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Fostering Inclusive Globalization and Promoting Inclusive Growth |
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Malaysia, as one of the region’s most dynamic economies, has had an impressive track record of sustained economic growth, substantial poverty reduction, and progress in human development over the last few decades. Despite the shock of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the country’s economy has recovered and grew at an annual average rate of 5.3 per cent between 2000 and 2006. The national poverty rate halved between 1990 and 1999, from 16.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent, and was just 5.7 per cent in 2004. In that year, Malaysia’s multi-ethnic and culturally diverse population achieved high human development status. The country has achieved all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at an aggregate level, except for halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
However, the challenge of growing inequality is an agenda that requires redress as the progress in poverty reduction has been uneven across the country. Although Malaysia has come close to ending extreme poverty, there are pockets of hard-core rural poverty remaining, especially among the indigenous communities of Sabah and Sarawak. Income inequalities have been rising; the Gini rose from 0.446 in 1990 to 0.462 in 2004. There are growing spatial disparities in income and other human development indicators, as well as between, and within, Malaysia’s main communities.
| HIV/AIDS has risen sharply since the 1990s, mainly through substance abuse and among young males. In recent years, there has been a rising trend of HIV infections among women. Increased migration flows enhance the risk of the spread of HIV. UNDP works closely with the UNCT theme group on HIV/AIDS to support the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP), 2006-2010. More needs to be done to mainstream HIV/AIDS in national planning across all relevant sectors, taking into account the gender dimension.
The pillar on fostering inclusive globalization and promoting inclusive growth seeks to assist the Malaysian government and stakeholders in developing strategic and upstream initiatives that address Malaysia’s priority human development challenges which includes inequality in income generating activities, education, health services, infrastructural development, and the digital divide. UNDP Malaysia also supports initiatives to improve equity between states, population groups, and also to address the needs of marginalised and physically challenged communities.
Strategic programme initiatives have been developed in cooperation with the Government of Malaysia to analyze and implement high-impact projects that will assist the Government to reduce poverty, with particular focus given to the rural areas in the 5 states where poverty is highest in line with the aims of the Government’s Ninth Malaysia Plan, 2006-2010 target of halving poverty and eradicating extreme poverty. UNDP also seeks to make positive progress towards the achievement of MDG 6 to reverse and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Efforts are also made to assist the Government of Malaysia in enhancing good governance and improving public service delivery, especially to the poor and the disadvantaged, as well as to ensure the integration of a human rights approach to development in national policies and programmes.
This cluster supports UNDP’s global thematic areas on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDs and democratic governance and services.
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Promoting Inclusive Growth
