The 2020 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index: Achieving the SDGs is a flagship data publication released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), which offers data for 107 countries and five billion people, comparing acute multidimensional poverty at regional, national, and subnational levels. Its recent launch was introduced through a public webinar, which involved global leaders including the Minister of Planning of Bangladesh and the Former Vice President of Panama, who touched upon ways in which data and policy can work synergistically to achieve favorable outcomes for the health of populations. Multidimensional poverty examines each person’s deprivations across 10 indicators in three equally weighted dimensions—health, education and standard of living—thereby seeking to understand not only who is poor, but how they are poor. Especially at a time when poverty is exacerbated due to global economic and social turmoil, it is imperative to apprehend what strategic policy measures can be taken to alleviate poverty.
Individuals can access a recording of the webinar, download the report, and learn more about SDGs and development by visiting GHELI’s online repository. If you’re interested in learning about more resources like this one, we also recommend checking out the World Social Report 2020 and the Human Development Report 2019.