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Reducing poverty is a complex and
difficult challenge. Poverty has many dimensions. It
certainly involves lack of human and physical assets and
inadequate material means to acquire food and other
necessities. But it also means vulnerability to ill-health,
drought, job loss, economic decline, violence, and societal
conflict. And it often means a deep condition of
disempowerment, even humiliation. The history of poverty
during the past few decades is diverse: great advances in
some dimensions in some regions, but stagnation, even
reversals, in others. Progress requires effective public
action at both the national and local levels, but this
action is in turn profoundly influenced by how a society
functions and by the public, private, and nongovernment
institutions within a country. And action within a country
is powerfully affected by international conditions. The
programs and projects presented in this book were selected
by a team representing the staff association, the poverty
reduction and economic management network, and the external
affairs department of the World Bank. To be included,
activities had to show poverty impact. Activities still
under way had to hold the promise of enhancing the
well-being of the poor and contain effective monitoring and
evaluation mechanisms so that changes could be made along
the way if needed. The country cases presented also include
methods for monitoring and evaluation. Impact is what
counts. This volume not only shows that effective public
action can make a difference to poverty in all its
complexity; it also highlights the importance of
understanding the impact of development measures on the poor. |
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