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Rural poverty approaches, policies and strategies in Sri Lanka

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Rural poverty approaches, policies and strategies in Sri Lanka

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http://data.worldbank.org/country/sri-lanka - http://www.statistics.gov.lk/poverty/reportnew-final.pdf - http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/slanka/nsds.pdf - http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.198.5555&rep=rep1&type=pdf - http://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/2016/06/03/can-sri-lanka-eradicate-poverty-and-reduce-income-inequality-by-2030/

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Sri Lanka's free education and universal health care for more than six decades and more recent policies and programs related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have helped accelerate progress and achieve some targets well ahead of schedule, a report launched today said.

Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2014 was launched yesterday in Colombo with the participation of Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha De Silva and the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Subinay Nandy.

Speaking at the event Dr. de Silva spoke of the need to integrate the differences within different communities in the country and expressed hope to make further progress in the task.

"The government of Sri Lanka understands the need in building bridges, in integrating our society, and in Sri Lanka being a country of Sri Lankans. I hope that we can make further progress in integrating the differences within communities," he said.

"We have to ensure that in our market framework there is social goodwill and economic justice. That is what we mean by a social market economy," Dr. de Silva said.

The 2014 MDG Country Report is the third MDG progress report for Sri Lanka and is the result of a joint collaboration between the Government of Sri Lanka, the UN Country Team and the Institute of Policy Studies. It reviews progress towards the goals at both the national and regional levels.

It is also the first report that covers the entire country, allowing comparison across the 25 districts and providing policy makers with information to identify and support regions lagging behind. It also analyses achievements and thematic areas requiring further attention.

Highlighting Sri Lanka's MDG performance, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Subinay Nandy said the findings in the report make a strong case for Sri Lanka to be a leading and credible actor in the global deliberations around the development agenda for post-2015.

"Sri Lanka's long history of investment in health, education and poverty alleviation programmes, has translated into robust performance against the MDGs, and Sri Lanka has many lessons to share," the UN official said.

The MDGs are a set of eight goals agreed by world leaders in 2000 to be achieved before the end date in 2015.

The eight MDGs range from halving extreme poverty rates to promoting gender equality and providing universal primary education. As countries near the end target date in September 2015, governments around the world are reviewing their progress towards achieving the MDGs in the last 15 years.

Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Achieve Universal Primary Education, Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, Reduce Child Mortality, Improve Maternal Health, Combat HIV/AIDS,Malaria and Other Diseases, Ensure Environmental Sustainability and Develop a Global Partnership for Development are the eight MDGs. Sri Lanka achieved the target of halving poverty at the national level seven years before 2015 and has almost achieved universal primary education, and the proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 is nearly 100 percent.

While the national unemployment rate has declined to less than 4 percent, there was a tremendous gender gap in employment. A large proportion of working age males are employed, the ratio for females is low despite the rapid enhancement in female education. Only 30 percent of females of the population were employed while 70 percent of the males were in the labor force.

The high proportion of underweight children is still a concern, although Sri Lanka is on track to achieve the target of halving the proportion by 2015.

The proportion of people consuming less than the minimum requirement of dietary energy has remained unchanged at around 50 percent since before the 1990s.

Sri Lanka has met the target for the proportion of people with access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

In meeting the target to 'Develop a Global Partnership for Development', Sri Lanka faces the challenge of reduced access to cheap and concessionary official development assistance (ODA) following the transition into middle-income country status.

"With a small, open economy that cannot rely on domestic demand alone, Sri Lanka must focus on export-led development to sustain economic growth. Healthy earnings from exports of goods and services are essential in insulating the economy from increasing exposure to external debt and in building up a large volume of non-borrowed official reserves," the MDG Report says.

Looking to the future, the report also highlights certain areas that require additional focus such as Women's Empowerment, Nutrition, Climate Change and Regional Disparities and these were discussed during a panel discussion on 'Priorities Moving Forward'.

The panel discussion took place with the participation of UNFPA Representative Mr. Alain Sibenaler , Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy Dr. Suren Batagoda , UNICEF Representative Ms. Una McCauley, Director, Nutrition Coordination Division, Ministry of Health Dr. Shanthi Goonewardena , and CEO, Viluthu Ms. Shanthi Sachithanandam.

Also during the event, a campaigned titled 'Our UN' was launched by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Chitranganee Wagiswara, and Mr. Subinay Nandy.

The year-long campaign carried out by the United Nations in close partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes and highlights the importance of the year 2015 in the global development sphere, as this year marks the 70th year since the UN was founded in 1945, and the 60th year since Sri Lanka became a Member State of the UN on 14 December 1955.

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The overarching aim of the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Sri Lanka for FY13-16 is to support Sri Lanka’s transition to a middle-income country. Key elements of this transition include boosting investment, including in human capital, realigning public spending and policy with the needs of a middle-income country, enhancing the role of the private sector, including the provision of an appropriate environment for increasing productivity and exports, and ensuring inclusive growth. At the time the CPS was presented to the Board of Executive Directors in May, 2012, it set out to contribute to achieving these goals through three areas of engagement:  (i) facilitating sustained private and public investment; (ii) supporting structural shifts in the economy; and (iii) improving living standards and social inclusion.

A CPS Progress Report prepared in FY14 provided an opportunity to review the country program and strategy together with the government, taking stock both of progress to date and the government’s evolving development needs and agenda. While the strategic objectives of the CPS were determined to remain relevant through FY16, the Progress Report proposed a refocusing of some activities as well as the addition of a fourth strategic area of engagement, namely increasing resilience to disasters and climate change, deemed central to Sri Lanka’s current development agenda and poverty reduction efforts. As the country shifts from reconstruction to addressing the challenges of development on a middle income trajectory, greater emphasis has been placed on facilitating and creating an enabling environment for increased foreign and domestic investment. At the same time, continued pockets of poverty highlight the need for renewed efforts to target development to the poor.

The World Bank Group (WBG) is currently preparing its Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Sri Lanka for the period 2017-2020. The CPF is a strategic document that describes the WBG’s program for supporting the achievement of the government’s development goals for the benefit of its citizens.  The CPF is defined jointly with the Government of Sri Lanka and it sets out the sectors in which the WBG will be involved, and the financing, technical assistance and knowledge that will be provided to Sri Lanka.

A Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) informed the process of developing the CPF for Sri Lanka.

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CONTEXT

Sri Lanka is a lower middle-income country with a total population of 20.8 million people and a per capita income of USD 3,912 in 2015. Following a 30 year civil war that ended in 2009, Sri Lanka’s economy has grown at an average 6.4 percent between 2010-2015, reflecting a peace dividend and a determined policy thrust towards reconstruction and growth. Sri Lanka’s economy transitioned from a previously predominantly rural-based agriculture economy towards a more urbanized economy driven by services. In 2015, the service sector accounted for 62.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), followed by manufacturing (28.9 percent), and agriculture (8.7 percent).  The country ranked 73rd in Human Development Index in 2014 and has comfortably surpassed most of the MDG targets set for 2015.

Strong economic growth in the last decade has led to improved shared prosperity and an important decline in poverty. Extreme poverty remains low, as the  $1.90 (PPP 2011) poverty rate fell half a percentage point, from 2.4 to 1.9 percent between 2009/10 and 2012/13. The real per capita consumption of the bottom 40 percent increased 2.2 percent annually between 2006/07 and 2012/13, and improved living standards are reflected in rising asset ownership,  declining shares of food consumption, and a rise in reported household per capita income among the poor. However, moderate poverty remains a challenge. In 2012/13, nearly 15 percent of the population lived on less than $3.10 per day. Pockets of poverty persist in the North, East, Estate Sector and Moneragala district where equality of opportunities in terms of access to services and linkages to the labor market are weaker.

As Sri Lanka aspires to become a higher middle-income country, it will need to adjust its development model. Growth in the last five years is in substantial part due to a “peace dividend”. Going forward, economic growth will likely require continued structural changes towards greater diversification and productivity increases and a reduction in the role of agricultural employment from its present share of a third of the population. Although Sri Lanka has excelled in overcoming human development challenges typical to a low-income country, its service delivery systems in education, health and other areas must now adjust to face new and changing demands typical of a middle income country. To accommodate these increasing demands, the government needs to increase fiscal revenues in the medium term, which at present is low vis-à-vis its own historical standards as well as international standards. Imperatives to improve social safety nets will increase owing to an aging population that has passed its demographic peak. Finally, increasing affluence and information will lead to higher expectations for the state to perform in order to facilitate growth, provide a higher level of services, and demonstrate increasing responsiveness to a more demanding citizenry.

Taking cognizance of the changing development priorities, the government policy statement presented in November 2016 envisioned promoting a globally competitive, export-led economy with an emphasis on inclusion. It identified generating one million job opportunities, enhancing income levels, development of rural economies and creating a wide and strong middle class as key policy priorities. The policy statement proposed reducing the fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2020. Also, it discussed far reaching reforms with a view to improve performance of the SOE sector and enhance trade and FDI.

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Speaking at the launch event, Hon. Dr. Harsha De Silva said: “The government of Sri Lanka understands the need in building bridges, in integrating our society, and in Sri Lanka being a country of Sri Lankans. I hope that we can make further progress in integrating the differences within communities. We have to ensure that in our market framework there is social goodwill and economic justice. That is what we mean by a social market economy.”

The Report, which was prepared by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, is a joint publication by the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations in Sri Lanka. Its findings show that Sri Lanka has performed well against the MDGs overall, having already achieved or being on-track to achieve the majority of the goals and indicators.

Highlighting Sri Lanka’s MDG performance, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Subinay Nandy, stated, “The findings in the report make a strong case for Sri Lanka to be a leading and credible actor in the global deliberations around the development agenda for post-2015. Sri Lanka’s long history of investment in health, education and poverty alleviation programmes, has translated into robust performance against the MDGs, and Sri Lanka has many lessons to share”.

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ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER

Target 1.A:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1.25 a day

The target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.

More than 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty since 1990.

In 1990, nearly half of the population in the developing regions lived on less than $1.25 a day. This rate dropped to 14 per cent in 2015.

At the global level more than 800 million people are still living in extreme poverty.

Target 1.B:
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

Globally, 300 million workers lived below the $1.25 a day poverty line in 2015.

The global employment-to-population ratio – the proportion of the working-age population that is employed – has fallen from 62 per cent in 1991 to 60 per cent in 2015, with an especially significant downturn during the global economic crisis of 2008/2009.

Only four in ten young women and men aged 15-24 are employed in 2015, compared with five in ten in 1991.

Target 1.C:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen by almost half since 1990.

Globally, about 795 million people are estimated to be undernourished.

More than 90 million children under age five are still undernourished and underweight.

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ERADICATING  POVERTY INFOMATION SRI LANKA

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ERADICATING  POVERTY INFOMATION SRI LANKA

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Poverty in Sri Lanka

From Wikipedia

Destitution in Sri Lanka keeps on being a substantial issue. Sri Lanka being an outstanding nation with its future, education rate and other social pointers almost keeping pace with those of created nations, and notwithstanding beating the rankings for the South Asia district. While all these demonstrate that Sri Lanka ought to encounter an exclusive expectation of living, up to this point it has just positioned in the medium classification of the Human Development Index (HDI). This is in spite of the way that Sri Lanka has been encountering moderate development in its GDP averaging 5.5 for each annum somewhere around 2006 and 2009.[2] One of the reasons is because of its generally low GDP per capita; right now positioned in the last 33% of the world.[2] This could be because of the issue of neediness, particularly, country destitution. The Sri Lankan government has been effective in lessening neediness from 15.2% in 2006 to 8.9% in 2010, urban destitution was diminished from 6.7 to 5.3% while rustic neediness was decreased from 15.7 to 9.5%, and the country has gained huge ground towards accomplishing Millennium Development Goals on annihilating great destitution and craving.

Starting 2010 0.2% of the populace lives beneath the destitution line.[4] This is proof that while intense neediness is no more an issue, neediness still stays boundless and keeps on being a testing issue in Sri Lanka. All the more worryingly however is the way that 90% of the poor live in provincial zones, with more than 99% of Sri Lanka's populace as yet living in rustic areas.But in 2013 it has demonstrated that the economy is developing more quickly than whatever other Asian nation

This highlights a connection between detachment from social and monetary base, urban communities and markets, and larger amounts of neediness incidence.[5] One clarification could be that it restricts these individuals from acquiring wage through off-homestead activities.[6] likewise, with more than 40 for each penny of the rustic destitute individuals being little agriculturists, their generation frameworks might be hampered by the typical suspects of divided landholdings, poor economies of scale, low venture levels coming about because of poor money related administrations and in addition unseemly or constrained technology.[6]

Development[edit]

In 2008, it was accounted for that a huge number of men from ruined towns were joining the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and Sri Lanka Police Service to escape country destitution, as the wages offered by the security benefits essentially raise the way of life for fighters and their families.[7]

With a specific end goal to diminish rustic neediness (and in this way destitution all in all), provincial improvement as far as base is imperative. The requirement for a superior street system and transport systemto join up the country ranges and also better credit offices to help in the speculations of new innovation and cultivating procedures are only a begin in guaranteeing that the rustic poor are not left behind.

While it is distinguished that advancement in the country ranges is urgent for destitution mitigation, the administration can't in any way, shape or form channel boundless assets into improvement arranges without requirements, ignoring potential improvements in urban regions, or all the more imperatively, not considering the condition of its general economy. In this way, the Sri Lankan government confronts a quandary of seeking after development that is impartial; attempting to advance financial development without leaving the poor in the provincial region behind.

Aside from government arrangements, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)help facilitate the circumstance as well. One of them is Sarvodaya. Sarvodaya is Sri Lanka's biggest NGO, which incorporates numerous other divisional units committed for various improvement ventures. Sarvodaya Economic Empowerment Development Services (SEEDS) started its operation as a different division in 1986 and now achieves 18 of Sri Lanka's 25 areas. SEEDS is in charge of building the financial limit of the poorest gatherings inside the groups. Its point is to fortify a demeanor of business enterprise, advancement, thrift and practical improvement in the country areas.[8]

In spite of the fact that SEEDS does not straightforwardly manage the absence of physical foundation in provincial zones, i.e. advancement arranges in building streets, spans, and so on., it has inhabited in provincial zones to be fiscally free and enhanced work, which thus diminishes country neediness. It trusts that through their guide, towns can get to be self administer and fit for serving their group's financial matters and social needs.,[9]

SEEDS gives sparing and credit administrations to beginning a little venture or to enhance employment and additionally non-monetary administrations, for example, business directing, preparing in specialized abilities and business sector information.[10] It utilizes the town managing an account microfinance model to help the rustic groups. Town saving money regards the entire group as one unit, and sets up semi-formal or formal foundations through which smaller scale fund is administered. The banks are controlled by their own particular individuals: they pick their individuals, choose their own officers, build up their own particular by-laws, appropriate advances to people, and gather installments and funds. Their advances are upheld, not by products or property, but rather by good insurance: the guarantee that the gathering remains behind every individual credit. Hence, this is a method for guaranteeing that every individual will be trained in setting aside to reimburse their own particular loans.[11] 86% of SEEDS recipients really had working smaller scale endeavors. Insights have demonstrated that 51% of SEEDS recipients indicated expanded incomes while 73% of them demonstrated expanded profits.[11]

There are 1,129,344 individuals in these town banks, out of which 60% of the individuals are females.[11] This in itself has engaged ladies as they are no more subject to others for their capital needs. They have all the more haggling force inside the family units and hence require not feel as shaky as some time recently. Also, they have an ensured and beyond any doubt access to capital along these lines evacuating instability and allowing a certain premise to stay in business and even extend. This is a noteworthy strengthening both socially and financially of these ladies, as this smaller scale fund model raise their level of profitability as well as permit ladies to add to family pay, prompting a general diminishment in destitution levels in the rustic regions. Other than monetary administrations, SEEDS has possessed the capacity to coordinate otherworldly recovery, social change and financial improvement. It has reestablished a man's feeling of pride and self-regard, and that of the town group. The prior sentiment embarrassment and of weakness vanishes with the aggregate sense that is generated.[10]