ADB Tips Citizens On Fighting Poverty

from All Africa

New Times (Kigali)
NEWS
17 August 2007
Posted to the web 17 August 2007

By Frank Namara
Kigali

African Development Bank (ADB) experts are training Rwandans on ways to fight poverty among households. ADB is an institution fostering economic growth and social progress in Africa.

Its goal is to reduce poverty and improve living standards. The training comes at backdrop a recent UN National Human Development Report on Rwanda recommended that achieving Millennium Development Goals partly requires to break with the "business as usual" approach to development assistance. Meaning more effort and resources must be invested in the fight against poverty. ADB experts believe involving stakeholders in development initiatives and decision making is one of the ways the people will own the projects. ADB's Jacob Mukete said, "The workshop was to strengthen the capacity of participants in mainstreaming cross-cutting issues into design and implementation of policies, projects and programmes for poverty reduction." He said, "it is our (ADB) hope that participants will put into practice experiences gained during this workshop to enhance implementation processes in their respective projects and programmes.We also hope that there will be significant improvement in stakeholder participation in project activities"

At least 22 participants attended the workshop, including National Project Coordinators, government officials from line ministries and civil society organisations participating in the implementation of bank supported projects. ADB started its operations in Rwanda in 1974, and its cumulative commitment in country to date, stands at $ 637.5 million. It mobilises resources and provides financial and technical assistance for development projects and programmes in Africa. The UN's report (Human Development ) recommends a partnership from aid to national development strategies and the link from public spending to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This should target the most vulnerable in society to bridge the two missing links of development assistance in Rwanda.