The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is realigning its operations toemphasize inclusiveness, build resilience, and strengthen support formiddle-income countries, according to a midterm review report of itsStrategy 2020, ADB’s long-term strategic framework.
“The Asia-Pacific region is changing fast - and so must ADB,” ADB President Takehiko Nakao said in a press release on April 24.
Theregion continues to face a huge poverty challenge. More than 700million people live below the extreme poverty line of 1.25 USD per day.The report shows that extreme poverty in the region can be eliminated by2025.
However, this may not be enough. Poverty in Asia and thePacific is understated on the current poverty threshold of 1.25 USD perday, Nakao noted, emphasizing that this threshold is too low for poorpopulations in the region to subsist.
More than 1.6 billionpeople live on less than 2 USD a day and are highly vulnerable to jobloss, health problems, prolonged recession, inflation, crop failure, andenvironmental dangers. Inequalities within and between countries in theregion are also increasing, according to the Manila-based financialinstitution.
At the same time, a majority of ADB’s 45 developingmember countries are already middle-income countries. All but two ofthem are expected to reach middle-income status by 2020.
“Thechallenge for ADB is to help developing member countries eradicateremaining poverty, support greater inclusiveness to addressinequalities, and become more relevant and effective in middle-incomecountries,” said Nakao.
The report, approved by ADB's Board ofDirectors on April 23, identifies 10 strategic priorities. The firstseven priorities seek to sharpen and rebalance ADB operations andstrengthen responsiveness to the changing business environment. Theremaining three aim to increase ADB’s capacity and effectiveness.
Thereport reconfirms that ADB will continue to focus on infrastructuredevelopment, as infrastructure plays a critical role in reducing povertyand promoting inclusive growth. ADB will also double its investments inhealth and education, sectors that enable better access toopportunities for all.
Middle-income countries will need tobecome more innovative and raise their productivity to avoidmiddle-income traps. To better serve its client countries, ADB itselfhas to become more innovative, Nakao added.
The report outlinesADB’s new approaches in mobilizing resources, simplifying processes,strengthening staff skills, and using information and communicationstechnology.-VNA