Cooperation for Development 

 

INDIA

The bilateral cooperation is an important element in the development of our relations with India which, along with China, is a “First Priority” country.

Due to increase in cooperation activities with India, a Local Technical Office of the Italian Development Cooperation is operational in India since November 1999 and it works both for India and Nepal.

Other than bilateral programs, Italy also has an important presence in multilateral and multibilateral programs through support provided to organizations like UNDP, UNICEF, UNIDO, WHO, UNODC, ILO and, in many cases, it canalizes its resources directly to NGOs.

Framework

India, one of the biggest and most diverse countries in the world, with an estimated population of over one billion, in spite of the enormous progress made in the previous years, still has one-third of its population living below the poverty line. This is mostly found in the rural areas where almost 75% of the poorest people live.

The diversities between the urban and rural areas and between different States are still significant. There is a very visible inequality between genders, castes and tribes, and also serious deprivation of a large part of its population. In some states like Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, the percentage of poor people reaches 48%, 44% and 37% in rural area and 43%, 33% and 38% in urban areas. (cf. Government of India, 2002).  In spite of a rapid growth in urban population in the last few years, rural population accounts for about 72% of the total population. In spite of a rapid growth the cities lack adequate services. According to estimates, at least 60% of urban population in 12 biggest cities lack sewerage system, 14% of the population still does not have access to drinking water.

With regard to indicators of human development, India holds 127th position amongst 177 countries (cf. UNDP "Human Development Report 2005"). The infant mortality rate in the first year is 63 per thousand while it increases to 87 per thousand in the first five years of life.  Of these, girls have lesser chances of survival. The maternal mortality rate is 5.4 per thousand live births; about half of children below 5 years are underweight while malnourishment and chronic anemia strikes more than 50% of infant population.  Each year more than 400,000 children die due to causes related to contaminated water and lack of hygienic conditions. 38.7% of population is illiterate, even though this figure varies from state to state. While according to official estimates 18.5 million children work, unofficial data indicate that this figure varies between 44 to 140 million (cf. “National Human Development Report 2001”).    

National Policy for reduction of poverty and promoting economic development is part of the five yearly plans started in 1950. The first eight plans concentrated on growth of public sectors and recently social sector has received more attention. Access to education by everyone has become a constitutional right. The “Tenth Five yearly Plan 2002/07”, has set a target, besides that of achieving an increase of the GDP of 8%,  of reducing poverty by 5% by 2007, increasing literacy level by 75%, reducing gender inequality and infant and maternal mortality rate.

National development programs are selected by various Ministries (Urban Employment & Poverty Alleviation, Urban Development, Health & Family Welfare, Rural Development, etc). Collaboration with various United Nation agencies (UNPD, UNICEF, ILO, etc.), and with World Bank, European Commission Delegation, bilateral and multilateral agencies for development and NGOs has always been considered necessary in this regard.

Amongst the most important national level programs is the “National Child Labour Policy” (1987) against exploitation of child labour, particularly in industries and in hazardous jobs, and the subsequent programs included in the five yearly plans. 1992 witnessed the signing of a MOU for ILO’s program for elimination of child labour (IPEC). In 2005 the “National Rural Health Mission” was launched which gave priority to the most poor states. However effects of poverty are visible in many forms, particularly due to the cotton crises which led to mass suicides even amongst the people of rural middle classes.

The “District Primary Education Program” (1994) and the “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All)” (2003) are the first important initiatives of reform in primary education, and are planned and supported by UN, EU, World Bank and bilateral donors. Main national plans aimed at employment generation include "National Social Assistance Programme" (NSAP, 1995) and the "Mid-day Meal Programme". 
 
“National Health Policy (2002)”, "National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme" (2005) and "Reproductive Child Health Programme" (1997) – which includes the Safe Motherhood Project of UNICEF – aim at improving basic health structures and quality of services offered, and also  improving and expanding hospital services. Amongst the national health programs is the vaccination against polio program carried out by WHO with the contribution of the Italian Government since 2000 and programs for prevention and cure of AIDS, TB and Malaria. In 2005 an international conference “Maternal Newborn and Child Health” was organized in Delhi which ended with the “Delhi Declaration” which recognizes the fundamental importance of health sector in the struggle against poverty and identifies effective partnership between governments, donor countries, societies, private sector, professional associations and academic world as an instrument for achieving Millennium Development Goals.

The “National Housing and Habitat Policy” (1998) confronts the serious urban housing problem and SGSY (Village Self Employment Program), 1999, is an important rural development plan. The “Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission” (JNNURM) of 2005, aims at improvement of urban services in 63 select Indian cities.

With regard to social development, worthy of mention are the “Draft National Policy on Tribals” and programs for helping those belonging to “Schedules Castes” and “National Programme for Rehabilitation for the Disabled persons” for rehabilitation of disabled persons. However, recent surveys carried out amongst the socially marginalized groups like the Adivasis and the Dalits have shown new cases of food scarcity.

Thanks to projects undertaken by the Italian government and their execution by UNIDO, special attention was given to the development of small and medium enterprises and development of industrial districts. Such programs have proved the effects they have on economical growth and on reduction of poverty in the country.

The Indian Government has recently introduced, in collaboration with UNDP, two projects for risks faced due to natural calamities and to create a system of prevention, management and mitigation of effects of such disasters.

In spite of the volume of help for development in India provided by international agencies, even if small when compared to the national budget, its impact and influence on national policies are huge. Bilateral assistance is received mostly from Japan, United Kingdom (through DFID), United States of America, Germany, European Union and Holland.

The Italian Cooperation for Development in India, by making its contribution for development and implementation of projects at national level, has allowed the transfer of systems and methods which continue to play and important role in social and economic sectors. In the light of the Development Objectives for this Millennium, it is necessary to continue work with determination to support and strengthen the projects already underway so as to guarantee a sustained growth of the society.  

NEPAL

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world with 82.5% of its population, estimated at 25 million, living on less than 2 USD per day. The Human Development Index of UNDP places Nepal at 136th place out of a total of 177 countries with a value of 0.526 and annual per capita income (adjusted as per the purchasing power)  of 1420 USD.

Nepal has been through a conflict situation now for almost a decade which, due to Maoist violence, has resulted in more than 10,000 deaths. The situation worsened further when on 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra led a coup, desolved the parliament and the democratic government and also infringed on freedom and constitutional rights. Many political and student leaders were arrested and media was put under check and censored.  In response to the crisis, the international community started working for finding a solution and EU, for example, suspended ministerial level contacts with Nepalese authorities. 

The infant mortality rate is estimated to be at 66 per thousand, more than half the population is illiterate and 16% of the population does not have access to sufficient health and hygiene services. Life expectancy is extremely low at 61.1 years. The women are in a particularly underprivileged condition. Nepal is one of the only two countries in the world where the women have a life expectancy lesser than men. Differences in living conditions can be noted in various districts of the country and poverty in rural areas is certainly higher than in urban areas. Malnutrition is common in the whole of the country and the risk of epidemic has increased due to extremely scarce health conditions.

Besides, the country is experiencing a series of environmental decay, deforestation and lack of drinking water, especially in urban areas.

In spite of this, the economy growth rate in 1992/2001 touched almost 5% and after a period of recession in 2002, the growth rate went up to 3% in 2003.

Important efforts have been made in the last decade to promote human development: government expenditure in social sectors has been raised from 22% to 36%, access to education and health services has increased, life expectancy has risen by ten years. Access to drinking water has improved and road network has doubled.

There are around 75,000 (0.3%) estimated cases of AIDS and 316 persons per 100,000 inhabitants suffer from Tuberculosis.

The new constitution (1990) guarantees protection and promotion of human development and both the Ninth (1997-2002) and the Tenth (2002-06) five yearly plans have established the struggle against poverty as its main objective which the Government intends to pursue through a set of reforms both in economic and social sectors. The country has approved the main international agreements for defending human rights and one of these is the regional program IPEC of ILO for elimination of child labour. In this regard many projects were launched and a Human Rights Commission was set up in 2000.   

The new “Country Cooperation Framework (2002-2006)” of UNDP for Nepal is part of the last Five Yearly plan and it was chosen in collaboration with various international and local partners and with the civil society.

The European Union Delegation recently opened a representative office in the country after an increase in its activities.

Following the closure of the Italian Embassy in Nepal since August 1997, various cooperation activities in the Himalayan Kingdom are handled by the Local Technical Unit of the Italian Embassy in New Delhi.

 

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