The DAC Network on Poverty Reduction (POVNET) promotes economic growth for poverty reduction, stressing the importance of both the rate and the pattern of growth to: create more and better jobs for the poor, including in the informal economy; expand access to social and productive infrastructure, particularly in rural areas where most of the poor live; increase agricultural productivity, which has so often been the key to national development; and promote social protection programmes, which help to make growth work for the poor.

Reducing economic poverty is vital for over 3 billion people, roughly half the human race, with incomes less than USD 2 a day and who are challenged to meet their basic needs. It is even more crucial for the 1 billion people with incomes less than USD 1 per day, who struggle for survival. The experience of many developing countries in sustaining economic growth and reducing poverty has been far from satisfactory and progress towards achieving the MDGs  has been too slow, particularly the target of halving income poverty between 1990 and 2015.

POVNET’s core membership is drawn from the DAC and its permanent observers (World Bank , IMF , UNDP ), as well as BIAC  and TUAC . Various other United Nations agencies, researchers and civil society organisations contribute to POVNET work as appropriate. The Chairs of the DAC Networks on Gender Equality  and on Environment and Development Co-operation are ex officio members. Since 2006, Pierre Jacquet has been Chair of POVNET.

POVNET aims to influence donor policy and approaches vis-à-vis pro-poor growth and to make these more coherent by producing and disseminating consensus-based policy guidance. Development of this guidance is delegated to a POVNET sub group (e.g. a steering committee or a task team) which is constituted for a limited period of time to focus on a specific issue, such as employment. These sub groups consult regularly (e.g. via e-mail exchanges, face-to-face meetings or video conferencing) and report on progress to the semi-annual POVNET meeting.

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