SOCIAL ACTION FUND

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The Social Action Fund Project will contribute towards poverty reduction in four fundamental ways. It will: 1) provide additional resources for programs targeted at the poor; 2) promote a new approach to rural development by involving communities in project preparation and implementation, while encouraging government agencies, non-governmental organizations and private institutions to assist communities when needed; 3) support a district level program of labor-intensive construction to be targeted at the poorest districts as a safety net operation; and 4) strengthen the poverty monitoring and assessment system through financing a poverty monitoring support facility (PMSF). The PMSF will support poverty reduction policies and programs by bridging poverty-related gaps and developing analytical skills in government and private institutions. The project will have the following three components: 1) community subprojects including an information, education and communication (IEC) campaign to inform communities and other participants about the demand-driven processes of the project; 2) public works program which will finance a safety net operation in poor and food-deficient areas through labor-intensive public works constructing, rehabilitating and maintaining economic infrastructure; and 3) poverty monitoring support facility, which will finance capacity building in institutions to coordinate, collect, analyze, disseminate and use data relevant for poverty reduction policies and programs.