Guiuan Mayor Speaks at the 2017 ADB Annual Meeting in Japan

Please click this link to go to the original (source article) at the ADB website:
Building Prosperity in a Changing Asia and the Pacific—Future Role of the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction | Asian Development Bank:




Seminar Summary

For 17 years, the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) has uniquely contributed to poverty reduction and socioeconomic development through project grants and technical assistance. The Government of Japan has contributed $788 million for almost 400 projects in 32 ADB developing member countries (DMCs). The seminar shared how JFPR helped the most vulnerable groups living in poverty, and discussed the fund’s future direction.

In his opening, Masashi Tanabe highlighted 3 key features of JFPR: targeting underserved and the most vulnerable people; support for a wide range of sectors and themes; and great emphasis on innovative and catalytic approaches. A presentation of results from the ongoing JFPR evaluation highlighted two additional features: community-centered approaches, and complementarity with ADB loans.

A panel—comprising representatives from academia, local government, civil society, and a project implementing agency—emphasized JFPR’s direct, lasting support to people as its unique strength and comparative advantage. Examples discussed included the restoration of livelihoods to Filipino people affected by the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan. In Mongolia, JFPR was instrumental in creating an innovative Medicard program that ensured free health services and medicines for the poorest and most vulnerable during the financial crisis, in addition to securing nutrition through a food stamp program. In Bhutan JFPR helped establish effective partnerships between government, NGOs, and private sector to empower vulnerable women and girls.

The panel concluded that JFPR remains as relevant as ever for tackling current and emerging development challenges, recommending a focus on resilience, climate change, and aging society, in the context of transition to middle income country status. Scalability of innovative approaches should be further entrenched by securing government ownership, integration with national programs, partnering with donors, and systematic attention to dovetailing JFPR with other ADB operations. There is a wealth of knowledge that can be systematically harvested from JFPR operations and shared across DMCs.

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