New Delhi: 1.1 billion people across the world are experiencing multidimensional poverty, with almost half of them residing in countries affected by violent conflict, according to the latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released Thursday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
This year’s report, which offers original statistical research on multidimensional poverty for 112 countries and 6.3 billion people, also includes an in-depth analysis of the relationship between conflict and poverty. It reveals that countries at war have higher deprivations across all ten indicators of multidimensional poverty.
“In conflict-affected countries, more than one in four poor people lacks access to electricity, compared to just over one in twenty in more stable regions. Similar disparities exist in child education, nutrition, and mortality,” it read.
The report also notes that poverty reduction tends to be slowest in countries most affected by conflict. “Conflicts have intensified and multiplied in recent years, reaching new highs in casualties, displacing record millions of people, and causing widespread disruption to lives and livelihoods,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
“Our new research shows that of the 1.1 billion people living in multidimensional poverty, almost half a billion live in countries exposed to violent conflict. We must accelerate action to support them. We need resources and access for specialized development and early recovery interventions to help break the cycle of poverty and crisis.,” he added.
The MPI is measured from 2012 to 2023 to create a comparable index of global levels and trends. Due to lack of data, the challenges of gathering data in conflict-affected countries likely lead to an underestimation of multidimensional poverty in these countries. However, the available data still underscores the catastrophic effect of conflict on poverty reduction.