One in every four Bangladeshis lives in multidimensional poverty

City Desk:

One in every four people in Bangladesh is living in multidimensional poverty, according to a report.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2019 report is the latest in this regard, states UNB.
The data reveals that 24.05per cent of the population approximately 39.77 million individuals are classified as MPI poor, facing deprivations in education, health, and living standards.

Rural areas are disproportionately affected, with 26.96per cent of the rural population living in multidimensional poverty, nearly double the urban rate of 13.48per cent.

General Economics Division (GED) organised a dissemination seminar on the report “National Multidimensional Poverty Index for Bangladesh” on Thursday at the Planning Commission.

Professor Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, special assistant to the chief adviser was present at the event as the chief guest while Monzur Hossain, member (Secretary), GED presided over the session.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman, PPRC, and A K Enamul Haque, director general, BIDS, were the distinguish discussants.

In the event, Aleya Akhter, secretary, Statistics and Informatics Division (SID), Ministry of Planning, Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh, participated as special guests, and Edwin Koekkoek, First Counsellor and Acting Head of Development Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union attended as a Guest of Honor. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has been estimated for the first time in Bangladesh using data from the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

The findings show little difference in MPI scores between male-headed (0.106) and female-headed (0.105) households, indicating similar vulnerability levels across gender of household heads.