The Poverty Eradication Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office is organising an Introductory Workshop on Impact Evaluation at the Holiday Inn tomorrow (20/04/2010).
The workshop will be officially opened by the Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Lt-Col Pio Tikoduadua.
Internationally renowned expert in impact evaluation, Dr Howard White of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) will be the facilitator of the half-day workshop.
Dr White, who has previously led the impact evaluation programme of the World Bank, will also be looking at ways in which 3ie will be able to assist Government in reviewing its pro-poor programmes so as to reduce poverty to a negligible level by 2015 as mandated by the Peoples Charter for Change, Peace and Progress.
The workshop will be attended by various stakeholders including international and local organisations as well as Government agencies that have poverty alleviation programmes.
Poverty reduction has been a core policy objective of Government reflected through the budget allocation it provides for pro-poor programmes and development plans.
In 2005 to 2008 Government allocated a total of $535million to its 20 line agencies for poverty alleviation programmes, averaging around $134million annually.
However, latest statistics on the Household and Income and Expenditure Survey (2008/2009 HIES) that are yet to be officially released indicate that income inequalities as well as the percentage of the population living below the basic need poverty line may have worsened.