An overview of poverty in Africa: process of the poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) in sub-saharan Africa and the Ethiopian IPRSP
2001
Mohamed Musa
Over the last 50 years, the international financial institutions, led by the World Bank, have been prescribing different approaches and strategies for tackling poverty in developing countries. However, policy reforms have not resulted in economic growth and poverty reduction. Although some success stories of economic reforms and growth in different countries have been reported, poverty remains pervasive and continues to plague millions of people in most African countries, owing to unequal access to resources and institutional constraints. The preparation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) is the most recent policy tool designed by the World Bank and the IMF. This policy tool is designed under the HIPC initiative for debt relief and assistance to countries that are undergoing the World Bank and IMF supported policy and structural reforms. The results of the PRSP exercise are expected to contribute towards tackling poverty in the countries concerned. Unlike past policy tools, the process of the PRSP encourages the participation of the civil society, the private sector, donor agencies and development partners before being finalized and submitted to the Bank and the fund for approval. Ethiopia is one of the countries eligible for the preparation of PRSP to acquire the leverage of debt relief and assistance. This paper reviews the poverty situation is Sub Saharan Africa, with a special emphasis on Ethiopia, the policy and structural reforms undertaken and their impacts on poverty reduction. Then, the process of PRSP in general and the content of the Ethiopian Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP) are presented.
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