted the limited institutional support for the rapid economic growth that had taken place over the previous decade. It also indicated that economic growth had not resulted in a full integration of the poorer members of society. Massive differentials still exist between the richer and poorer members of society not only in direct income terms but also in their access to basic goods and services.

Most countries in the region are in the process of recovery. One of the lessons learned is that a stable economic and institutional framework is a prerequisite for long term stability. In turn, this has translated into a general recognition that the reduction of poverty has to be part of an overall economic growth plan.

This of course coincides with the overall thrust of many donor and financing agencies policies. For the ILO, this poverty oriented aid strategy provides the potential for the application of the concepts of social justice which are the backbone of the organisation. It means the integration of social policies into the mainstream of economic and financial policies. That is, to embed the concept of employment oriented growth and investments in infrastructure development processes in order to focus on employment and target low income groups.

One of the fundamental characteristics of poverty is lack of access. Poor communities are isolated not only in physical terms but also in terms of their access to employment, financial resources, skills and information. Lack of access to employment is an obvious contributing factor to low income and the lack of skills. Lack of access to land leads to low production and lack of income. Poor health is caused by the lack of access to (adequate) health services and lack of access to clean water.

Access to information can help people in a myriad of ways, including a better understanding of the agricultural techniques which can lead to increased productivity even in subsistence agriculture. Clearly, access to information contributes to improved education and to better health standards being applied.

As can be read from the follwing table, lack of access to basic goods and services is still a major impediment in many of the countries of the region.

Selected Poverty Indicators

The Economy Poverty Health Education Country GNP per capita (U.S. Dollars 1999) National Poverty Lines (population below the poverty line in %) Access to improved water source (% of population with access 1990 - 1996) Access to sanitation (% of population with acces 1990 - 1996) Access to health services (% of population with access 1990-1998) Net primary school enrollment ratio (% of relevant age group 1997) Bangladesh 370 43 84 35 74 75 Cambodia 260 39 13 100 100 China 780 6 90 21 100 India 450 41 81 16 75 77 Indonesia 580 11 62 51 43 99 Laos 280 46 39 24 100 73 Mongolia 350 36 100 85 Myanmar 38 41 100 99 Nepal 220 42 44 6 10 78 Pakistan 470 34 60 30 85 Papua New Guinea 800 28 22 100 Philippines 1020 41 83 77 100 Sri Lanka 820 41 46 52 90 100 Thailand 1960 18 89 96 59 88 Vietnam 370 51 36 21 100

The provision of infrastructure has often been seen as a means to improve the access of the population to goods and services. However the experience of the ILO and many other agencies over the years has shown that the provision of the infrastructure itself is necessary but is not sufficient to achieve the goal of reducing poverty. Even more important is the manner in which that infrastructure is provided. Making use of the resources or assets that communities have - physical, capital, institutional, technical - coupled with a process that provides them with some ownership of the facilities provided has been shown to have a higher potential for success.

The objectives and outputs of the ASIST AP

Even within the Asian and Pacific region there are major cultural, administrative and economic differences to which the programme must respond. In the countries of South Asia it would be redundant to suggest that labour based methods should be promoted given that the major means of production of much of the infrastructure is already labour. Equally, in the countries of East Asia, which are generally middle income countries, the idea of labour based methods needs to be approached more from the point of view of a rational use of local resources rather than as a technology to supplant the conventional methods. Moreover in many countries of the region the most rewarding entry point may in fact be the emphasis on local level infrastructure planning. This is technology neutral and affords the possibility to bring with it concepts of decent work, local participation, equal opportunities and poverty oriented strategies.

Another important issue is that of decentralisation, which is a trend in all countries of the region. The decentralisation of responsibilities and authority, essential for local decision making and the development of good governance, is a key factor for the successful implementation of geographically dispersed programmes.

The programme is therefore designed in recognition of the lessons learned over the years. It is clear that the development of employment intensive infrastructure strategies implies much more than the implantation of labour based technology. It relates to a whole range of issues which needs to be addressed and indeed targeted if the goal of more local resource based programmes of infrastructure development is to be achieved.