On Thursday 19 July 2019, Mr. Ambaliou O. OLOUNLADE, Executive Director of CASAD-Benin participated in the conference « LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND » at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA. At this conference, the exchange is focused on a new approach to assessing poverty at the national level; The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
Many countries now measure multidimensional poverty alongside monetary poverty. This means that a country will estimate and release two complementary official national measures of poverty. The monetary poverty measure assesses income or consumption and expenditure poverty, according to national poverty lines. The multidimensional poverty measure reflects relevant non-monetary aspects of poverty— food insecurity, unemployment, dilapidated housing, lack of healthcare, meager educational levels and so on. These non-monetary aspects reflect national development plans, participatory exercises, the SDGs and policy priorities. Both measures are used to monitor progress over time nationally and by subgroup, according to national definitions. The measures, together, advance a common fundamental motivation: to end poverty in all its forms, leaving no one behind.
The development of multidimensional poverty measures focuses on actively reducing poverty and improving the lives of those currently living in poverty.