Poverty rate in India was slashed, says report, but globally 1.2bn still poor

The Multidimensional Poverty Index shows 1.2 billion people in 111 developing countries are living in many layers of poverty but, by showing granular information about specific poverty markers, the data could enable policymakers to unbundle the layers of deprivation and alleviate poverty. Powerful poverty interventions are needed, because the data do not yet represent the post-pandemic world – where resources are scarce and poverty likely increased. This finding (which is a lower bound) – that a huge country can more than halve multidimensional poverty in 15 years – really is a cause for hope. According to Professor Alkire, ‘There is no magic bullet for poverty but this information provides understanding.’‘We are all familiar,’ she says. This data provides information which can be used to make a difference.’Unfortunately, the data was collected before COVID but, she says, the report shows there were major reductions in poverty in India.