Africa > Uganda
This paper highlights that despite unprecedented gains in living standards in some countries over the past few decades, poverty continues as a harsh reality in too much of the developing world. The causes lie in part with poor country governments that have not followed through on the policies and programs needed to accelerate growth and eradicate poverty. But they also reflect the uneven record of development assistance and protectionist trade policies and agricultural subsidies in industrial countries, which have dampened profitable investment and growth in the developing world.
What better way to hone the effectiveness of a new approach to policymaking for poverty reduction than to take stock of experience with it and feed the lessons back into its design and implementation? The International Conference on Poverty Reduction Strategies during January 14–17 in Washington, D.C., sought to do just that, gathering 200 representatives from 60 countries to share their firsthand knowledge of poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs). Joining them were their development partners: representatives from international organizations, bilateral aid agencies, and civil society organizations from developed and developing countries. It is clear that the PRSP approach is still evolving, and that everyone involved is learning by doing. That is why, said IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler, “it is critical that we take this opportunity, two years into the process, to ask how it can be improved in light of the early experience.”
Abstract
This volume, edited by Michel A. Dessart and Roland E. Ubogu, records the presentations made and discussions held during the Inaugural Seminar of the Joint Africa Institute (JAI). The JAI was established in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, by the African Development Bank, the IMF, and the World Bank to meet the pressing training needs of the African continent. The participants discussed four main topics: the changing role of the state, governance, and new capacity requirements; the challenge of achieving macroeconomic stability in Africa; the requirement for capacity building in Africa; and the role of international financial institutions in capacity building in Africa. The seminar was held in November 1999, but the topics and recommendations of the seminar remain current and of particular importance today. The seminar was held in English and French, and both language versions are contained in this volume. 240 pp. 2001
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have acquired an impressive status in the past several years, both as powerful agents for reform and as tireless gadflies of officialdom. Have they, on balance, been a positive force for expanding global democracy or a threat to the established process of political representation? What should be their relationship to international financial institutions, such as the IMF?