The Federal Government has commenced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey, a virtual survey to assess poverty in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Nneka Anibeze, on Tuesday, in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
What the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs said
The Minister said that with the MPI, Nigeria has joined many countries that have moved towards improving the efficiency of their decision-making processes through the evidence generated by MPI.
“The consensus around the use of the MPI emerges from different approaches and global agreements, including the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs), which has been replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to cover the multiple aspects of deprivation at the core of poverty and their inter-linkages,” she said.
The Minister added that it is an honour Nigeria gets to join other strong voices to highlight the importance of multi-stakeholder engagements on poverty eradication, zero hunger, quality education, climate action and inclusion, all of which are central to the evidence generated by the MPI.
She also added that the ministry would partner with private sector actors using the special purpose vehicle of Social Investments to create a National and State poverty map/tracker which would help provide progress towards poverty reduction goals. Her ministry will also collaborate with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, using MPI data to improve budget allocations by sectors and states in order to target individuals, communities and areas needing dire attention.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported in June that the FG inaugurated the National Steering Committee (NSC) of the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), with the plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. The Vice President revealed that the NPRGS proposed the establishment of a private equity fund, the Nigeria Investment and Growth Fund (NIG-Fund), to lead resource mobilisation drive and manage its resources.
