ADB maps out Pacific strategy

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) hopes that its five-year “Pacific approach” strategy will ensure that its implementation of projects in countries across the Pacific are focused, monitored and bring results.
The 2010-14 strategy, launched at the bank’s headquarters in Manila, Philippines, this week “is a strategy that takes out a bit from documents endorsed at the regional level and creates a workable approach for the bank in its 14 Pacific developing member countries (DMCs)”.
It sets out the overarching framework for ADB’s operations in these countries and represents a shift in emphasis by paying attention not only on the type of development assistance ADB provides but also on how best such assistance is delivered on the ground.
It focuses on promoting consensus and ownership of initiatives by governments, civil society organisations and local communities.
The Pacific approach is designed to give board direction to tackling common development challenges affecting the Pacific DMCs and guide individual country partnership strategies.
The new approach is also aligned to ADBs strategy 2020 and the regional Pacific Plan formulated by governments of DMCs.
“Most of our Pacific DMCs operate in fragile and complex environments, characterised by geographical isolation, small populations, weak capacities, limited resource endowments and high vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters,” ADB’s Pacific department director general Hafeez Rahman said.
“Through the Pacific approach, ADB will be able to deliver improved assistance to our Pacific DMCs by establishing greater consensus and ownership of programmes and projects,” Mr Rahman said.
“At the same time, we will be able to provide stronger support to governments in the critical areas of strengthening public sector functions, addressing capacity constraints, scaling up private sector participation, expanding regional corporation and mainstreaming climate proofing.