Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021 was released by “United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)” and “Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI)”.

Highlights

• This report examines the level and composition of multidimensional poverty across 109 countries covering 5.9 billion people.
• It also takes into account several deprivations that people experience in their day to day lives such as poor health, inadequate education and poor standard of living.

World Scenario

• As per report, 1.3 billion people are multidimensionally poor, of which around 644 million are children under age 18.
• 85 percent of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa (556 million) or South Asia (532 million).
• 67 percent of the poor live in middle-income countries.
• 1 billion poor are exposed to solid cooking fuels, inadequate sanitation and substandard housing.
• 788 million poor people live in household with at least one undernourished person.
• 568 million poor people do not have improved drinking water within a 30-minute round trip walk.

Indian Scenario

• Scheduled Tribe group in India, which accounts for 9.4 percent of the population, is poorest. Out of 129 million people, 65 million are living in multidimensional poverty.
• Out of 283 million scheduled caste group people, 94 million are living in multidimensional poverty.
• In all, five out of six multidimensionally poor people live in households whose head is from a Scheduled Tribe, a Scheduled Caste or Other Backward Class (OBCs).

About MPI

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was launched by the UNDP and the OPHI in the year 2010. MPI uses three dimensions and ten indicators including:

1. Education: Years of schooling and child enrolment (1/6 weightage each)
2. Health: Child mortality and nutrition (1/6 weightage each)
3. Standard of living: Electricity, drinking water, flooring, sanitation, cooking fuel and assets (1/18 weightage each).