Poverty reduction in S Asia requires a holistic strategy to achieve MDGs
By Adnan Refique

ISLAMABAD—While it is feasible for the first UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015- to be achieved in South Asia, poverty reduction is intertwined with other MDGs, whose attainment remains uncertain.
Inequalities in gender and education, low levels of sustainable access to safe drinking water and decent sanitation, and high child mortality rates for the under-fives are all manifestations of poverty, according to a report aired by private TV channel. In fact, South Asia falls below the average on many counts for developing countries.
Extreme poverty in the region fell from 41 per cent in 1990 to 29 per cent in 2004; however, that figure is still higher than the 19 per cent average for developing countries. Nepal has the lowest gross domestic product (GDP) in the region at $1,490, and Sri Lanka has the highest at $4,390. But while fewer people live in extreme poverty compared to the 1990s, inequality increased between urban and rural areas and among regions within all countries.
Although child hunger has declined, out of 1,000 children, 82 are likely to die before the age of five.
Educational disparity and gender inequality are other manifestations as well as causes of poverty. While illiteracy has been reduced, its total eradication remains a steep climb-except in Sri Lanka.
Currently, about 90 per cent of children in South Asia go to primary school, in contrast to 74 per cent in 1990. The percentage of schoolchildren under five rose from 44 per cent in 1990 to 56 per ent in 2000 in Bangladesh, 70 per cent in Pakistan, 67 per cent in Nepal and 91 per cent in Bhutan. Throughout the region, school improvements, ranging from absentee teachers to school buildings, are needed to improve the quality of education.
Five years of primary school education is better than none, but is not enough to prevent child labour-in itself a reflection of extreme poverty and a barrier to high school education and better opportunities in life .
The promotion of gender equality is a vital component of poverty reduction programmes in the entire region. About 82 per cent of South Asian women are employed in agriculture, in contrast to the world average of 39 per cent, with 49 per cent working in rural areas in Sri Lanka, 73 per cent in Pakistan and 71 per cent in Bangladesh.
Only 38 per cent of the population in South Asia has access to improved sanitation, a figure that has almost doubled since 1990, but which is still below the 50 per cent average in developing regions . Infrastructure improvements, as well as the provision of more electricity, are essential. In Sri Lanka, for example, poverty and child malnutrition are prevalent in areas where access to electricity is lacking. There is evidence of progress. In Nepal, farm wages rose after improving productivity and tightening the labour market, and agricultural wages increased by about 25 per cent in real terms over ten years.
MDG programmes need to be evaluated and monitored, and more data should be collected to formulate good strategies for poverty reduction. The information could tell us more about disparities in the development of women, social groups, regions and education. Moreover, South Asian countries could share experiences about poverty reduction. Decentralisation, accountability and transparency, including anti-corruption strategies and the promotion of a culture of service delivery, need to be strengthened in South Asia.