FG signs up to implement poverty reduction measures, says Agba

Nigeria has signed on to implement the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to bridge the gap and set the country on the path to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, when he spoke at the UNGA 77 High-Level side event on the theme: “Driving Multidimensional Poverty Reduction to Secure Well-being for All.”

MPI is a poverty measurement and policy tool which provides insight on sectors where people experience deprivations, thereby facilitating the adoption of evidence-based approach to governance.

Prince Agba said the place of data could not be over-emphasised given the dire need for a data-driven and evidence-based approach that influence policy formulations, budgeting, project design and implementation.

He recalled that the first engagement with the Global MPI team was initiated at UNGA 75 in 2019, adding that the report was now due to be launched.

“I am confident that the findings of the MPI in complementarity with monetary measures, will bridge the gap and set us on the path to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 1,” he said, noting that “the 2018 global MPI conducted across 50 countries showed pre-COVID monetary poverty figures but did not provide sub-national data.

“There is a huge gap for non-monetary deprivations that increase the intensity of vulnerabilities our citizens face. While income and wealth are good indicators of welfare, it has become apparent that a lot of relevant features of human welfare are missed out and focus is only on how much a person earns or consumes.

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“Hence, we conducted a sub-national MPI survey across the 109 senatorial districts, to investigate at granular level, why there is a disconnect between available social welfare opportunities and its uptake to be used as a policy tool for targeted resource allocation, in line with the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari, to establish catalytic foundation to support 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

“The journey to today began during the first phase of the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), under the Office of the Vice President (OVP). This was a programme oversight by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP),” Prince Agba said.

He pointed out that poverty is a global phenomenon, and no society is totally immune from it, although it varies in scale and intensity from one society to another.

Prince Agba stressed that it depicts a situation whereby an individual, a group or community lacks the capacity to meet their basic material needs, and the unfortunate condition requires in-depth assessment to be able to ascertain the magnitude and the menace it constitutes to the development as a way of proffering lasting solution.

He reiterated that the MPI is designed to achieve this, as progress had been made towards this end.

“The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), under the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, has completed the first sub-national MPI survey across 109 senatorial districts in all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.

“We signed a formal technical partnership agreement with Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiatives (OPHI) proponents of the MPI, which is the standard measurement for SDG one.

“The MPI is embedded within the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021-2025) as a measurement and policy tool for poverty reduction.

“The Federal Executive Council approved the 2022-2025 National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) under which the MPI project is being implemented.”

The Minister noted that to break the cycle of poverty, it was important that beyond data collection, and providing opportunities and enabling policies, there was the need to probe and understand the cultural or non-economic barriers to uptake of available opportunities.

“The MPI is being used in these allocations of resources for the 2023 budget, to target sectors identified as deprived.

“The project will continue to collaborate with the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) to align data with those on the National Social Register (NSR). This alignment will be critical as it will improve the targeting process for beneficiaries of the government’s social interventions.

“The MPI affords the opportunity for systematic tracking of the SDGs to monitor how the NPRGS is contributing to the reduction of poverty in all its forms,” Prince Agba said.

The Minister asserted that for the first time ever, the result of the MPI would be reported at the senatorial district level, and expressed confidence that it would be a useful guide for policymakers at the sub-national level in making targeted and impactful interventions where necessary.

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FG signs up to implement poverty reduction measures, says Prince Agba

FG signs up to implement poverty reduction measures, says Prince Agba