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Asia
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 following table, lack of access to basic goods and
services is still a major impediment in many of the countries of the region.
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Selected Poverty Indicators
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|
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
|
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| 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
|
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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.
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