Overview of issues

To ensure successful development, assessing poverty is critical and in this regard monitoring and evaluation is an important component. This emphasizes the urgency for a conducive policy framework. It becomes even more important in the context of scarce resources. To maximize these resources and make effective use of them, success and achievements of previous policies, projects and methodologies are crucial.

UNDP as well as many Governments and organizations have recognized the importance of monitoring and accessing poverty and have integrated the latter into their poverty reduction programmes.

In view of the small scale and more or less sporadic monitoring conducted by countries as well as the high cost associated with it, UNDP has in recent years developed a new less costly monitoring methodology known as 'CWIQ'. This is to allow for more frequent and regular poverty monitoring ensuring successful poverty reduction strategies and policies.

Moreover, in view of the time frame set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it is essential to trace the progress and achievements made up to date.