The role of poverty reduction strategies in advancing economic and social rights: Malawian and Ugandan experiences

Abstract

"Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) were born out of the policies of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They were introduced 'in the wake of the failure of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) to reduce the incidence of poverty'. PRSPs have been linked with the IMF and WB Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative. In order to have access to debt relief, countries have had to draw up PRSPs and start moving towards their effective implementation. PRSPs are now meant to be the national guide informing almost every facet of the human development framework. They are being used as benchmarks for the prioritization of the use of public and external resources for poverty reduction. Further, multilateral as well as bilateral donors and lending institutions are using them as an overarching framework from which policies and actions of developing countries are to be gauged and decisions on further assistance or loans made. In that light, PRSPs have become pivotal to the social fabric of the countries concerned as they affect the daily undertakings of the people through, among other things, their allocative and redistributive roles. ... The PRSPs of Malawi and Uganda are not premised on the human rights based approach to poverty reduction. They largely address issues of economic and social rights from a benefactor and beneficiary perspective rather than from a claim-holder and duty-bearer perspective. Further to that, these policies are largely premised on the requirements of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) that have received heavy criticism for not factoring in human rights considerations, when implementing their policies towards developing countries. This problem thus calls for a harmonisation of PRSPs with the obligations of the states as well as the BWIs to ensure the full realisation of these rights. ... This study is divided into six chapters. Chapter two is a concise analysis of the PRSP processes in Malawi and Uganda. It addresses issues of participation and national ownership, among others, and locates the role of the BWIs in the process. Chapter 3 is a general overview of the international legal obligations that the two governments have in the area of economic and social rights. Chapter four provides an overview of the scope of the rights to health and housing. Chapter five is a critical analysis of the extent to which the PRSPs of the two countries act as effective tools for advancing the rights to health and housing in the two countries. Chapter six concludes the discussion. It makes necessary recommendations in order to strengthen the human rights based approach to poverty reduction within the framework of the PRSPs, with a view to ensuring the progressive realisation of economic and social rights." -- Introduction.