Panganiban heads UN-ESCAP poverty reduction body

Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban, lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), was elected chairman of the Poverty Reduction Committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) at its 63rd session in Bangkok, Thailand.

The election of Panganiban paved the way for the adoption of the community-based monitoring system (CBMS), to be the basis for governments of participating countries, in gathering information on poverty.

Panganiban unveiled recently the CBMS in poor priority areas of the country to gather real-time information on poverty down to the household level. This monitoring system will be the basis for the government to track down exact locations where government interventions are needed, he added.

The session also tackled policy options and measures to enhance the productivity and income of the poor sector for rapid poverty reduction in the region, Panganiban said.

The participation of the Philippines, according to Panganiban, is vital in this session in view of the current global and regional trends and developments, including the emerging economic and social issues, which have an impact on poverty levels in the region.

A total of 48 countries participated in the 63rd session of the UN-ESCAP to map out poverty reduction initiatives.

Panganiban attended the session of the committee on poverty reduction, which was convened at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 2006.

The session aims to review the progress made and obstacles encountered in achieving both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the Millennium Development Goals.

Senior level delegations from many countries discussed policy directions to address the growing demand of poverty in their respective regions.

The committee on poverty reduction is a subsidiary body of UN-ESCAP.