PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1 st MEETING OF THE COMCEC POVERTY ALLEVIATION WORKING GROUP

Transcription

1 Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1 st MEETING OF THE COMCEC POVERTY ALLEVIATION WORKING GROUP Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries: Improving Human Capital COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE June 2013

2 Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1 st MEETING OF THE COMCEC POVERTY ALLEVIATION WORKING GROUP ON ENHANCING PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF THE POOR IN THE COMCEC MEMBER COUNTRIES: IMPROVING HUMAN CAPITAL (June 27 th, 2013, Ankara, Turkey) COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE June 2013

3 For further information please contact: Mr. Mehmet FİDAN Expert Mr. Mehmet Akif ALANBAY Expert COMCEC Coordination Office Necatibey Caddesi No: 110/A Yücetepe Ankara/TURKEY Phone : Fax : Web : comcec@comcec.org mfidan@comcec.org malanbay@comcec.org

4 Table of Contents Introduction Opening Session The COMCEC Strategy and Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger in the Member Countries The COMCEC Strategy on Poverty Alleviation Outlook of Poverty in the COMCEC Region Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries: Improving Human Capital Analytical Study on "Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in thecomcec Member Countries: Improving Human Capital" Questions and Answers The Role of NGOs and International Development Institutions in EnhancingProductive Capacity of the Poor Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) The Vocational Education and Training Programme (OIC-VET) Experiences of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) in the COMCEC Region Member State Presentations Azerbaijan Cameroon Egypt Gambia Indonesia Suriname Turkey Brainstorming Session: The Ways and Means of Enhancing Cooperation Among the COMCEC Member Countries for Increasing Productive Capacity of the Poor Through Improving Human Capital The Way Forward: Utilizing the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Closing Remarks Annex 1: Agenda of the Meeting Annex 2: Programme of the Meeting Annex 3: Possible Questions for Brainstorming Session Annex 4: List of Participants... 35

5 Introduction The First Meeting of the l Poverty Alleviation Working Group was held on June 27th, 2013 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries: Improving Human Capital. The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 13 Member States, which have previously notified their focal points for the Poverty Alleviation Working Group namely, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Gambia, Indonesia, Jordan, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Suriname and Turkey. The representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) and some other guests also attended the Meeting. During the Meeting, the representatives of the COMCEC Coordination Office briefed the participants about the COMCEC Strategy on Poverty Alleviation and the Poverty Outlook in the COMCEC Member States. The COMCEC Strategy defines Poverty Alleviation as one of the six cooperation areas of the COMCEC. The Poverty Alleviation Working Group, being one of the implementation instruments of the COMCEC Strategy aims at bringing together the technical experts from the Member States for exchanging experiences, disseminating knowledge and developing common understanding on the important issues. The Meeting discussed enhancing productive capacity of the poor through improving human capital and the Study namely Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries: Improving Human Capital which is considered as a valuable reference document for enhancing productive capacity of the poor in the Member Countries. Representatives of some of the Member States also made presentations on their experience in enhancing productive capacity through improving human capital. The presentations depicted the relevant laws, institutions, success stories and challenges in increasing productive capacity of the poor in the concerned Member States. The Meeting also provided the opportunity to the representatives from the international/non-governmental organizations to share their experiences on the implementation of programs/projects aiming at augmenting productive capacity. The presentations and deliberations made during the meeting highlighted the fact that, increasing productivity and the role of agriculture sector especially stronger extension programs are crucial. Social safety net programs and conditional cash transfers are also important means for poverty reduction. They also noted that, supporting labour intensive sectors is important to help employment creation. Another significant point is the fact that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) need to be given high priority with a greater involvement of the private sector in the process. Furthermore, reducing the number of poor people should be on the basis of the national poverty level definitions and national conditions for poverty. 1

6 1. Opening Session The Meeting was inaugurated with a recitation from the Holy Quran. At the outset, Mr. Mehmet Metin EKER, Director General of the COMCEC Coordination Office briefed the participants on the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC). COMCEC is the responsible platform within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for enhancing economic and commercial cooperation among its 57 Member States. COMCEC meets annually at ministerial level under the chairmanship of the Turkish President in İstanbul to review the cooperation efforts and adopts resolutions for enhancing cooperation. In his Statement, Mr. EKER gave background information on the COMCEC Strategy and the establishment of the Working Groups. He underlined the importance of the COMCEC Strategy which envisages a member driven COMCEC and establishes the working Groups in the cooperation areas aiming at bringing together the relevant experts from the Member States regularly together to exchange experiences, achievements, best practices and to consider obstacles. He also added that, the COMCEC Project Cycle Management, the second implementation instrument of the Strategy presents clearly identified procedures and financial framework for implementation of the projects developed by the Member States to serve reaching the objectives of the Strategy. Afterwards, he mentioned the rationale of establishing poverty alleviation working group. He stated that despite rapid economic growth in many member countries, poverty still remains as a crucial problem in these countries agenda. Economic growth itself is not enough for development and poverty, in addition to its economic dimension has various social, cultural, political aspects. It deserves much more attention and energy by all the related parties. Lastly, Mr. EKER introduced the programme of the Meeting and expressed his wishes for successful deliberations. In accordance with the traditions of the OIC, Head of Delegation of the host country, Mr. Ercüment IŞIK, Advisor to the Minister of Family and Social Policies of the Republic of Turkey, was elected as the chairman of the Meeting. Mr. IŞIK welcomed the participants to the First Meeting of the COMCEC Poverty Alleviation Working Group and expressed his thanks for electing him as the chairman. He expressed his gratitude to the COMCEC for establishing the Poverty Alleviation Working Group which will bring the relevant experts from the Member States. 2. The COMCEC Strategy and Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger in the Member Countries 2.1. The COMCEC Strategy on Poverty Alleviation Mr. Selçuk KOÇ, Director of the COMCEC Coordination Office made a presentation on the COMCEC Strategy particularly focusing on its poverty alleviation section. 2

7 In his presentation, Mr. KOÇ first briefed the participants on the COMCEC Strategy, namely its background, mission and vision, principles and cooperation areas. Secondly, he highlighted some common challenges faced by the Member Countries in the area of poverty alleviation and how the Strategy would address them. Lastly, he mentioned the implementation mechanism introduced by the COMCEC Strategy. Mr. KOÇ informed the participants that the COMCEC Strategy has been built on three principles namely Enhancing Mobility, Strengthening Solidarity and Improving Governance. These principles addressed the core and persistent challenges of the Islamic World and guided the COMCEC efforts in six cooperation areas defined by the COMCEC Strategy, namely trade, transport and communications, tourism, agriculture, poverty alleviation and finance. Mr. KOÇ highlighted some major challenges in the field of the poverty alleviation in the COMCEC region. These are: Lack of Institutional and Human Capacity Lack of Efficiency, Transparency and Accountability in Public Services Lack of Aid Effectiveness Lack of Absorption Capacity of Aid Recipient Members Neglect of Vulnerable Groups Adverse Effects of Global Food and Finance Crises Underdeveloped Agriculture Sector and Unfavorable Global Trade Conditions Conflicts and Disaster-related Challenges Lack of Accurate and Reliable Data for Monitoring Poverty He also mentioned that the COMCEC Strategy will address these challenges through its guiding principles, strategic objectives as well as output areas. It was underlined that the Strategic Objective defined by the COMCEC Strategy was "Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger in the member countries." Mr. KOÇ stated that in order to achieve this Strategic Objective, Strategy envisages four output areas namely, Aid Effectiveness, Productive Capacity of the Poor, Effective Utilization of Financial Resources and Monitoring Poverty. Lastly, Mr. KOÇ informed the participants on the new instruments introduced by the COMCEC Strategy to achieve its strategic objective on poverty alleviation. He stated that as one of the instruments of the Strategy for its implementation, Poverty Alleviation Working Group will convene at least twice a year in Ankara with the participation of relevant experts from the voluntary Member Countries with a view to producing and disseminating knowledge, sharing experience and good practices, creating a common understanding and approximating policies among the member countries. Moreover, Mr. KOÇ stated that the Member Countries which have registered to the Poverty Alleviation Working Group can propose multilateral cooperation projects in the field of poverty alleviation under the new Project Cycle Management (PCM) mechanism which is the second instrument envisaged by the Strategy. 3

8 2.2. Outlook of Poverty in the COMCEC Region Ms. Hande HACIMAHMUTOĞLU, Expert of the COMCEC Coordination Office has presented some of the key findings of the COMCEC Poverty Outlook 2013, prepared by herself on behalf of the COMCEC Coordination Office. In her presentation, Ms. HACIMAHMUTOGLU focused on the concept of poverty, the state of poverty in the world and in the COMCEC Region, the global efforts on poverty alleviation and the efforts on poverty alleviation in the COMCEC Region. With regards to poverty, Ms. HACIMAHMUTOĞLU stated that since the perception of poverty might change depending on the time and the place, it is needed to use a certain method to investigate the situation of poverty. In this regard, she briefly explained the very frequently used methods both in monetary and non-monetary terms, and she mentioned that in the poverty outlook, for the monetary terms US$1.25 a day poverty line and as for the non-monetary terms the Human Development Index, the Multidimensional Poverty Index and its indicators have been utilized in order to analyze the state of poverty. In her presentation, she shared some figures that she had developed by using the data from the World Bank and the UNDP to reveal the state of poverty in the World and in the COMCEC Region. She demonstrated the similarity between the progress of the monetary and the non-monetary poverty indicators. Related to the global poverty situation, she explained poverty headcount ratios at US$1.25 a day (PPP) and the income levels of the different types of human development. As for the COMCEC Region, she explained GDP per capita PPP of some COMCEC countries, the share of the low income COMCEC Countries total GDP in COMCEC Regions total GDP, share of Human Development categories among the COMCEC member countries, Multi Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) values of the COMCEC member countries and Global Hunger Index values for some of the COMCEC member countries. Giving the figures related to global poverty situation, Ms. HACIMAHMUTOĞLU indicated that, for the period of , poverty levels decreased both in monetary and non-monetary terms for most of the countries. Afterwards, elaborating the above-mentioned indicators for the three sub-regions of COMCEC region, she demonstrated that monetary and non-monetary poverty situations vary significantly between the Arab, the African and the Asian regions, while the most serious poverty situation exists in the African region. Ms. HACIMAHMUTOĞLU explicated the most prevalent two perspectives in poverty alleviations efforts, namely pro-poor growth and human development approach. She briefly defined that pro-poor growth refers to creating the conditions for the poor to enable their participation in the growth process, and remove the obstacles on this process. On the other hand, human development approach relies on a view that poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon that is less responsive to quick-fix solutions. As the major programs and the strategies toward poverty alleviation, she enumerated the Millennium Development Goals, poverty Reduction Strategies of the World Bank and the IMF, Social Protection and Labour Strategy, the Comprehensive Development Framework, official Development Assistance and micro-finance activities. Regarding the strategies and the programmes on poverty alleviation in the COMCEC region, she briefly explained the COMCEC Strategy, Ten-Year Programme of Action, Islamic Solidarity Fund 4

9 for Development and Special Programme for Development of Africa, OIC Cotton Programme and Vocational Education and Training Programme. Underlining the gradually increasing efforts on poverty alleviation in the COMCEC Region, Ms. HACIMAHMUTOĞLU summarized some important remarks related to poverty alleviation in the region as follows: Poverty is devastating for a significant number of COMCEC countries Poverty has irreversible effects on the children, since child poverty leads to a vicious cycle of poverty The poor have low skills and very low labour productivity Efforts towards reducing poverty in the COMCEC region should focus on the regional and national disparities To conclude, Ms. HACIMAHMUTOĞLU stated that, poverty alleviation is going to be an outstanding issue on the COMCEC s agenda that will be worked on in the days ahead. 3. Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries: Improving Human Capital 3.1. Analytical Study on "Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries: Improving Human Capital" Mr. Gregory MCTAGGART, Consultant made a presentation on the analytical study titled Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries through Improving Human Capital commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Turkey. In his presentation, Mr. MCTAGGART mainly focused on the key areas concerning improvement of the human capital namely, economic situation, poverty, education, health, labour market, SME s and micro-business, social safety nets and equality. At the beginning of his presentation, Mr. MCTAGGART emphasized the multi-dimensional characteristic of the poverty, COMCEC efforts for reducing poverty and outlook of the poverty headcount in the world. Mr. MCTAGGART stated that poverty is multi-dimensional phenomena in many terms: Deprivation in well-being such as inadequate income and education, poor health, insecurity and low level of self-confidence, Inequality and vulnerability showing person s current economic status relative to others, Addresses the future risk of falling into poverty due to economic shocks, drought and crisis, even if not necessarily poor at present, Poverty has a strong negative impact on productivity and employability. In this context, Mr. MCTAGGART mentioned that rapid and sustainable economic growth is key to success. However, the crucial point is that economic growth is not enough to take people out of poverty. Economic growth will not help us in alleviating poverty unless it is socially inclusive. And much of economic growth in the COMCEC region has not been socially inclusive. He further stated that taking into consideration the role of employment policies in poverty reduction 5

10 supporting labour intensive sectors will help reducing poverty by employment creation. Keeping in mind the role of agriculture in economies of the COMCEC Member Countries, Mr. MCTAGGART underlined that agriculture is a critical source of income for many member countries. However, low agricultural productivity absorbs many workers but generates limited income. Thus, improving agricultural productivity will provide additional income so the people can send their children to school, improve nutrition and reduce health risks. Further, better extension services and more productive agriculture are prerequisite for an improved agriculture sector. Underlining the role of economic growth in alleviating poverty, Mr. MCTAGGART mentioned on the economic development in the COMCEC region by the regional groups. In this connection he informed that COMCEC Asian region countries economic growth has slowed due to global economic crisis. We have witnessed the same situation in African region, economic growth slowing down due to recent economic/financial crisis. On the other hand, despite financial crisis, the economic growth in Arab region is above world average. However, there is a wide diversity among Arab region countries. Mr. MCTAGGART continued his presentation by explaining the role of education in taking people out of poverty. In his presentation Mr. MCTAGGART emphasized that education is one of the most critical aspect of taking people out of poverty by improving human capacity. Because in many cases if a person have not got education, he/she is going to find very hard to get a job. Mentioning the role of education in alleviating poverty, he informed that the percentage of GDP spend on education varies widely among the COMCEC member countries. The quality of education varies widely as well. Regarding education, Mr. MCTAGGART underlined that education spending does not depend on the economic power of the country. For instance, some extremely wealthy COMCEC member countries spend only a small proportion on education. On the other hand, some poor member countries spend a large proportion of their GDP on education. Mentioning the importance of Technical and vocational education and training (TVET), he stated that education systems in many countries are no longer relevant to the labour market. In COMCEC member countries there are either inappropriate TVET or it does not exist. Thus, there is a need to prioritize TVET. Another key issue that has been highlighted by Mr. MCTAGGART is health. Health is always a key issue in terms of improving human capital. Access to healthy environments, health care providers and facilities contribute to reduced poverty and improved human capacity. GDP spent on healthcare range from 0.9 to 6% (world average 10.1%) in Asian region, from 1.9% to 8.4% in Arab region and from 1.9% to 8% in African region. Underlining that employment is a key to moving people out of poverty, Mr. MCTAGGART stated that to create jobs, member countries need to have a well-functioning labour market and particularly a business-friendly regulatory environment to facilitate employment. In this connection, insufficiently skilled employees are seen as major obstacle to business activity. Another big problem is informal economy. High portion of economic activity and the labor force is outside government control and its economic and social policies. Managing informality is a challenge almost in all member countries. Therefore, it is needed to encourage informal economies to provide enticement to their workers. On the other hand, you should not put too much burden on them that they go even further into informal economies and they totally run away. 6

11 In his presentation, Mr. MCTAGGART mentioned that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-business have provided the engine of the growth in many countries all around the world. In some countries the percentage of enterprises that described as SMEs is around percent of all business around the countries. However, the SME sector is underdeveloped in many countries. Thus, it needs support policies. In this regard, governments have a central role to play in making it easier for SMEs to flourish and enabling business environment for SMEs activities. Access to finance is one of the main problems SMEs faced in many member countries. Continuing his presentation he stated that social safety nets (SSN) are central to poverty reduction and there is growing evidence that social safety positively impact poverty. Further, they help poor people meet their basic needs, including food, healthcare and education. And conditional cash transfer is most well-known modality. Social Safety Nets (SSN) are mostly works for human capital, particularly education and health. The problem in social safety nets is that they are often hard to manage. In Asian region, several member countries after the global financial crisis are considering expanding their social safety net programs. In Arab region, nongovernmental social safety nets and private income redistribution (zakat) are more efficient than official state-owned networks in delivering aid to those who need it the most. And lastly in Africa region, social safety nets through cash transfers are working well in many countries. Before concluding his presentation Mr. MCTAGGART highlighted some key issues and requirements for alleviating poverty in the COMCEC member countries: Economic growth is a must, but not sufficient alone. Countries which prioritize social development boost access to basic education, health, and employment and cover the population against disasters directly enhance individual welfare and achieve higher average incomes over the long term. Agriculture is significant in poverty alleviation. There is a need for increased productivity and stronger extension programs in this sector. Support to labour intensive sectors help employment creation. Countries with rich natural resources need to develop other sectors, which can absorb higher labour force. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) needs a high priority and greater involvement of the private sector Increased investments in health, particularly primary health services with easier access for poor. Equal access to all levels of education is key as well as the quality. The education level of parents has a direct impact on the education levels of the children, hence their employability. Access to finance is a challenge for all, but more for the poor. Alternative mechanisms can work. Safety nets are key to protecting the poor against risks of poverty. Very good modalities link with health and education services, well known conditional cash transfers. But there is a need for good targeting. Managing informal sector is important. 7

12 3.2. Questions and Answers Following presentations, the participants raised their questions. Some of them are given below. Q: Social Safety Net Programs and Conditional Cash Transfers are basic policy instruments that have been used in reducing poverty. What are your opinions on these instruments? A: I myself support the Conditional Cash Transfer. If a country does not have social safety net program/protection system, it would be better to use conditional cash transfer basis. For instance, to provide sustainability in attending schools you can have a criterion that how many days they have to attend school to get cash transfer. If they do not attend 20 percent of all classes given in an education season, the benefits provided by the State will withhold. Q: In your analytical study COMCEC member Countries were classified under three groups. Does it help your analysis? Do you think the grouping can be based on HDI, GDP, etc.? A: Regions are mentioned in the report are three OIC Groups, in all OIC foras this grouping is used. It is a geographical one and not helps us in our analysis. This grouping created problems for us to make analyses. We have to re-group the countries since enormous differences exist in this grouping. Reducing the number of poor people should be on the basis of the national poverty level definitions and national conditions for poverty. Q: How do you consider the role of the agriculture sector and rural development in reducing poverty? A: Agricultural productivity should be increased. Agriculture sector will need young labour force. Regarding this issue the programs should focus on agriculture and rural development. Access to the market in many countries is a problem not only for rural areas but it is also a problem for the whole agriculture sector. 4. The Role of NGOs and International Development Institutions in Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor 4.1. Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) Dr. Azhari Gasim AHMED, Lead Economist at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) made a presentation on a special program, namely ISFD, developed to fight with poverty in the OIC member Countries. Dr. AHMED commenced his presentation by informing the participants about the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD). The Fund has been established in the form of a Waqf (i.e. Trust), with a principal target capital of US$10 billion. As of 27 June 2013, the level of announced capital contributions to the ISFD stands at US$2.68 billion, announced by 44 member countries (US$1.68 billion) and the IDB (US$1.0 billion). In his presentation Dr. AHMED stated that the Fund is dedicated to reducing poverty in the IDB member countries by promoting pro-poor growth, emphasizing human development, especially improvements in health care and education, and providing financial support to enhance the productive capacity and sustainable means of income for the poor, including financing employment opportunities, providing market outlets especially for the rural poor, and 8

13 improving basic rural and peri-urban infrastructure. He pointed out that these objectives are linked directly to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and are also in line with the IDB 2020 Vision. The financing of the Fund is provided on concessional terms, primarily for the 28 least developed member countries of the IDB. Continuing his presentation Dr. AHMED informed the participants about the thematic programs of the ISFD. Two thematic programs have been emphasized by the ISFD for implementation for poverty reduction: Vocational Literacy Program (VOLIP) and Microfinance Support Program (MFSP). He emphasized that the ratio of the mark-up of the credits is 0.75% per year. The total cost of each of these two programs is estimated at US$500 million over a five-year period. The amount is divided evenly over the five year period i.e. US$100.0 million annually. These programs are targeting mainly women and people living in the rural areas. Although these programs are formed separately, they are in fact going together during the implementation. Dr. AHMED gave some information about Sustainable Villages Program (SVP). The ISFD has launched this program in May 2011 to be initially implemented in six countries in Africa over the first three years of its initiation. The program, which is partially inspired by the UN Millennium Villages Project (MVP), is aimed to offer a multi-sector, integrated model of development for addressing extreme poverty among the rural communities. Two SVPs have already been launched in Chad and in West Darfur in Sudan. The amount approved for the program is US$120 million (an average of US$20.0 million per project). The Fund is currently working on the next batch of countries in the program, including Kyrgyzstan and Mozambique. The program will be implemented in collaboration with the Earth Institute of the University of Columbia, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Centre in Nairobi, Arab Bank for Development in Africa (BADEA), Qatar Red Crescent, and other partners. Before concluding his presentation Dr. AHMED talked about some other projects/programs under the framework of ISFD. As of the end of 2012, the ISFD has approved 44 projects and programs with direct funding from its income, in addition to co-financing from IDB, governments and other financiers. The cumulative project cost of these projects is estimated at US$1.55 billion. The Fund contribution to these programs is US$232.6 million, while the remaining amount of US$1.32 billion was leveraged from the IDB, national governments and other financiers The Vocational Education and Training Programme (OIC-VET) At the outset, Mr. Efe Kerem AYDIN from the Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) briefed the delegates on the state of poverty in OIC Countries. The state of OIC in poverty would be summarized as 31% of OIC total population are still living below the income poverty threshold of 1.25$ a day by remaining quite above the world average of 14% and developing countries average of 17% during the period under consideration. According to the 2012 UNDP Human Development Index, 24 OIC member countries (out of a total of 46 countries) are placed in the category of Low Human Development countries. He mentioned on OIC-VET which is implemented under the umbrella of SESRIC. OIC-VET is a programme originally designed and developed by SESRIC in order to improve the quality of vocational education and training in the public and private sectors with the aim of supporting 9

14 and enhancing the opportunities for individuals in the Member Countries to develop their knowledge and skills and thus to contribute to the development and competitiveness of the economies and to facilitate the sharing of knowledge between OIC Member Countries. While explaining the OIC-VET Capacity Building Programmes (CaB), Mr. AYDIN demonstrated some pictures from the meetings/trainings/seminars etc. These programs are as follows: Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme for National Statistical Organisations OIC Agriculture Capacity Building Programme (OIC-AgriCaB) OIC Cotton Training Programme (OIC-CTP) Environment Capacity Building (Environment-CaB) Water Resources Management Capacity Building Programme (Water-CaB) Capacity Building Programme for Central Banks (CB-CaB) Competition Authorities Capacity Building Programme (CA-CaB) Treasury Capacity Building Programme (T-CaB) IbnSina Programme for Health Capacity Building (IbnSina-HCaB) Information and Communications Technology Capacity Building Programme (ICT-CaB) OIC Postal Services Capacity Building Programme (OIC-PSCaB) Occupational Safety and Health Capacity Building (OSHCaB) Programme Peace and Security Capacity Building (OIC-PaSCaB) Programme Continuing his presentation Mr. AYDIN informed the participants about A Master Trainer Programme (IMTP) that SESRIC implemented in cooperation with the Centre for Art and Vocational Training Courses of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (ISMEK) as a joint programme between SESRIC and (İSMEK). The programme provides training courses to master trainers in various institutions in OIC Member Countries, under nine different categories. Mr. AYDIN also stated that OIC Network for Occupational Safety and Health (OIC-OSHNET). OIC- OSHNET is a transnational networks project under the framework of OIC-VET. The vision of the project is to establish an international network for systematic sharing of information and experience in occupational safety and health issues among professionals, to build public awareness of occupational safety and health in OIC Member Countries. Skill Development for Youth Employment (SDYE) was another activity that Mr. AYDIN mentioned. SDYE was organised in The main objectives are to develop and coordinate a mechanism in transferring the knowledge and experience of the OIC Member Countries and to take further steps towards enhancing cooperation in combating unemployment. Before concluding his presentation Mr. AYDIN informed the participants about the OIC International Student Internship Programme. OIC-ISIP is a special international internship programme aiming to enhance the quality of workforce employed in OIC Member Countries and strengthen integrity and convergence of labour markets, and promote competitiveness of OIC economies through increasing knowledge and skills of university students about to enter into the labour market Experiences of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) in the COMCEC Region Mr. Serhat ORAKÇI, Director of Africa, IHH Foundation made a presentation on their experiences on alleviating poverty. Mr. ORAKÇI commenced his words by introducing the Foundation for 10

15 Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH). Establishment of the IHH backs to the Bosnia war in 1992 and since that time it has been providing aid to neglected communities and vulnerable groups. The Foundation has been currently working more than 100 countries all over the world. It conducts its activities through regional offices and partner organizations. IHH runs poor-oriented programs and reaches poor through emergency humanitarian aid, development aid and advocacy activities. In his presentation, Mr. ORAKÇI focused on the role of NGOs on development. He informed that since 1970s, NGOs have played increasingly prominent role in development of societies and poverty reduction activities. Number and size of registered NGOs showed rapid growth in recent years. For instance, while Tanzania had only 41 registered NGOs in 1990 the country has more than registered NGOs today. Mr. ORAKÇI stated that NGOs are main service providers where the government is unable to fulfill its role such as the case in Somalia. Then he added that, as a development alternative, NGOs are also offering innovative and people-centered approaches to service delivery, advocacy and empowerment. Continuing his presentation Mr. ORAKÇI shared IHH s experiences regarding the Sub-Saharan Africa. The region displays the lowest indicators of economic and socio-economic development. Sub-Saharan Africa is hit by extreme poverty, human resources weakness, brain drain and economic vulnerability. The proportion of the poor in the region is 47% and 50 % of Africa who is mostly rural and they have either no access to electricity or have very limited access. High unemployment rates in the region have negative effects on people. Local and international NGOs are important players in development of the region. Economies of the region have been showing great improvement, growth rates in last decade have been over the world average. However, some negative reasons such as corruption, unequal distribution of income, miss-management of sources cause poverty to remain. He highlighted the importance of human capacity and stated that human capacity is the key factor in development efforts. Effectiveness and efficiency of poverty eradicating projects depend highly on human factor. Since IHH is working with local NGOs, the foundation have paid special attention to increase human capacity. Mr. ORAKÇI informed the participants about IHH activities in Sub-Saharan Africa and some projects and experiences in the region. The foundation is operating various skill/vocational or technical training programs, improving education services, promoting small-scale farming, running local NGO capacity building programs, and supporting local media. As an example to the skill/vocational or technical training programs he demonstrated some pictures from Africa Cataract Project of IHH. IHH is running in various countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger. He continued by explaining the objectives of the project: to help poor with free eye surgery, to train local surgeons and rehabilitate eye hospitals. By providing free eye surgery for poor, the project contributes to local labour markets. People with eye problems usually drop from labour market and live dependent on their relatives. After re-gaining sight patients are able to start working and providing income to their families and they become independent again. The project has direct impact on blinds. Training program in the project provide chance for surgeons to share experiences. 11

16 Then he gave another example of vocational training in Burkina Faso. Since unemployment rate is high in Burkina Faso, activities to make people gain some skills in order to have a job come into prominence. Burkina Faso tailoring course for jobless women has been targeting to generate income for families and empower housewives. And he showed some pictures from the program. When it comes to small-scale farming, Mr. Orakçı informed the delegates about their courses related to farming in Africa. Since 50 % of the total population in Africa live in rural and they depend on agriculture. The activities aim to teach better farming in poor conditions. IHH is implementing small-scale farming courses in Somalia, Chad, Sudan, and Gambia. Farming activities promote income generation and create jobs. The courses under the program give technical information and trainees cultivate vegetables while they work in implementation garden. Another objective of the farming program is enhancing resilience to climate change. Mr. ORAKÇI mentioned that capacity building is a long term operation which requires strict monitoring and evaluation. Activities in the program provide organizational and financial support for local African NGOs. IHH has been transferring knowledge, sharing experience and serving people through its network with various local NGOs. Through periodic seminars and discussions, IHH staffs train local NGOs staffs. Before concluding his presentation, Mr. ORAKÇI underlined the importance of mass media as a tool to convey messages, create awareness and reach neglected groups. For that reason IHH has been providing financial support to a couple of programs in local radio stations. 5. Member State Presentations 5.1. Azerbaijan Mr. Kanan ISGANDAROV, Advisor in Ministry of Economic Development made a presentation on experiences of Azerbaijan on alleviating poverty. In his presentation, Mr. ISGANDAROV firstly stated that Republic of Azerbaijan adhered to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and then he briefed the participants regarding the MDGs and what Azerbaijan did for to achieving to the MDG. He mentioned that to achieving MDGs firstly Azerbaijan accepted State Program on Poverty Reduction and Economic Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan for which was approved by presidential decree on Mr. ISGANDAROV emphasized that with implementation of this program, Poverty Index dropped from 44.7% in 2003 to 29.3% in He stated that this was a great achievement for Azerbaijan so Government of Azerbaijan accepted the second State Program on poverty reduction and sustainable development for in Mr. ISGANDAROV continued his presentation by giving information about the second state Program. This program identified 9 strategic goals: 1- Ensuring sustainable economic development through maintaining macroeconomic stability and balanced development of the non-oil sector; 2- Increasing income-generating opportunities and achieving substantial reduction in the poorest sections of the population; 12

17 3- Reducing social risks for old age groups, low-income families and vulnerable groups of population by developing effective social protection system; 4- Continuing systematic implementation of activities aimed at improving the living conditions of refugees and IDPs; 5- Improving the quality of and ensuring equal access to affordable basic health and education services; 6- Developing social infrastructure, improving public utilities system; 7- Improving environmental situation and ensuring sustainable management of environment; 8- Promoting and protecting gender equality 9- Continuing institutional reforms and improving good governance. He informed that Poverty Index reduce to 6.0% in 2012 with implementing the second program and the second program on reducing poverty has 4 functional groups and the main group of this program is Human Development and Social Progress: 1- Macroeconomic Stability and Economic Growth 2- Employment Policy and Social Protection of the Population 3- Institutional Policy and Good Governance 4- Human Development and Social Progress Mr. ISGANDAROV stated that Human Development and Social Progress group includes the followings: Gender policy Employment policy Development of medicine Environment policy Education and science policy In his presentation, Mr. ISGANDAROV highlighted the investment needs of human development. He stated that as an oil country the big part of Azerbaijan Government budget comes from oil revenues. As a result of this fact Republic of Azerbaijan accepted the Long-Term Strategy on the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues. He mentioned that this strategy is very important to Azerbaijan and the main objective of this Strategy is development of human capital (training which includes foreign countries), highly qualified specialists and improving the professional capacity of employees. Lastly, Mr. ISGANDAROV gave information about the policies which are included by Human Development and Social Progress and the results of these policies Cameroon The country presentation of Cameroon was made by Francis LEKU AZENAKU, Director of Local and Community Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Enhancing the Productive Capacity of the Poor in Cameroon. At the outset, he gave information about the geographical and economic characteristics of Cameroon. He stated that despite having rich natural resources and high potential for development with a population of 20.1 million, Cameroon suffers from low income and food deficit according to classification of World Bank and FAO statistics. Moreover, according to UNDP statistics, Cameroon is classified as among Countries with a low human development Index. 13

18 Mr. AZENAKU also gave information about the poverty in Cameroon. Although the country is experiencing positive growth rates with about 5% growth in 2012, this growth is not fully transformed into social development. In Cameroon, an estimated 26% of population still suffers undernourishment, only 26% do have access to potable drinking water and infant mortality was 59.7 per thousand and for children less than five years was 136 per thousand in 2012 which is very high. Moreover, 39.9 % of the population lives below the poverty line. Mr. AZENAKU informed the participants about some characteristics and current trends of poverty and food security situation in the Country as following: Agriculture contributes for 20% of the GDP and occupies 60% of the active labor force. In general, poverty has decreased in the Country over the recent years but has increased in the rural areas; About 30.3% of the rural population is vulnerable to food insecurity and serious malnutrition continue to persist and 7 out of the 10 regions of the Country; The average energy consumption is about 2300kcal/day/person which is less than the average of 3100kcal/day/person in developing countries. He also stated that in order to remedy the situation and develop the Country, the government has come up with a vision called Vision 2035, to become an emerging nation. In order to achieve this, a new strategy known as the Growth and Employment Strategy (GESP) is currently being implemented with emphasis on economic growth and employment. In line with the GESP, some actions are taken by the government to fight against poverty as following: Reinforcing the agricultural extension system of the Country Redynamization of cooperatives to help vulnerable groups to better organize themselves and develop their abilities to manage their own structures; Development of professional training in the agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry sectors and vocational training in other sectors of the economy; The provision of support to income generating activities of the rural poor through a number of programmes and projects; Providing support to some microfinance institutions to improve their services and bring them nearer to the rural poor; Increased investments in the health sector with the assistance of donors and partner institutions and Countries; At the level of Higher Education, there are efforts to professionalize training with emphasis on skills development. Also free primary education is provided by the government. In conclusion, Mr. AZENAKU pointed out that a number of challenges must be overcome in order to efficiently fight against poverty such as need for proper targeting for overcoming poverty, necessity of well-organized and efficient management of poor groups, need for modernization of rural areas to stabilize the active youths. Moreover, the promotion of adult capacity building programmes and educational opportunities in rural areas are required in order to promote selfreliant development and making the rural poor to have control over their own destiny Egypt The country presentation of Egypt was made by Dr. Ibtissam EL GAAFARAWI on Poverty Reduction Strategies and Human Development in Egypt. At the outset, Dr. EL GAAFARAWI 14

19 informed the participants regarding the economic conditions of Egypt. According to her, Egypt is a low middle income country facing many challenges at both economic and political arenas. These challenges have worsened after the 25th of January revolution due to political instability. She stated that the economic growth in Egypt has decreased from about 5 percent to about 2 percent in the last two years. Budget deficit has increased to reach insecure levels of 10.8 percent of GDP. According to national poverty line, one fourth of the populations lives in absolute poverty and about another one forth is living in conditions near to poverty. Human development index is estimated at putting Egypt to the rank of 112 as a medium human development country. Adjusted HDI to inequality even reduce the value to only In her presentation, Dr. EL GAAFARAWI also gave information about the Egypt Poverty Reduction Strategy and its main pillars. Accordingly, Egypt s strategy to reduce poverty and improve human development situation is built on four pillars: economic development; human development, social safety nets and the provision of high quality basic services. She continued her presentation by giving information about the social safety net system which is established for protecting vulnerable groups and guaranteeing basic survival needs of the unemployed poor. Accordingly, social safety nets (SSN) cover wide range of programs which include, cash transfers, food subsidies, energy subsidies and free/low price services. Cash transfer programs support 1.3 million poor families through allocating assistance on monthly bases. Moreover, she also stated that there are other forms of cash transfers such as school allowance program and emergency program. Dr. EL GAAFARAWI also expressed different kinds of technical and vocational programs offered by various government agencies. Accordingly, the Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs (MOISA) has special programs that target different categories of the poor. In this respect, MOISA has more than 400 training centers to provide training to the members of poor families to help them start their micro enterprises. She also mentioned training centers to provide training to those who dropped out of schools. Many government agencies such as Social Fund for Development, Nasser Social bank and MOISA provide different types of Micro and small credits and technical support to the poor. Nevertheless, she stated that the efforts for reducing poverty and supporting poor people have to be coordinated and consolidated. Dr. EL GAAFARAWI continued her presentation by informing participants about the efforts to improve education and health systems, and housing conditions to provide better services and better protection for the poor. These include a new universal health insurance system which provides free coverage to the poor and vulnerable, and subsidies for housing systems. She finalized her presentation by emphasizing that Egypt needs to restore political stability and enhance good governance in order to be able to achieve inclusive, equitable and sustainable economic development Gambia The country presentation of the Gambia was made by Mrs. Juldeh CEESAY from Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs regarding sharing experiences and knowledge on improving human capital and enhancing productive capacity. At the outset, Mrs. CEESAY informed the participants about the poverty status, trend and progress. She stated that poverty in the Gambia 15