OPHI has been, of course, a great success, and it’s wonderful that on the tenth anniversary of this institution we can look back and see how much has been achieved here.

The way that poverty is assessed has changed profoundly during the past ten years. A decade ago, the merits of the capability approach pioneered by Amartya Sen were widely recognised, but in practice poverty was invariably judged in terms of material resources versus household needs.

Much has changed in the years since OPHI was founded. And OPHI has been a central voice and player in many of these developments.

For Michelle Muschett, Panama’s Vice Minister for Social Development, the national Multidimensional Poverty Index is the result of the work of a technical and political team that took full advantage of the opportunity to do its very best in the attempt to build a more socially just society, inspired by an authentic feeling of solidarity and respect for human dignity.