From the workshops that the IDB has had in the region, it seems that regardless of whether the objective of funds is expressed as poverty re- duction or alleviation, as long as there is a poverty problem, there is a role for a fund. Funds should be thought of as instruments to comple- ment other actions and programs of governments to reduce poverty. What social funds do in any particular country is going to depend on what will help the poor, what the government is doing, and what local conditions prevail. The funds themselves are small. The government does other things. Funds ought to be part of an.
