13491872_Reducing_Poverty_Together

F eatures
Agi Veres of the United Nations Development Programme marvels at China's successes in poverty alleviation — and has big plans for the future Together
O ver the past several
decades, China's poverty
alleviation work has developed very quickly and has earned worldwide appreciation. As the UN's development network, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has played a key role
in poverty alleviation efforts across the globe, drawing on vast experience to assist China in developing solutions in its efforts to eradicate poverty. China Report ASEAN sat down for an exclusive interview with Agi Veres, UNDP Country Director
in China, to talk about the significance of China's poverty
alleviation work and to anticipate
further cooperation between
China and the UNDP in 2017.
>> China Report ASEAN: How
do you evaluate China's poverty
alleviation work over the past
several decades?
Agi Veres: Since the
establishment of the United
Nations' Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in
2000, China has contributed
significantly to the UN's poverty
alleviation goals. China has
made great leaps in reducing
poverty and reached the
benchmarks laid out in the
MDGs, lifting more than 500
million of its citizens out of
extreme poverty over the last
three decades. In addition, since
the adoption of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) in
2015, China’s commitment
to poverty reduction has
continued. Beyond the
numbers that come from how
many people escape poverty
alone, there are a number of
positive effects that go hand-in-
hand with successful poverty
alleviation programs.
At the same time, China has
By Wang Jiping, Tan Xingyu, Wang Hai
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made a great impact globally
by promoting South-South cooperation and increasing investment in other developing countries. For example, China has helped some developing countries build infrastructure facilities, improve healthcare and conduct technology transfer. This helps developing countries better cope with challenges in their development and facilitates in-depth cooperation in poverty alleviation internationally and strategically.
>> China Report ASEAN: During 2016, how did the UNDP help
in China's poverty alleviation efforts?
Agi Veres: The year 2016 was special for poverty alleviation
in China, for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was the first full year for the 2030 Agenda
to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and China championed to release early plans for implementation. Additionally, 2016 marked the first year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan. According to the Plan, China will eradicate extreme poverty entirely by 2020, which is an ambitious goal. Based
on these factors, in 2016, the UNDP made contributions to poverty alleviation efforts in China, especially in monitoring through the application of big data in measuring poverty.
The UNDP has been experimenting with innovation on big data by developing the Living Standards Dimension of the Human Development Index, which serves to support income-based of poverty measures
and will hopefully become a supplementary tool to assist policy makers. At the same time, the UNDP also formulated a report of the data it compiled. Now, the data collected from this report is available in an interactive visualization map.
counties and have a
multidimensional
poverty strategy
that also addresses
inequalities.
>> China Report ASEAN:
In your mind, what kind
of work can China and
the UNDP do together
for other countries?
Agi Veres: I want to
put the South-South
cooperation at the
forefront. In 2010, the
UNDP and China's
government signed
a new agreement on
strengthening South-
South cooperation.
continue to grow, the UNDP's
work with China focuses on
five areas, including trilateral
cooperation, experience sharing
on foreign aid systems, global
and regional issues, private
sector engagement and South-
South cooperation. Secondly,
in terms of poverty alleviation,
I think the UNDP and China
together can do more to share
experiences in working hand-
in-hand on poverty alleviation.
For example, we can provide
guidance in areas of leadership,
governance and targeted
measures.
>> China Report ASEAN: What
are the UNDP's plans for working
with China on poverty reduction
in 2017?
Agi Veres: Firstly, we will do
more poverty monitoring by
using big data and improving
methods for tracking poverty.
Secondly, besides continuously
cooperating with the Chinese
central government, we will
bring more focus to conducting
poverty alleviation with local
governments, because certain
provinces are faced with unique
difficulties. Therefore, we hope
we can offer some methods in
coping with poverty according to
the actual social, environmental
and educational situations of
each place. The focus should
also be on reducing inequalities
in the process, not only focusing
on scale of poverty.
Thirdly, we want to assist
minority groups and women in
China. For example, we plan to
help minority groups in Yunnan
Province maintain cultural
heritage while leading a better
life in their villages by linking
themselves to the rest of the
country via e-commerce.
Fourthly, we will help China
achieve SDGs by deepening
communication and providing
better resources to some of
China's poorest villages. Copyright©博看网. All Rights Reserved.
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