POVERTY ALLEVIATION

1
POVERTY ALLEVIATION

• THE JAMAICA SOCIAL INVESTMENT FUND EXPERIENCE

2
DEVELOPMENT OF THE JSIF

• Established in 1996
• A major plank in the Government of Jamaicas
  National Poverty Eradication Programme
• Drew on experiences of SIFs in the region
• Originally designed as an emergency response
  mechanism
• One of the most successful in the Caribbean

3
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

• Suriname
• St. Vincent the Grenadines
• Belize
• St. Lucia
• Trinidad Tobago
• Moldova

4
THE JSIF APPROACH

• Demand-driven approach
• Departure from traditional mode of project
  delivery
• Communities involved in identifying priority
  needs
• Builds social capital

5
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT

• Community-based contracting gives communities
  greater autonomy over their projects
• Communities responsible for procuring goods,
  labour and services
• Initial scepticism replaced by growing confidence
• Trust is replicated

6
ACHIEVEMENTS

• Political commitment
• Institutional autonomy
• High quality staff
• Broad-based Board of Directors
• Transparency clarity
• Rigorous audits
• Effective targeting
• Community participation
• Collaboration with line ministries

7
ACHIEVEMENTS

• 534 projects successfully completed
• US33 million disbursed
• 1.2 million beneficiaries
• 35 investment in education

8
ACHIEVEMENTS
9
CHALLENGES

• Attracting retaining high quality professionals
• Maintenance of completed projects
• Cooperation of line ministries
• Forging trust

10
CONCLUSION

• Despite achievements much remains to be done
• Importance of partnership with NGO and private
  sectors
• Instrumental in drawing attention to the issue of
  poverty in Jamaica