ROMA – Il United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published the 2024 edition of Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) created in collaboration withOxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). The index offers an updated overview of multidimensional poverty at a global level through an assessment of 112 countries and measures poverty not only through income, but also based on 10 key indicators such as education, health, access to services essentials and housing conditions.
Poverty in war contexts is triple. The report reveals that 1.1 billion people worldwide live in multidimensional poverty. Of these, nearly half (455 million) live in conflict-affected countries, where progress towards poverty reduction is hindered and often reversed. Poverty in conflict contexts is almost three times higher than in peaceful countries, with catastrophic effects on the lives of the most vulnerable people. In countries affected by conflict, the deprivation index is much higher for all poverty indicators. For example, more than a quarter of the poor in these countries do not have access to electricity, while in stable areas this condition affects only 5%. The same disparity is found in access to childhood education (17.7% in conflict countries versus 4.4% in stable ones), nutrition (20.8% versus 7.2%) and infant mortality (8% versus 1.1%).
Impact on Children. More than half of the world’s multidimensional poor (584 million) are children. Globally, 27.9% of children live in multidimensional poverty, compared to 13.5% of adults, underlining the urgency of targeted policies that address the cycle of poverty from early childhood.
Deprivation in Essential Services. Among the 1.1 billion poor people, 828 million live without adequate sanitation, 886 million lack decent housing and 998 million have no cooking fuel. In particular, 637 million poor people live with at least one malnourished family member. In South Asia, for example, 272 million people in poverty live in families with at least one malnourished person.
Countries in Growth and Regression.Among the 112 countries analyzed, 76 recorded a significant reduction in poverty in at least one time period. However, in 17 countries for which data is available up to 2021 or later, only nine (including Benin, Cambodia and Kenya) have seen significant reductions in both MPI and poverty incidence, even during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Targeted interventions are urgently needed. To effectively combat global poverty, the report insists on the need for interventions that are targeted, coordinated and adapted to conflict contexts. UNDP and OPHI call on the international community to take urgent action to improve the conditions of people living in multidimensional poverty by investing in peace and sustainable development. Poverty is in fact aggravated by conflicts: in countries at war, over a third of the population lives in poverty (34.8%) compared to an average of 10.9% in stable countries. The report highlights that poverty reduction in these contexts is slower, requiring targeted interventions and greater international collaboration.
Access to food. Particular attention must be paid to access to food and water as well as the supply of electricity and sanitation, which represent the highest levels of deprivation of people in conflict countries. Efforts must focus on improving these services to alleviate the hardships of the affected populations especially poor families with children.
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