“Sustainable and Targeted Poverty Solutions: Using the Multidimensional Poverty Index”

High-Level Side Meeting at the UN General Assembly

Conference Room 2, UN Headquarters, New York
24th September 2024, 11:00 – 13:00 (New York)

Register Here

Eradicating poverty in all its dimensions is the greatest global challenge, threatening and jeopardising sustainable development for all, with a greater impact on the most vulnerable. The Political Declaration of the 2023 UN General Assembly restated the vital importance of accelerating progress to reduce poverty in all its forms, prioritizing those experiencing interconnected deprivations and reversing widening inequalities.

Member countries and agencies have taken action by implementing and using multidimensional poverty indices to guide effective policies that make a significant shift in the fight against poverty. This commitment has seen the rise in permanent official Multidimensional Poverty Indices (MPIs) that make visible the interconnected deprivations in multiple SDG indicators experienced by the poorest members of society, such as health, education, work, living standards and social protection. Official national MPIs are increasingly used for targeting, for shaping integrated policies and social protection packages, and for coordinating whole of government efforts to end poverty. Bespoke national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) are complemented by the UNDP-OPHI global MPI and by regional MPIs that serve to compare poverty levels and trends across countries. Both national and comparable MPIs serve as a tool that can target poverty reduction efforts as well as identify and celebrate locations of strongest progress.

This high-level side meeting, co-hosted by the Federal Republic of Somalia and the MPPN, will bring together global leaders, senior government officials and international organisations. The countries and institutions represented will include Egypt, Dominican Republic, Mauritania, Somalia and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The event offers platform for leaders to share their experiences and commitments to using MPIs to accelerate poverty reduction and inform and develop innovative policy actions, especially in the wake of the pandemic, and given the uncertainties that are endemic to current times, plus fiscal constraints. It will underscore the significance of political leadership in achieving these goals during this crucial time. The time has come to end poverty hand-in-hand with strategies that address social needs and guarantee well-being for all.

This event addresses a fast-growing community of practice at a time of heightened innovation. Already 84 countries report against SDG indicator 1.2.2 on multidimensional poverty, and 43 countries home to 3 billion people report national MPIs as this indicator with over 20 countries shortly to report. Existing National MPIs are disaggregated by 7,222 subnational units to track progress and tailor policy to precise needs, so that no one is left behind. While country experiences vary greatly, most official MPIs are used as a diagnostic tool to reveal who is poor, in what way, and to what degree, as a monitoring tool and to shape policy. This session offers space for creative exchange of experiences, experiments, and challenges. In addition, some countries have also developed multidimensional well-being measures, such as Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index. These measures use the same methodology as the MPI and provide information on the overall well-being of society across a wider range of valuable dimensions.

 

Format

This high-level event will have the form of a dynamic discussion between senior government officials, and high-level representatives from international organisations. The discussion will have an eminent panel of speakers and will be moderated by Dr. Sabina Alkire, Director, Dr Ricardo Nogales, Senior Researcher and Ana Maria Marin Morales, Global Engagement and Events Manager at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

 

*Note on registration

This event is open to the public but requires registration. 

UN Staff and UN delegates should be in possession of their UN grounds pass with either a UNGA79 secondary pass or a meeting-specific ticket. Guests without this pass must register to be able to attend the event. Make sure to include your given name and surname as it appears in your national ID. Limited spaces available. 

Deadline for registration for non-UN pass holders 18th September, 8:00am Eastern Time / New York.