Peru takes up multidimensional poverty measurement

OPHI and the Peruvian National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) will start collaborating in order to progress multidimensional poverty measurement in Peru. This announcement was made in the wake of a successful three-day workshop held within the framework of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals indicators and supported by the World Bank. At the workshop, OPHI shared with members of the Advisory Committee for Poverty Measurement in Peru and statisticians from INEI an in-depth overview of multidimensional poverty measurement and the Alkire-Foster method. 

‘Implementing the Alkire-Foster method to measure multidimensional poverty will permit policy makers to target resources in a more efficient way,” said the Head of INEI, Dr. Aníbal Sánchez Aguilar. 

OPHI will support INEI on the conceptual and methodological aspects of multidimensional poverty measurement, carry out training for the methodological application as well as the analysis, and supply relevant technical and scientific documentation. 

INEI stresses that the implementation of a multidimensional poverty index is a medium-term process which requires coordinated and joint participation by a range of entities across the public and private sectors, and from civil society. It is necessary to start by defining indicators in line with the national reality and the new methodology. 

Implementing the Alkire-Foster methodology developed by OPHI for measuring multidimensional poverty will improve the design of public policies, identify associations between deprivations, help monitor the effectiveness of policies over time, enhance the targeting of social programs, and allocate resources more efficiently. 

Press release from INEI (Spanish).