Annual Report 2007/2008 - Poverty Alleviation Fund, Nepal

About the PAFPoverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) is a targeted programme for poor started fromthe year 2004 through the issuance of ‘Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF)Ordinance 2060’ (2003) and subsequently; ‘Poverty Alleviation Act 2063’(2006). PAF is implemented through a 12 members Board chaired by the PrimeMinister. The major financial support comes from the World Bank. Thisprogramme was initiated under ‘Social Fund’ concept in order to take povertyalleviation program directly to hard core poor who lie below poverty level inthe country. The goal of PAF is to help the poor, find their way on a sustainedpath out of poverty and the target is to reach specifically the poor householdsbelow poverty level in a community; thus it is different from a conventionalcommunity development programme which focuses its activities for thedevelopment of the whole community of a settlement or VDC where the riskis to limit the benefits to only relatively elite group of the society.PAF is aimed to empower the socially excluded and disadvantaged poorhouseholds. It provides them the avenues for changing from “dependency”to “independent” and to “interdependent” level in relationship with traditionallydominant elite of the society and thus empower the poor to become part ofthe mainstream of development.PAF has followed five guiding principles: namely - (a) Targeted to poor(Antyodaya) (b) Social Inclusion (Samabesi) (c) Demand driven approach(Maag Anusar) (d) Transparency (Paradarsita) and (e) Direct funding tocommunity organization of poor (Prataksha bhuktani).PAF is ultimately concerned with socio-economic transformation of the poor.While the short-run objective of PAF is to improve the economic condition ofpoor households through the income generation activities but in the long-termit aims for total transformation of society, where poor could equally find theirdue share and became full partner in the development process.Contact AddressPoverty Alleviation Fund, Nepal (PAF)Gyaneshwor, KathmanduP.O. Box: 9985, Kathmandu, NepalPhone: +977-1-4410041 • Fax: +977-1-4442450E-mail: info@pafnepal.org.npWebsite: www.pafnepal.org.npDesign & process: Media Plan# 4467055