This report is intended as an input into
the Philippine Government's poverty eradication
strategy. The report aims to update our understanding of the
nature of poverty and the recent progress in poverty
reduction in the Philippines. It examines the extent to
which growth in the nineties has translated into poverty
reduction and analyzes how well publicly-provided social
services reach the poor and whether redistributive policies

The Philippines regained a modest growth
rate of 3.5 percent per annum for 1999-2001, but has not yet
managed to reduce the incidence of poverty from its 1996
level. The Medium Term Philippine Development (MTPDP) growth
targets of over 5 percent per year are attainable, but only
if the key building blocks for sustained growth - an
environment conducive to increased investment and
productivity within both private and public sectors - are

The report updates the poverty situation
in Armenia, largely based on the Integrated Living
Conditions Survey conducted during 1998-99, and provides as
well, the foundation for the preparation of the Poverty
Reduction Strategy. The poverty profile identifies a
widespread, and still deep poverty incidence, but while this
poverty seems persistent, its depth and severity may be
decreasing, and extreme poverty subsiding. Notwithstanding

Poverty remains a major challenge in
Azerbaijan, where income poverty is spread throughout the
country. This Poverty Assessment reviews available household
data, which suggest particular demographic characteristics
of the poor - no significant differences in the poverty rate
by gender of the household head were recorded. However, the
report conveys the internally displaced people, are a core
group of particularly vulnerable people, heavily dependent

This Health Sector Note is the result of
the first phase of an open, participatory three-step process
for developing the Health Sector Policy and Strategic Plan
(HSPSP), and serves as the preliminary basis for further
rounds of discussions, and analyses among stakeholders, to
arrive at a strategic vision for the national health sector.
The socioeconomic situation is reviewed, stipulating Eritrea
remains one of the poorest countries in the world, where

Research has had a powerful impact on
policy in Uganda, affecting the climate of opinion,
improving the quality of the policy debate, and helping
focus public policy and intervention on poverty reduction.
Uganda s successful use of knowledge and research to help
set public policy priorities demonstrates that even a poor
post conflict country can, in a relatively short period of
time, create an effective information base and feedback

This report reviews poverty in Armenia
in 2001, and examines the most recent trends covering the
1998/99 to 2001 period. It looks at the determinants of
poverty, and analyzes linkages between economic growth,
sector policies and poverty. The findings are based on two
rounds of the Armenia Integrated Living Conditions Survey
(ILCS), one carried out in 1998/99, and the other in 2001.
The report has contributed to the development of

The importance of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) function within public administration
has been magnified by the growing voice of civil society,
which has brought the issues of good governance and more
effective public administration to the fore. The global
trend towards more accountable, responsive and efficient
government has bolstered the appeal for M&E capacity
development, which has been the central focus of efforts to

The first central message of this report
is that Brazil has over the last years achieved great
progress in its social policies and indicators. The second
central message is that poverty remains unacceptably high
for a country with Brazil's average income levels. The
worst remaining income poverty is mostly concentrated in the
Northeast region, and in the smaller urban and rural areas.
The third central message is that, with decisive action,

The first central message of this report
is that Brazil has over the last years achieved great
progress in its social policies and indicators. The second
central message is that poverty remains unacceptably high
for a country with Brazil's average income levels. The
worst remaining income poverty is mostly concentrated in the
Northeast region, and in the smaller urban and rural areas.
The third central message is that, with decisive action,

Poverty is the central development issue
in Tajikistan. The country is now one of the poorest in the
world. It was made worse by the civil conflict in the early
1990s. This report suggests that there should be four key
pillars to a poverty reduction program strategy: a) the
stimulation of high labor productivity and economic growth;
b) the provision of basic social services; c) the targeting
of assistance to the poorest; and d) the development of a

The study reviews the living standards
in Turkmenistan, shaped by the Soviet legacy - whose income
levels in 1989 were below the socially acceptable minimum -;
by the economic decline throughout the 1990s, until recent
economic resumption; and, by current approaches, and
government policies. In an attempt to ensure good living
standards, the country maintained one of the highest levels
of subsidization of basic goods: water, gas, fuel, and