Multidimensional poverty: What exactly does this mean and are you multi dimensionally poor?
Multidimensional poverty: What exactly does this mean and are you multi dimensionally poor?
When you think of poverty, you might instinctively think of money, and that’s not entirely wrong.
Ghana’s monetary poverty has seen a significant decline over 25 years, dropping from 51.7% in 1991/1992 to 23.4% in 2016/2017. Severe poverty has also reduced from 36.5% to 8.2% over the same period.
Traditionally, poverty measurement in Ghana has focused on income deprivation to assess the living conditions and overall well-being of the population.
However, it is now widely acknowledged that poverty is multidimensional. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 aims to “End poverty in ALL ITS FORMS everywhere,” and SDG Target 1.2 seeks to “by 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages LIVING IN POVERTY IN ALL ITS DIMENSIONS according to national definitions.” This underscores the multifaceted nature of poverty.
Traditional consumption expenditure poverty measurements may not fully capture the various ways through which people experience poverty.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) provides a comprehensive measure that considers these different dimensions.
Developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), the MPI assesses simultaneous deprivations in areas essential for a dignified life, such as clean water, electricity, health, and employment.
Ghana’s Multidimensional Poverty Index captures overlapping deprivations across thirteen non-monetary indicators in four dimensions: education, health, living standards, and employment.
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The Four Dimensions of Poverty:
1. Living Conditions:
– Cooking fuel: Deprivation if the main source is firewood or charcoal, and the kitchen is indoors.
– Water: Deprivation if the main source is unprotected or more than 30 minutes away.
– Assets: Deprivation if the household lacks at least two small assets or one large asset.
– Housing: Deprivation if construction materials are substandard.
– Overcrowding: Deprivation if three or more members share a bedroom.
– Electricity: Deprivation if there is no electric power.
– Toilet: Deprivation if using inadequate toilet facilities or sharing them.
2. Education:
– School attendance: Deprivation if any school-age child (4-15 years) is not attending school.
– School attainment: Deprivation if no household member older than 15 has at least nine years of education.
– School lag: Deprivation if a child is attending school but is two or more years behind the expected age/grade level.
3. Health:
– Mortality: Deprivation if a child (under 5) or pregnant mother has died in the household.
– Health insurance: Deprivation if any member is not registered for or covered by health insurance.
4. Employment:
– Employment: Deprivation if no household member aged 15 years and older is employed.
A person is considered multidimensionally poor if they are deprived in at least one-third (33.3%) or more of the weighted indicators.
Current Statistics:
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, 7.3 million people, representing 24.3% of the population, are multidimensionally poor. Among these, 43.8% experience severe poverty through multiple deprivations. In rural areas, 36.7% are multidimensionally poor, with severity similar in rural (44.0%) and urban (43.4%) areas.
The Savannah Region has the highest proportion of multidimensionally poor households at 49.5%, nearly twice the national average. Employment (32.6%) and living conditions (27.9%) are the most significant contributors to multidimensional poverty, followed by health (21.7%) and education (17.8%).
The most common forms of deprivation include the use of unimproved toilets (78.8%), lack of health insurance coverage (52.2%), poor housing materials (36.0%), overcrowding (34.9%), and school lag (34.4%).
The district with the lowest proportion of multidimensionally poor people is Asokwa Municipal (6.3%) in the Ashanti Region, while the Nabdam District (68.6%) in the Upper East Region has the highest.
Many districts with the highest multidimensional poverty are in the Savannah Region, while several districts with the lowest are in the Greater Accra Region.
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