Posted by Mariam on
Thu, 05/06/2008
When the South Asia Development Marketplace for innovative ideas to tackle stigma and discrimination relating to HIV/AIDS was launched in November 2007 by the HIV/AIDS Group in the South Asia Region of the World Bank and its partners, civil society groups across South Asia sent in almost a thousand proposals.
People fear HIV/AIDS because of the association with sex, drugs, illness, and death. In South Asia, the epidemic is driven largely by high risk practices – buying and selling sex, injecting drugs, and unprotected sex among men having sex with men. This compounds the fear and stigma around HIV/AIDS, as sex workers, injecting drug users, and men having sex with men are already stigmatized.
Not only in South Asia, but around the globe, efforts to prevent new HIV infections and allowing people with HIV/AIDS to live without the burden of social exclusion are severely hampered by the persistence of stigma. One study in India shows that 36% percent of students, faculty and technical staff of the public health services felt it would be better if HIV-positive individuals killed themselves and believed that infected people deserved their fate; 34% would not associate with people with AIDS; 42% believed that those with HIV should be quarantined; and, 31% favored barring infected students from college classes (Ambati, Ambati & Rao, 1997).
Posted by Shanta on
Wed, 13/02/2008
In discussing how to end poverty in South Asia, we often get so caught up in the statistics and policy discussions that we forget that we are talking about the lives of real people. But a magnificent photography exhibit by my colleague Michael Foley displayed in the hall outside my office, serves as a constant reminder of whom we are working for.
Posted by Shanta on
Mon, 04/02/2008
 How is the quest to end poverty in South Asia going? Parts of the subcontinent, such as the Maldives, the Western Province of Sri Lanka or some Indian states have already “eliminated” abject poverty (in the sense of having poverty rates below 10 percent). Other parts of South Asia such as Afghanistan or northern Sri Lanka are so mired in violent and escalating conflict that ending poverty seems a remote dream; providing basic security seems much more important.
The reality is that South Asia is a heterogeneous region. The per capita income of the richest part is ten times that of the poorest part (see Table). Sustained economic growth and increasing globalization is propelling several Indian states, Bhutan, Maldives, and parts of Sri Lanka into middle-income environments.
Posted by Edgard Charles ... on
Mon, 26/11/2007
Posted by Shanta on
Wed, 14/11/2007
We received a number of comments on this blog post. Feel free to continue posting your comments and questions for my discussion tomorrow (November 15th) with young people about ending poverty in South Asia. Participants will be from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the United States. You can watch the live discussions here via webcast. What: Let's End Poverty in South Asia - live webcast discussion
When: November 15th, 2007
Time: US:7:00am, Eastern time; GMT:12:00
Posted by Shanta on
Thu, 08/11/2007
We received a large number of comments on this blog post. A reader asked "What does Shanta want us to take from this entry?" While I have personal views on the events of the last five days (accentuated by the fact that some personal friends were arrested), my views on the impact of the emergency on poverty reduction are mixed because the evidence is mixed. There is no question that the Pakistan economy grew rapidly during the Musharraf era, thanks to a combination of economic reforms and--as several readers pointed out--large inflows of foreign aid and other foreign exchange inflows. Stroke-of-the-pen reforms can be undertaken by authoritarian or democratic governments. But the deeper institutional reforms required to improve health, education and other basic services in Pakistan cannot be achieved without some form of popular participation. So my answer to MB's question, "Can there really be long-term gains against poverty in an environment in which the voice of the people is ignored?" is unambiguously no. Several readers found the blog post useful to debate their views both on the current situation as well as on poverty reduction in Pakistan. Finally, a post on another blog compared the facts in my post with Musharraf's November 3rd statement.
Posted by Shanta on
Sun, 04/11/2007
The November 3rd imposition of emergency rule and the suspension of the 1973 Constitution in Pakistan is one of the most significant events to occur in South Asia since the launch of this blog. While much is being (and will be) written about the politics of the situation, any analysis of the implications of this event for poverty reduction (the objective of this blog) will have to consider the following facts. Since 1999, the Pakistan government has undertaken a series of macroeconomic and structural reforms and Pakistan's GDP growth rate has accelerated. It has been averaging well over 7 percent a year over the last three years. Poverty has been declining steadily at about one percentage point a year during this period. Despite rising world oil prices, inflation has largely been kept under control. Nevertheless, there are two sources of concern on the macroeconomic front. The current account has gone from a surplus of one percent of GDP four years ago to a deficit of 4.9 percent of GDP today. And export growth has declined sharply from 14 percent a year two years ago to 3 percent this year.
Posted by Shanta on
Sat, 03/11/2007
At a recent seminar at Ramjas College of Delhi University, a student asked, “What can I do to help end poverty in South Asia?” Questions like this, and the experience of teaching a course on South Asian Development at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute have inspired me to engage more with students on a discussion about ending poverty in South Asia. On November 15th, I will be making a presentation from Bangladesh and students from other countries in the region will be connected via video conference. Anybody else can follow the discussion as it happens on this blog. South Asia can eliminate poverty in a generation. To achieve this goal, we need to accelerate and sustain economic growth, make it more inclusive, strengthen human development and improve governance. A daunting task—but it can be done. This goal is particularly important for young people, since this is the South Asia they will inherit and leave to their children. What do you think? Can young people play a role in making this dream a reality? And what should we be doing differently? I encourage visitors of this blog to post comments and questions before November 15th. We will address them together on that day.
Posted by Shanta on
Fri, 21/09/2007
This has been an exciting week. I didn't expect that the blog would generate so much interest--from all parts of the world. The comments range from people saying that a blog dedicated to end poverty in South Asia is definitely needed to others questioning whether this is just orthodox economic prescriptions to still others wondering whether there is any analysis behind the "homilies" presented in the Sri Lanka post (there is--see my reply). The common thread is that everybody wants to engage in a debate on how to end poverty in the subcontinent. I appreciated people sharing their own experience and knowledge--such as the retired forester from Andhra Pradesh who confirmed that, in his village, the veterinarian also treated humans because the doctor was rarely there. One old friend said, "Your blog is like a conversation with you". Another said I looked good with a bucket of water on my head. Finally, several people sent me suggestions for future blog posts. I particularly like the one from a Maldivian friend who, after pointing out that there was no reference to the Maldives in the blog so far, suggested a post on "How to explain the importance of macroeconomic stability to a politician." Have a good weekend.
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Mariam Claeson
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