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Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

Country
Type of law
Policy
Source

Abstract
Reducing the rising levels of poverty continues to be a major challenge for the government and people of the Gambia. Poverty reduction needs for urban areas differ significantly from those of rural areas. In rural areas, raising incomes of the poor would entail significant investment in agriculture including supportive infrastructure, agricultural inputs, and agriculture extension. Health takes the second position in the order of priorities for rural areas. In the third position is education, Which is a priority also for urban areas. It is followed by health and then energy. This PRSP II proposes to address the priorities identified both for rural and urban areas.
This PRSP II has five pillars or areas of intervention, namely: (i) create an enabling policy environment to promote Growth and Poverty Reduction, (ii) enhance the capacity and output of productive sectors: agriculture, fisheries, industry, trade and tourism, with emphasis on productive capacities of the poor and vulnerable populations, (iii) improve coverage of the basic social services and social protection needs of the poor and vulnerable, (iv) enhance governance systems and build the capacity of local communities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to play an active role in economic growth and poverty reduction, (v) mainstreaming poverty related cross-cutting issues into poverty reduction.
In order to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, a number of key strategies will be implemented by the strategy to reduce the prevalence rate of nutrition disorders, including: (i) achieve universal coverage with proven preventive nutrition interventions including reaching the most vulnerable groups in the population, (ii) improve nutrition service delivery through the health system and communities.
In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the government plans to enhance agricultural productivity, diversification and food security through, among others, the following strategies: (i) improve animal health care delivery services by strengthening laboratory diagnostic capability; strengthening disease reporting, surveillance and monitoring systems; and implementing mass vaccination campaigns, (ii) promote the production of short cycle species of livestock (e.g. small ruminants, poultry), (iii) increase Gambian participation in artisanal fisheries through training and provision of fishing gears; to improve fishing techniques, (iv) develop on-land preservation and storage facilities for increase production and reduce post-harvest losses.
Regarding the reduction of the rural poverty, the PRSPII will focus on: (i) improving women and girls employable skills and opportunities through education by ensuring parity at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, (ii) improving women and girls entrepreneurial skills and opportunities in all productive sectors.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the PRSPII will focus on: (i) strengthened advocacy and sensitisation for sustainable development, (ii) improving the performance of implementing institutions in environmental quality monitoring and enforcement and in solid waste management, (iii) functioning institutional and legal framework in place for sustainable management and protection of the coastal zone and its resources, (iv) support for decentralisation and local government reform for community-based natural resource management and sustainable development planning.
In the context of governance, a National Planning Commission (NPC) and Secretariat is being set up to coordinate planning and implementation of PRSP II. In the interim, the role of the Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Coordinating Office (SPACO) has been somewhat broadened and mainstreamed into the DOSFEA. Until the NPC has been established, specialized units of DOSFEA such as SPACO and the Economic Management and Planning Unit (EMPU) will lead the process of coordinating the implementation of PRSP II. The NPC will coordinate resources and programmes as well as monitor the process of implementing PRSP II reforms, promote institutionalising public expenditure monitoring, monitoring of the program delivery process and progress monitoring of poverty reduction targets.
Date of text
Repealed
No
Source language

English

Legislation Amendment
No