zambique was once called the “poorest” country in the world. Since the mid1990s, it has reinvented itself as a highly successful post-conflict country in transition, with impressive economic growth rates and sustained macroeconomic and political stability. lxxvi. In order to boost the process of improving the wellbeing of its people, Mozambique has signed and ratified several international codes and standards. This will enable it to benchmark progress in socioeconomic development against accepted international norms and practices. Many instruments for socioeconomic development still need to be ratified before they can become the backbone of the standards and norms for promoting such development in Mozambique. Such unratified instruments include the protocols relating to the right to development (1986), sustainable development (2002) and MDGs (2000). lxxvii. By means of international codes and standards, the government has come up with the necessary policy and institutional framework to address the numerous socioeconomic challenges facing the country. To this end, policies and strategies have been designed and initiated for the development of the social sector, with particular emphasis on education, health and the fight against HIV/Aids. lxxviii. Mozambique’s Five-Year Government Programme (PQG) and its second national Plan of Action for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA II) provide the overall policy and strategic framework for the country. In terms of this framework, the government is able to pursue its objectives of ensuring that the socioeconomic conditions of all citizens improve and contribute effectively to the development of the nation by allowing easy access to basic services, including education, health, food, clean drinking water and sanitation. lxxix. The Poverty Reduction Strategy has had some success, as the incidence of absolute poverty dropped from 69.4 per cent in 1997 to 54.1 per cent in 2003. On the basis of the available data up to 2003, poverty in urban areas declined by 10.5 percentage points, whereas in rural areas it dropped by as much as 16 percentage points. This is a significant achievement, suggesting that the central objective of PARPA, which is to reduce the incidence of absolute poverty to less than 60 per cent by 2005, was attained. lxxx. It is difficult to ascertain the extent of poverty reduction in Mozambique beyond 2003, as no recent data on poverty exists. This presents a major change to policy makers wishing to design and implement appropriate antipoverty programmes. Significantly, it makes it difficult to monitor progress on the attainment of the MDGs. lxxxi. There is no doubt, however, that Mozambique has made progress in attaining some MDGs. Notable success has been made in school enrolment. The num- 16 A P R M COU N T RY R EV IEW R EP ORT NO. 11