Children First in the Poverty Battle

This document summarises main findings and recommendations from the Review of 5 national PRSPs (Poverty Reduction Strategy’s Paper) in the Southern African region. Reducing poverty and improving levels of social and economic well-being are broadening policy and resource debates in developing and developed countries. The Poverty Reduction Strategy’s Paper (PRSP) approach forms the basis of the international community’s redefined anti-poverty framework, and is a prerequisite for access to a broader range of concessionary and developmental assistance for low-income developing countries. The PRSP is therefore a development strategy that places poverty reduction first, in the context of sustainable growth and development. It describes a country’s economic and social policies and programmes over a 3-year or longer horizon, integrated in a broader macroeconomic framework and developed through a process of extensive consultation with national stakeholders.