Eradicating poverty effectively: concise, strategic data to tackle the greatest global challenge

Report

• Data can make a transformational contribution to eradicating poverty. The Second World Summit on Social Development (WSSD2) presents an opportunity to act on that potential. It should prioritise core dimensions of poverty, rather than contain a garland of aims.
• Multidimensional poverty indices (MPIs) provide a summary measure that showcase interconnected non-monetary deprivations and give actionable high-resolution information that actors can use to create real impact and improve the cost effectiveness of interventions to eradicate poverty.
• A four-part poverty lens – comprising national and global monetary and multidimensional poverty indices – could be used as concise, pragmatic, feasible and easy-to-understand measures of global poverty.
• Poverty targets should go beyond relative reduction (“cutting poverty by half” – which is easiest for the least poor contexts) to include absolute reduction in poverty levels (where the least-developed and poorest countries often excel) and in the number of people experiencing poverty, so that country progress is visible.
• To empower subnational actors and track ethical initiatives that leave no one behind, poverty metrics must be disaggregated and indicator information used to design high-impact policy sequences and show change.
• We need to invest in communicating poverty facts to inform public action by actors old and new. Poverty data needs a new visual interface so non-experts can identify clear, evidence-based priorities.

Authors: Alkire, S

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: United Nations Committee for Development Policy
• Series: CDP Policy Brief
• Place of publication: New York
• Publication date: 2025-05-15
• Paper number: 2
• Language: English
• Keywords: poverty measurement; Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI); multidimensional poverty