Nepal - Towards a Sustainable Approach for Poverty Reduction and Decentralization : A Note on Nepal's Proposed Poverty Alleviation Fund
The objective of this policy note, is to provide advice to the Government of Nepal on the best approach to adopt for the proposed Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) to adequately address the problems related to poverty reduction, and service improvemen...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/11/2075366/nepal-towards-sustainable-approach-poverty-reduction-decentralization-note-nepals-proposed-poverty-alleviation-fund http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15328 |
| Summary: | The objective of this policy note, is to
provide advice to the Government of Nepal on the best
approach to adopt for the proposed Poverty Alleviation Fund
(PAF) to adequately address the problems related to poverty
reduction, and service improvement in remote areas. The
report first presents an overview of the conceptual
framework for analysis, focusing attention on the
particularly important aspects of poverty - risk and
vulnerability - to then provide insights on the
understanding of the nature of poverty in the country, and
how to address it. It specifies that risk management, if
properly implemented, can induce economic growth, leading to
a longer term sustained reduction in poverty, while
decentralization empowers local communities, by addressing
government's failures in delivering services in areas
critical to poverty reduction. The report further reviews
the experience of development projects in Nepal, through a
sector wide approach, where findings suggest that
community-based models of investment, and service delivery,
perform better than central agency models, underlining high
levels of community participation and good cost
effectiveness. Nonetheless, upon examining micro-finance,
and despite the country's vibrant micro-finance sector,
the report questions its outreach, and coverage to the rural
poor, which has remained low. The successful implementation
of the PAF lies in its potential to assist in Nepal's
decentralization program, and, its effectiveness in
addressing risk, vulnerability, and poverty. But without
external support, PAF is not likely to materialize due to
financing, and management constraints. |
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