Access to Basic Services for the Poor

The 191 nations that signed the Millennium Declaration resolved to spare no effort to free the world from the dehumanizing condition of poverty. The progress in Asia and the Pacific by 2005 was mixed. The publication argues that achieving Millennium Development Goals is not simply about the money. It is about removing physical, legal, financial, socio-cultural and political barriers to basic services for all, in particular for the poor and disadvantaged groups. The report presents a number of strategies for removing such barriers and examines principles of good governance where poor and disadvantaged groups involved and empowered as agents of their own development and participate in decision-making.