How much do you know about the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)? Well, it is very similar to Gross National Happiness (GNH) as it focuses on three of the nine dimensions that the GNH index focuses on, Education, Health and Standard of living.
Dr. Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, OHPI, delivered a talk at the Royal institute of Management on the MPI and its Global Implications on Thursday.
The MPI takes into account issues such as health and education. The index also looks at poor nutrition, family members without primary education and clean water among others.
The Co-creator of the index, Dr. Sabina, explained that MPI focuses not only on the income but also on the education to health outcomes, to assets and services.
According to the index, out of 104 developing countries, one striking feature is that most of the poor people live in South Asia.
Dr. Sabina said a benefit of the new index was that it shows how poverty affects people living in different regions of a country. She added it also shows a wide range of poverty among the different ethnic groups.
The MPI was developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with support from the United Nations.
It will be featured in the upcoming UNDP Human Development Report replacing the Human Poverty Index.