The UNDP’s Regional Human Development Report says one third of the people in Macedonia, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, and Moldova remain outside society, Info-Prim Neo reports. The report “Beyond Transition: Towards Inclusive Societies” loooks at the vicious cycle of poverty from the perspective of those who experience it firsthand. According to it, an estimated 35 percent of people in the region are excluded from society, ranging from 12 percent in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to 72 percent in Tajikistan. The data collected in the six states, except Tajikistan, show that access to the social services is restricted. “We want the decision makers to understand that they can help the people to overcome poverty by extending access to incomes, social services and social networks. Progress in an area can often determine exponential benefits in other areas, owing to the use of the available resources,” Alexandru Oprunenco, UNDP Moldova policy specialist, said in the workshop “Exclusion, social inclusion and sustainable human development – regional approach”. According to the expert, not all the people equally benefit from the economic development and this aspect should be addressed. The UNDP’s report also introduces a way to measure the extent to which people are excluded from economic life, social services, and social networks and civic participation. “The report data can be disintegrated so that the decision makers see the picture of exclusion in their country, where it is located geographically and to what extent it is determined by the economic exclusion, or follow elements that are often neglected such as the access to socials services and social networks,” said Alexandru Oprunenco. The study also shows that the elderly persons, children, young people, the persons living in rural areas, the unemployed and the persons without studies are marginalized. “This report is aimed at stimulating discussions in the region and beyond it, centering on the elements that determine the exclusion and the methods of including the persons in society,” said Alexandru Oprunenco. The report recommends improving vocational education and the services intended for the elderly, generally restructuring the social protection at regional level and working out strategies for promoting social inclusion, based on the involvement of persons and socially excluded groups.