Discussing resilience: OPHI participates in XVI Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

OPHI participated in the XVI Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean held between 30 October and 1 November which was convened to discuss how the region can advance and protect social gains in the context of more frequent and intense shocks.

The XVI edition of the Ministerial Forum took place in Barbados and was hosted by the government of Barbados with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

OPHI Director Sabina Alkire participated in a Side Event entitled ‘From Measurement to Policy Poverty Data to Guide Resilience-Building Policy Design’ and presented on how the MPI is being used as a tool for policy in the LAC region and beyond.

Sabina described how MPI can be implemented as a ‘central instrument’ to coordinate different initiatives such as multisectoral programmes and teams to ‘create shared targets, recognise success and create a sense of common purpose’. 

She stressed how the MPI can provide a central organising instrument for targeting, budgeting, and planning, and thus 'can create shared targets, recognise success and create a sense of common purpose’. 

The event occurred shortly after Juan Manuel Santos was named Chair of the Elders, and Sabina commended to the assembly his book The Battle Against Poverty: Colombia: A Case of Leadership in which the former president wrote, 'In the case of Colombia, as president, I personally took on directing and supervising social policy.' The book shares practical policy, management, and leadership steps by which Colombia reduced multidimensional poverty strongly over eight years. 

The event was moderated by Diego Zavaleta, Senior Policy Advisor at the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. Substantive closing reflections were offered by Michelle Muschett, who was Minister in Panama when Panama released its MPI and associated policies. She encouraged other Ministers present to recognise their power to spark change, and sought their input on the best routes for OPHI's Executive Education programme by which leaders could learn from each other.

Fellow panellist Roberto Angulo, Secretary of Social Integration of Bogotá in Colombia, described how microsimulations enable leaders to see how alternative budget allocations could impact MPI, and thereby optimise its reduction by better budget allocation. Almudena Fernandez, Chief Economist for UNDP LAC, discussed how network science can analyse variables within an MPI and propose avenues to accelerate its reduction.  Kimberly Bolch, Economist and Special Assistant to the Global Director for Poverty and Equity of the World Bank, presented on how the World Bank and UNDP are developing real-time monitoring approaches to improve the responsiveness of welfare programmes to shocks. Finally, Franciso Espinoza, co-founder and CEO of the development consultancy Inclusión SAS, described a multidimensional measure for energy poverty in Colombia. 

‘We are delighted to share how groups across the LAC region use the MPI to realise potential efficiency gains and, by recognising success, generate hope for real-time improvements for people whose lives are burdened by disadvantage' said Sabina Alkire, 'OPHI is committed to learning and innovating with MPIs in the LAC region, so governments can put the region back on track to reducing poverty in real time and use joined-up analysis to bolster resilience to shocks.'

View the livestream of the Side Event: ‘From Measurement to Policy Poverty Data to Guide Resilience-Building Policy Design’