This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) focuses on the Second Annual Progress Report for Zambia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The government’s strategy to reduce poverty focuses on promoting economic growth through macroeconomic stabilization and diversification and improving the quality of service delivery, while addressing crosscutting issues of governance, HIV/AIDS, gender, and the environment. The JSAN provides IMF staff advice on priorities for advancing the PRSP implementation. It highlights progress in implementing the PRSP and provides suggestions for strengthening its implementation. The risks associated with implementation are also described.

This paper reviews Zambia's First Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Implementation Progress Report covering January 2002-June 2003. The report describes the first one and half years of the implementation of the PRSP in four strategic areas, namely economic and social sectors, governance, infrastructure, and crosscutting issues. It covers the macroeconomic performance-budget and structural reforms with regard to the PRSP refined indicators. The report focuses on the progress made in undertaking structural reforms to support the policy and institutional changes required to effectively implement the PRSP.

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This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the Kingdom of Lesotho presents a determined plan in pursuance of high and sustainable equity-based economic growth. It contains medium-term objectives and strategies to address the major challenges facing the country. These challenges include employment creation and income generation, and improving quality of and access to education and health services. Lesotho plans to deal boldly with its trading and investment partners by exploiting the opportunities inherent in the process of globalization under such mechanisms as the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act.

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