The First Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty, the largest gathering of staff of the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral lending institutions, addressed a plethora of themes related to poverty in Asia. This compilation of materials prepared for the forum discusses the broad strategic issues in poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific, especially macroeconomic policy and poverty reduction and the role of multilateral lending institutions. Also presented are the forum's efforts to foster good governance in the fight to reduce poverty and the role of civil society and the private sector in poverty reduction efforts. Country-specific studies on poverty in Asia and the Pacific are addressed as well.