**PHN 1992 Sector Review**

**20**

## **E. Special Features of Poverty Interventions in the FY92 Portfolio**

3.18 This section selectively highlights design features of poverty interventions included in PHN's FY92 portfolio of projects. While it is premature to call them 'best practices", these components of poverty work in the Bank generally reflect careful consideration and incorporation of lessons of experience and as such hold promise for success and sustainability of investments. This section is by no means an exhaustive inventory or comprehensive analysis of the coverage and treatment of each of these special features. Rather, it provides an overview of the poverty content and a flavor of the design and approaches of this year's crop of PHN projects. The special features reviewed in this section are: (1) poverty information and monitoring; (2) understanding and responding to the needs and demand of the poor; (3) targeting; and (4) reforms in policy, financing and management/organization of activities. The last category covers the three key areas of Bank intervention in poverty alleviation as set out in the recently distributed OD 4.15 on _Poverty Reduction:_ assessment of country policies; review of public expenditure; and reform of institutions.

_1. Poverty Information and Monitoring_ 3.19 A general objective of the Rwanda Food Security and Social Action Project is to increase government capacity to monitor the living standards of the population. This project will thus support the development of a system to trace the evolution of selected determinants of welfare and welfare outcomes at the levels of the household and the individual, in the context of the country's adjustment process. This system is comprised of a combination of integrated surveys (which observe the income generation and expenditure processes and basic needs achievements) and priority surveys (which provide for the rapid identification and monitoring of a wide range of welfare indicators of policy target groups). Thbe design of this welfare monitoring system will **integrate** data collection and processing, on the one hand, with policy relevant analysis, on the other.

3.20 The Kenya Health Rehabilitation Project is supporting a component to develop within the Ministry of Planning and National Development (MPND), the establishment of a National Household Welfare Monitoring and Evaluation System for monitoring trends in poverty and evaluating the impact of policies on household welfare. The project will develop permanent capacity to carry out national household surveys on an annual basis and to analyze data collected as a basis for providing advice to MPND and social sector ministries in policy design.

3.21 In order to improve knowledge about the extent of poverty and the determinants of living standards, the Guyana SIMAP/Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation Project includes a component to strengthen that country's data collection capacity. It will support the development of a methodology for a Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS), the execution of field work, and the analysis of results. The LSMS will be implemented in conjunction with U.NIDP's Income and Expenditure Survey (IES). Selected LSMS modules with particular focus on social sectors data will be added to the IES in its second survey round. Survey rounds for the LSMS will be undertaken on three separate occasions, the last of which is expected to be completed in mid-FY93.

# _2. Understanding and Responding to the Veeds and Demands of the Poor_

3.22 A review of PHN projects over the past five years reveals a notable trend of increased importance attached to the demand and perspectives of beneficiaries in project design and development. This is reflected in increased involvement of NGOs, other local organizations, and beneficiaries in the assessment of needs and in the design, implementation and evaluation of