Bhutan

Past Assistance to Poverty Reduction

Blending Traditional Crafts and Information Technology to Benefit Women

With UNDP support, the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), namely the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the National Women’s Association of Bhutan (NWAB) piloted the use of information technology to reach new markets, and to expand economic opportunities. The aim of the project was to generate more income, and thereby, contribute to the sustainable livelihoods of women artisans and entrepreneurs in rural areas.

UNDP’s assistance was built on its prior experience in assisting the RGoB to train women in basic business skills, and in supporting various IT projects to expand the use and access to information in Bhutan. The project worked with another two other UNDP supported initiatives, the Rural Enterprise Development (RED) Programme, and the Bhutan Post E-Post Initiative and explored areas where synergies could be tapped. The project cooperated with the RED Programme to develop a marketing strategy for the cataloguing products suitable for e-business.

The project was the first project in Bhutan that explored the potential for e-business as a means to ensure the sustainable livelihoods of rural women.

Strengthening Poverty and MDGs

In 2004, UNDP supported the Royal Government to strengthen the capacity of the National Statistical Bureau (NSB) to produce a credible set of poverty measurements and analysis of poverty and its correlates from the Bhutan Living Standards Survey 2003 and other relevant surveys and studies in the future, and to develop the capacity of the GNH Commission and other Planning and Policy Divisions to analysis statistics for monitoring MDGs and preparing relevant reports.

As a result of the support, Bhutan’s first Poverty Analysis Report (2004) was published and launched by the NSB and the DoP.  The Report estimated that 31.7 percent of the country’s population falls under the national poverty line of Nu. 740.00.

Capacity Strengthening of Department of Budget and Accounts (DBA) on Pro-Poor Financial Management

This project enabled the capacity development of a core group of senior government officials in Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), public budget forecast and pro-poor resource allocation criteria. This has enabled the Ministry of Finance to initiate sensitization of MTEF related issues amongst senior policy makers. This improved understanding as well as capacity has also enabled both the Royal Government and development agencies like the World Bank to initiate cooperation in the same area. The project also put in a place a faster and more efficient mechanism for fund release based on recommendations of a series of problem assessment workshops undertaken under the project. This faster and more efficient fund release mechanism has been implemented by the Ministry of Finance effectively from July 2004 onwards to improve the flow of funds from the centre to the districts and blocks. This mechanism will significantly complement the decentralization initiatives taken by the Royal Government.

Financial Monitoring Guidelines was prepared and has been distributed and used in all Finance Divisions of the sectoral ministries, district and block administrations to investigate and resolve problems related to accounting and fund release procedures.  This initiative is expected to further improve public expenditure management in the country and consequently support the Royal Government in the achieving its pro-poor development objectives.

Support to Development of a Poverty Monitoring System

Through the project, the Royal Government agreed - for the first time - on a concise list of poverty monitoring indicators. These indicators were integrated into the Ministry of Finance’s planning and monitoring system, and will be tracked on a regular basis from now on.

Bhutan is probably the only country where the Royal Government took full ownership over their very first Millennium Development Report. The Royal Government set up a working level Task Force, comprising of members of relevant line Ministries and Agencies, and launched the first MDGR at the Round Table Meeting in February 2003.

The project support made it possible for the GNH Commission to conduct their first Participatory Poverty Impact Assessment. In order, to build their capacity and to apply the training, the Department carried out a poverty impact assessment of the construction of roads.

Integrated Horticulture Development Programme

The Integrated Horticulture Development Programme (IHDP) was developed to provide a framework for horticulture development during Bhutan’s Eighth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) and beyond.

The IHDP supported a broad spectrum of activities from post harvest support to research work. The Ministry for Trade and Industry was responsible for developing markets, export procedures, and supporting entrepreneurs and farmers involved in horticulture production. The Ministry for Agriculture received assistance in developing horticultural crops through improved staff capacity, increased research, and better access to markets.