Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are documents required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank before a country can be considered for debt relief within the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. PRSPs are also required before low-income countries can receive aid from most major donors and lenders. The IMF specifies that the PRSP should be formulated according to five core principles. The PRSP should be country-driven, result-oriented, comprehensive, partnership-oriented, and based on a long-term perspective. The PRS process encourages countries to develop a more poverty-focused government and to own their own strategies through developing the plan in close consultation with the population. A comprehensive poverty analysis and wide-ranging participation are vital parts of the PRSP formulation process. There are many challenges to PRS effectiveness, such as state capacity to carry out the established strategy. Criticism of PRSP include aid conditionality, donor influence, and poor fulfillment of the participatory aspect.