Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) 2021-25

Outcome area 1 aims to the strengthen the capacity of partner governments to implement National MPIs, tied to more effective, better targeted, and higher impact poverty reduction policies. 34 new countries now have official national MPIs, 12 of which are used for policy making. During the last year, Uganda, Samoa, Mauritania and Belize developed national MPIs and Nigeria, India and Pakistan actively used theirs for policy purposes. As part of the capacity building efforts, a large number of government officials have received support through trainings and technical assistance, including Summer Schools and Executive Education courses specifically designed to increase the use of the MPI as a policy tool. Outcome area 2 focuses on the analysis and reach of the Global MPI as a tool for measuring progress towards the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, leading to greater impact of the MPI through its use for programming by international agencies. An increasing number of governments are using the MPI as a tool for tracking and reporting progress towards the SDGs. The MPI is currently reported by 44 countries in the Voluntary National Reviews and by 28 countries in the SDG indicators database. During Year 2 of the contribution, the global MPI was accepted by the formal processes to be included in the World Banks World Development Indicators, which is expected to give the global MPI even greater visibility. The global MPI report continues to be jointly produced by the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report Office and OPHI, published annually. The second Arab Multidimensional Poverty Report was published in May 2023. Outcome area 3 focuses on peerlearning among policymakers and utilizing effective communication strategies to promote the use of multidimensional poverty measures for national and international policy. The MPPN is growing: there are now 62 country participants and 19 institutional participants. The network has been active throughout the year, organising high level events, facilitating SouthSouth exchanges and sharing best practices. Outcome area 4 concerns practical, applied research that strengthens multidimensional poverty measurement and expands its potential policy uses. OPHI has produced a vast research output since the start of the project. In year 2 this included continued work on implementing the intrahousehold analysis methodology to the global MPI to enable international analysis of the gendered aspects of poverty.

Overarching programme Objective: Contribute to reducing poverty in its many dimensions by working with a growing number of countries and agencies to develop and use multidimensional poverty measures, leading to the acceptance of the MPI globally and more effective and efficient poverty reduction policies, especially in the context and aftermath of the Covid19 pandemic. The contibution has four outcome areas: Outcome 1: Strengthen capacity of partner governments to implement National MPIs, tied to more effective, better targeted, and higher impact poverty reduction policies Outcome 2: Expand the analysis and reach of the Global MPI as a tool for measuring progress towards the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, leading to greater impact of the MPI on the programs of international agencies Outcome 3: Encourage peer learning among policymakers and employ effective communications strategies that promote the use of an MPI for national and international policy, leading to an increased impact on poverty Outcome 4: Undertake practical, applied research that streghtens multidimensional poverty measurement and expands its potential policy uses