[Search the site] [Français]

About SPC
Home
Who we are
Areas of Focus
Our People
Our Land
Our Sea
Our contact
spc@spc.int

SPC Headquarters:
BP D5, 98848
Noumea Cedex
95 Promenade Roger Laroque, Anse Vata
New Caledonia
Tel.: +687 26.20.00
Fax: +687 26.38.18

Suva Regional Office:
 Private Mail Bag,
Suva, Fiji Islands
Tel.: +679 337.07.33
Fax: +679 337.00.21

Last Updated:
3 February, 2006
© Copyright SPC

 

The Pacific Regional Poverty Programme

 

Providing regional skills and support for poverty analysis and the integration of poverty and hardship issues into national strategies and pro-poor budgeting.  

 

The Regional Poverty Programme brings additional capabilities to SPC in the fields of poverty and policy analysis, economic and strategic planning and participatory assessments. These skills are available to countries to assist them in strengthening their own capacities.

 

 

The development of the Programme was initiated by donors as means of improving co-ordination and cost-effectiveness in their approaches to identifying and addressing poverty in the Pacific region. A study was commissioned in 2002 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with funding from the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund to examine the feasibility and potential scope of the proposed multi-agency activity.

 

The study consulted extensively with stakeholders in the Pacific Island countries, development partners, and regional institutions to: 

(i) assess the feasibility of a poverty fund or programme; 
(ii) agree on essential procedures, location, and management structure; and
(iii) suggest types of activities the fund might undertake. 

Funding for technical assistance to establish and mobilise the Programme was provided from the ADB's Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund and the Cooperation Fund in Support of the Formulation and Implementation of National Poverty Reduction Strategies.

 Useful links:

  1. The Priorities of the People

  2. The National Strategies and a Framework for the Future

Poverty in the Pacific

 

Internationally poverty has commonly been measured and understood in terms of lack of income, hunger and destitution. But now there is almost universal agreement that its dimensions are far broader than this traditional definition.

 

Poverty is now seen as a lack of access to basic and essential services and to economic opportunities - the "Poverty of Opportunity" to have a reasonable standard of living . All people should have access to basic education and primary health services, they should also be able to provide for themselves and their families through fairly rewarded income earning activities. People should also have some protection from external shocks which might affect their well-being and livelihoods. Beyond income and basic services, however, individuals and societies also experience hardship and poverty - and tend to remain poor - if they have no say in decisions that shape their lives.

 

For these reasons poverty is better measured in much the broader terms of sustainable human development: lack of basic education and health care, poor nutrition, poor access to safe water and improved sanitation, lack of economic and employment opportunities, and lack of empowerment and participation. Such measurements also help to account for other important, but intangible, factors such as feelings of powerlessness and lack of freedom to participate. The lack of opportunities and the inability of individuals to realise their aspirations are key factors in causing social disharmony.

 

In the Pacific much is made of the strong traditional community based caring and sharing nature of society. This adds another dimension to the understanding of poverty in the Pacific context. Taking these various elements into account a Pacific definition of poverty and hardship has therefore been proposed. The importance of family, kinship, and customary obligations was chosen as a central feature of this definition.

 

Poverty = Hardship

An inadequate level of sustainable human development manifested by:

  • a lack of access to basic services such as primary health care, education, and potable water;

  • a lack of opportunities to participate fully in the socio-economic life of the community;

  • a lack of adequate resources (including cash) to meet the basic needs of the household or the customary obligations to the extended family, village community, and/or the church.

 

For further information, please contact:

  • David Abbott, Poverty Specialist and Development Economist.

David has more than 25 years of experience working in the region and has been responsible for the preparation of eight of the country poverty assessments.

  • A Social Development Analyst and Participatory Poverty Assessment Specialist will be appointed soon.