Armen Press
July 2, 2004

RAPID POVERTY MONITORING METHODOLOGY DEVELOPED BY UNDP ARMENIA
PRESENTED TO PARTNERS AND THE PUBLIC
YEREVAN, JULY 2, ARMENPRESS: On July 1 in the UN House, the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) convened a discussion on the
National Human Development Survey (NHDS) and the Poverty Monitoring
Methodology (RPMM) used during the NHDS. Government officials, donors
and civil society experts focused on survey indicators, regional human
poverty indices and the National Social Monitoring System.
The NHDS was conducted in spring 2003 within the framework of a
joint UNDP and Government of Armenia project on the “Creation of a
Social Monitoring and Analysis System.” The survey covered 6,000
households in 170 rural and 41 urban communities, representatively
selected from all eleven regions of the country, including Yerevan. For
the first time, the survey was based on a Rapid Poverty Monitoring
Methodology developed by UNDP. The information collected during the
survey was disaggregated by region and population group and
incorporated into databases used to track human development, human
poverty and progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The
main findings of the NHDS are summarized in the fifth issue of Armenia
Social Trends, a bi-annual bilingual informational-analytical bulletin.
The results of the National Human Development Survey indicate that
human poverty is more widespread in rural areas, where people have
limited access to education, particularly pre-school and professional
education. People living in rural areas are also negatively affected by
reduced access to healthcare, particularly primary care, and to modern
information technologies.
According to Ms. Grande: “UNDP is confident that a better
understanding of human poverty in the regions will help the Government
and civil society to sharpen the country’s pro-poor policies, ensuring
that they are aimed at reaching the eight Millennium Development Goals
and supporting the Poverty Reduction Strategy.”
In the framework of the “Creation of a Social Monitoring and
Analysis System” project, a special training program in the Economics
Department of Yerevan State University on the theoretical and practical
aspects of databases was organized for the regional M&A units
established by the Government. In addition, seminars and workshops on
methodological and computerized analysis of data have been organized
for the 18 non-governmental organizations participating in the survey.