The Global Conference on Scaling Up Poverty Reduction ended Thursday in Shanghai, with a Shanghai Agenda on Poverty Reduction coming through case study and hot discussions by more than 1,200 delegates from over 120 countries, regions and international organizations.

The agenda reaffirmed that it is necessary and urgent to scale up actions by developing and developed countries, and by international agencies, if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)are to be achieved. Resolute and concrete steps are needed to implement the policies and actions that have been agreed upon to accelerate progress on growth and poverty reduction.

The agenda said, the meeting is designed to take stock of the current state of global poverty reduction and human development, share insights on the key factors underlying successful results and scaling-up of growth and poverty reduction, drawing upon the case studies, field visits and global dialogues undertaken preparatory to this Conference. It is also to identify practical measures required to accelerate growth and progress in poverty reduction to give impetus to the implementation of the previously agreed agenda of global poverty reduction.

Recalling the impressive progress on poverty reduction and human development in recent decades, the agenda said over the past20 years, the proportion of people in developing countries living on less than one US dollar per day has fallen from about 40 percent to less than 21 percent, even as the world's population has increased by 1.6 billion; Over the past 30 years, illiteracy in the developing countries has been cut nearly in half, from 47 percent to 25 percent of all adults; Over the past 40 years, life expectancy in developing countries has increased by 20 years.

However, uneven progress and major setbacks faced by even better performing regions and countries, however, underscore important continuing challenges to meeting the MDGs, the agenda said.

Summing up the experience and lessons on poverty relief of various countries and organizations, the agenda said a long-term vision and targets that stretch beyond immediate constraints are the starting points for scaling up; Scaling up takes time and a comprehensive approach, but must be sequenced opportunistically; Astrong management focus is key for scaling up, and requires the build up of capacity and long term administrative and management functions.

In this aspect, the agenda also said partnership between all stakeholders--the government, the private sector, civil society and donors--under the genuine leadership of the country is needed to leverage and scale up a country's development efforts; Large scale, long-term programs cannot be undertaken without adequacy and certitude of financing, and in some cases, without adequate debt reduction to achieve sustainable debt levels; Openness to trade and successful completion of the Doha Round is essential forglobal poverty reduction; Poor people are assets and agents of change--so respect for, empowerment and involvement of poor peopleis necessary for successful results;

Inclusion is critical in all aspects of scaling up. Special attention must be given to the plight of the ultra-poor, to genderdisparities, to the participation of youth and to the disadvantaged and disabled.

The scourge of HIV/AIDS must be aggressively tackled, it said. As poverty and environmental sustainability are closely interlinked, addressing the constraints of water, sanitation, power and renewable energy are crucial for long-term poverty alleviation. Experimentation, measurement and focus on results, and systematic evaluation are key to successful scaling up.

When referring to the future work, the agenda held out to continue reform efforts and the build up of capacity in governance,legal, judicial and financial systems will need to be sustained and deepened. A substantial scaling up of investment and improvement in productivity is needed to fill the gaps in infrastructure and human capital.

Expanding trade by collectively reducing barriers is the essential tool to spur global growth and tap the benefits of globalization to reduce poverty and raise living standards. A successful Doha Round that delivers on its promise to improve market access and reduce subsidies.

Much larger amounts of aid will be required to scale up development results. Aid should be predictable, timely and long term, and debt reduction for the most-indebted poorest countries is critical to help them regain momentum on growth and poverty reduction. The approaches adopted to address the needs of less advantaged regions within their own countries were welcomed.

The agenda stressed the continuing importance of financing from the Multilateral Development Banks, of new, innovative instruments to respond to evolving needs and of harmonized and simplified lending policies, and welcomed China's contribution of an extra US$20 million to create a Special Fund for Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation in the Asian Development Bank.