ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has shown absolute improvement in multidimensional poverty reduction from 2011 to 2016, UNDPs 2019 MPI disclosed.
During media briefing on the 2019 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report here in Addis Ababa yesterday, United Nations Development Program (UNNDP) Resident Representative for Ethiopia, Turhan Saleh stated that although a lot remains to decline multidimensional poverty, Ethiopia scores huge change from 2011 to 2016 in all indicators.
The report focuses on health, education and living standard dimensions and 10 indicators nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water and electricity.
The report indicated that Ethiopia, India and Peru significantly reduced deprivations in all 10 indicators. Over 1.3 billion-world population lives under multidimensional poverty of which two-third found in middle-income countries, it was indicated.
Turhan said that in MPI indicators, Ethiopia have shown the fastest growing in absolute multidimensional poverty reduction, a lot remains with many challenges. He added that cooking fuel, sanitation, housing and access to energy are still remaining serious challenges.
UNDP National Economist, Haile Kibret on his part stated that although Ethiopia scores big change in poverty reduction, still multidimensional poverty is high in rural parts of the country and 90 percent of the children under ten remain poor.
Haile noted that big difference in multidimensional poverty and income poverty, rapid population growth, little correlation in inequality and multidimensional poverty, high poverty in rural areas and children under 10 are the challenges where the country needs strong and strict policies and more social sector investments.
2019 MPI report covers 101 countries comprising of 5.7 billion people which is 76 percent of the global population. 1.3 billion People living under multidimensional poverty globally, the report stated. From this 886 million people live in middle income countries while 440 million live in low-income countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to the largest proportion of multidimensionally poor people which takes 84.5 percent and the poverty rate for children is twice as high as for adults, it disclosed.
UNDP called policy makers to need more effective target policies and more efforts on social investment for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to end poverty.
The Ethiopian Herald, July 13/2019
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
