Traditionally, discussions about poverty have focused on income poverty in both analytical discussions and measurements. Income-based measures have long been used to measure poverty, shaping the prevailing perception that poverty is purely a financial problem. However, today it is accepted that the issue of poverty is neither linear nor one-dimensional.

Poverties also exist in non-income dimensions such as education, health, nutrition, clean drinking water, work and employment. Income gaps do not always reflect deprivation in these areas.

For example, a person may be rich but illiterate. In this case, he may not be income poor, but he certainly lacks knowledge. However, because the issue is subjective as well as relative, it is difficult to determine objectively or precisely which deprivation is most intense or extreme. Different people will prioritize different deprivations.

It should be remembered that human development depends not only on the physical well-being of people, but also on their voice and autonomy, on their right to participate in things that affect their lives, and on the balance between humans and nature.

Even after regaining physical well-being, a person may not have freedom of expression. Or he may not be able to reach some places of worship or participate in many social events just because of his caste. These are also human deprivations. Therefore, in the final analysis, human poverty is not one-dimensional but multi-dimensional.

A few years ago, to measure multidimensional poverty, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Oxford University Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) began collaborating to create the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). This composite index includes ten indicators in three key dimensions: health, education and standard of living. Three observations are important in this context.

First, MPI is not a linear measurement because it involves many aspects of derivations.

Second, although the MPI is a broader measure of poverty than income poverty, it focuses only on non-income dimensions of poverty. Consequently, if one wants to assess the extent of income poverty in a country, one has to turn to income poverty measurements.

Comparison of inter-period data between the 2014 and 2019 surveys shows that in these five years, the multidimensional poverty rate in Bangladesh decreased from 38% in 2014 to 24% in 2019. The absolute number of multidimensional poor has decreased since 2019. From 60 million in 2014 to 41 million in 2019 – a drop of nearly three-fifths in five years

Third, the MPI also focuses on people’s physical well-being and not on issues such as people’s voice and autonomy, freedom of participation, or the balance between humans and nature.

The latest research report on global multidimensional poverty, actually the seventh in the series, was published last week. Using data obtained from different research periods, the MPI was created for 122 countries.

Bangladesh is also on this list. Two surveys were conducted on multidimensional poverty, one in 2014 and the other in 2019. The 2022 Bangladesh MPI was created by extrapolating 2019 survey data.

MPI results show that globally, 1.1 billion of the world’s 6.3 billion people (27% of the global population) are in multidimensional poverty.

96 million of these 1.1 billion people live in rural areas. They represent 84% of people suffering from multidimensional poverty. In other words, more than four-fifths of the multidimensional poor are in rural areas. On the other hand, nearly 540 children in the world live in multidimensional poverty. Thus, global multidimensional poverty has a rural and childish face.

MPI results for Bangladesh show that the multidimensional poverty rate in the country is 25%; This means that 1 in 4 Bangladeshis live in multidimensional poverty. In absolute figures in 2022, 41.2 million people in Bangladesh were in multidimensional poverty, with 7% of its population living in the most severe form of poverty.

Approximately 18% of Bangladeshis are vulnerable to multidimensional poverty; This implies that even if they are not currently multidimensionally poor, they are prone to fall into the multidimensional poverty trap in case of any crisis.

In Bangladesh, deprivations in living standards contribute to 45% of multidimensional poverty; educational deprivations can explain about 38% of this; and health deprivations account for the remaining 17%. It is argued that addressing multidimensional poverty in Bangladesh will require prioritizing deprivations in living standards and education.

When multidimensional poverty is compared to income poverty in Bangladesh, the comparison shows that the multidimensional poverty rate in the country is 25%, while the income poverty rate (measured by the national poverty line) is 19%.

These two figures indicate that more people in Bangladesh suffer from multidimensional impoverishment rather than income poverty. So income gap alone cannot explain all the deprivations in Bangladesh.

According to World Bank poverty measurements, 5 percent of Bangladeshi people live in severe income poverty, as measured by the poverty line pegged at PPP dollars 2.15 per day. Since 7 percent of Bangladeshi people live in severe multidimensional poverty, it is clear that deprivations in standards of living, education and health are more intense than income poverty among severely poor people in this country.

Comparison of inter-period data between the 2014 and 2019 surveys shows that in these five years, the multidimensional poverty rate in Bangladesh decreased from 38% in 2014 to 24% in 2019. The absolute number of multidimensional poor has decreased since 2019. From 60 million in 2014 to 41 million in 2019 – a drop of nearly three-fifths in five years

It is important to evaluate Bangladesh’s multidimensional poverty situation from the regional perspective of South Asia, which includes Bangladesh. Overall, Bangladesh’s MPI is quite similar to that of South Asia. Thus, while 25% of Bangladeshis live in multidimensional poverty, the figure for South Asia is 21%.

In South Asia, approximately 7.3% of the region’s population is in multidimensional poverty, while this rate is 6.5% in Bangladesh. In both Bangladesh and South Asia, approximately 18% of people are vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. All these data show that the multidimensional poverty situation in Bangladesh is no worse than in South Asia.

Three-fifths of multidimensional poverty in South Asia, such as Bangladesh, can be explained by the region’s deprivations in living standards and education. However, in terms of income poverty, Bangladesh fares better than the South Asian region. The income poverty rate in South Asia is 23 percent, 5 percentage points higher than Bangladesh. Similarly, in terms of severe income poverty, 5% of Bangladeshi people live in severe poverty, while in South Asia this rate is 11%.

Five policy issues are critical to addressing multidimensional poverty in Bangladesh.

First, since more than 80% of multidimensional poverty in Bangladesh can be explained by deprivations in living and education standards, these two areas should be focused on in the policy matrix to address multidimensional poverty in Bangladesh.

First of all, in the field of living standards, issues such as safe drinking water, electricity and shelter should be given priority. Second, the nature and process of economic growth and macroeconomic strategies must be equitable, pro-poor, and environmentally sensitive.

Third, the country’s social protection system should address multidimensional poverty.

Fourth, efforts to mobilize data should be reinforced. Reliable data collection can be achieved through innovative approaches and partnerships with other organizations. Special precautions will be needed in areas that are not easily accessible. Greater emphasis should also be given to resource mobilization and financing to strengthen the statistical system.

Fifth, a coordinated effort is needed to overcome multidimensional poverty. Humanitarian aid and poverty alleviation efforts should be part of this coordinated approach. Resilience will be built through such efforts, which will pave the way for sustainable development.

Finally, the global community must work together so that global assistance can be given to countries like Bangladesh to achieve targeted goals of eradicating multidimensional poverty. Thanks to this measure, a development path can be developed for the victims of multidimensional poverty.

It must be ensured that no one is left behind on the path to eradicating multidimensional poverty.