This series includes records related to the Annual Poverty Progress Report (APPR) prepared by the Education and Social Policy Department (ESP) and the Poverty and Social Policy Department (PSP). At the request of the Bank's Executive Board of Directors and the Office of the President (EXC), the ESP was given the responsibility of producing an annual report that gauged the progression of the Poverty Reduction Strategy outlined in the Bank's World Development Report (WDR) 1990: Poverty. The APPRs were scheduled to be published for the fiscal years 1993 to 1995. The reports were prepared by the Monitoring Unit of the Poverty Analysis and Policy team in ESP and later PSP. The bulk of poverty progress information was collected from the poverty assessment reports and assessment summaries produced by operational staff in the Regional Vice Presidencies. The APPRs were presented to the Executive Board, the Operational Policy Committee (OPC), and EXC for comment, review, and approval. The APPRs were then used as the official publication for dissemination to audiences external to the Bank, and were subsequently presented at Poverty Dissemination Seminars organized by the World Bank in partnership with various international development agencies, NGOs, government agencies, and academic institutions.

The records in this series includes background history and reference material on the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the 1990 WDR, including: a copy of the policy paper "Assistance Strategies to Reduce Poverty" (1991); and memoranda, agenda, meeting minutes, and a communiqu? related to the joint IMF and World Bank Development Committee from April 1992 regarding reporting on the Poverty Reduction Strategy. The records additionally consist of APPR drafts for 1992 to 1995, and a published APPR copy of the Poverty Reduction and the World Bank: Progress and Challenges in the 1990s for fiscal year 1995. Memoranda, correspondence, and back-to-office reports detail meetings with the Executive Board, OPC, and EXC related to the APPRs, and follow-up actions taken by ESP and PSP. Numerous World Bank press releases and external articles related to the APPRs are also included.

The series also includes records related to the Poverty Dissemination Seminars attended by World Bank staff in Europe from 1993 to 1994. These records consist of: memoranda; agenda and meeting minutes; correspondence; invitation letters to participants; speech transcripts of World Bank staff; external reports on poverty issues; and copies of the World Bank published APPRs. The memoranda and correspondence consist of planning arrangements between ESP/ PSP and other World Bank units for seminars. Other memoranda and correspondence are post--seminar reports or summaries of responses to the APPR from external organizations and individuals.