The federal government has again expressed its unwavering commitment to eradicating poverty in Nigeria.
The federal government said it was for this reason that it officially established the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) in 2016, which is the custodian of the National Social Register- the largest repository of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who reiterated this commitment on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, stated that “we consolidated the impact made in the lives of over 5 million persons with the implementation of the National Social Investments Programme (NSIP), by institutionalising it under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) in 2019. Hence, we have been intentional with our plan to lift 100 million people out of poverty within 10 years, in line with the objectives of the SDGs and the Africa Agenda 2063. We are happy that the MPI will serve as both a measurement and policy tool to monitor our progress at achieving these goals.”
Buhari was represented on the occasion by the Chief of Staff to the President, Dr Ibrahim Gambari.
The official launch of MPI report pinpointed the level of deprivations and its intensity that the country’s citizens face.
Beyond this, it also provided substantive evidence of the positive impact of the multi-sectoral interventions of this administration, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrated the country’s commitment to eradicating extreme poverty.
Buhari stated that global climate and environmental catastrophes, food and fuel crises, inflation, and austerity, exacerbated political and nuclear tensions, and the tiring weight of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the nation in no small way just as every other nation of world.
“However, today, as we gather here to launch the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report – I reaffirm our commitment to the first goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, which is eradicating poverty in all its dimensions.
“You have heard directly from the people as captured in the documentary, our collective triumphs and struggles in understanding and untangling the interlinked deprivations that the poorest people experience. We have also heard as shared by the Honourable Ministers and partners, the endless possibilities of the transformative ways data from the MPI could be used for multisectoral policies to accelerate our efforts. It is my hope that with the report being launched today, every stakeholder will rise to the challenge, providing needed political leadership, strategic vision, and creative hard work to move the needle towards eradicating extreme poverty in Nigeria,” he said
The President recalled that in 2019, as a government, “we made a commitment to deploy the use of MPI in understanding poverty issues across multiple dimensions.
“This was at the United Nations General Assembly- UNGA, where the Federal Government announced the adoption of this global poverty measurement methodology to track the Presidential ‘100 million out of poverty’ mandate. Subsequently, the developers of the MPI- the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), were invited to Nigeria in November of same year to discuss the modalities.
“In 2020, with the emergence of COVID-19, the economic fallout for Nigeria was particularly monumental, with visible pressure on the federal budget. What started as a health crisis- with grave impact on populations, also within months became a real economic crisis.
“The health crisis had real impact on education and food security, disrupted the large-scale humanitarian response to the conflict in the Northeast, and set back already stressed broader human development efforts.
“Given the multi-dimensional impact of the virus, and the challenge to protect the health of citizens (especially the most vulnerable), while at the same time guaranteeing sustainable recovery of national economies, livelihoods, and well-being after the crisis, the National Bureau of Statistics was commissioned to carry out a sub-national (Senatorial level) MPI survey, nationwide. It is for the success of this effort that we are here today officially launching the findings of the Report.
“This multidimensional way of understanding poverty has been helpful with highlighting beyond monentary/income-based poverty measurements, the stark realities of poverty in each State and across the 109 Senatorial districts. According to the Report, the incidence of monetary poverty is lower than the incidence of multidimensional poverty across most States where 40.1% of people are poor according to the 2018/19 national monetary poverty line, but 63% are multidimensionally poor according to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report.
“Furthermore, the Report shows that multidimensional poverty is higher in rural areas, where 72% of people are poor, compared to 42% of people in urban areas.
“Globally, people that are most vulnerable to poverty are very often women and children. It is therefore commendable to see that this Report also includes Child poverty numbers. Children are a strategic population of concern, as nearly half of all Nigerians are children under the age of 18. Two-thirds (67.5%) of children aged 0–17 are poor according to the National MPI, and half (51%) of all poor people are children.
“This government recognises the importance of these data and the need to engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders, both domestically and internationally. One way we have started this engagement was at the recent United Nations General Assembly where Nigeria co-hosted the Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network- MPPN and shared lessons-learned from other 100 member countries. However, this is just the start. Internally, we have now deployed a comprehensive Data Demand and Use (DDU) strategy to embed the use of evidence-based and data driven poverty reduction mechanisms.
“To begin this deployment of the data, let me share seven reasons why Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty index is a powerful tool to galvanise the kind of action that will push us forward to achieving the presidential mandate of lifting 100 million out of poverty, within the next decade ”
The President saluted the efforts of the steering committee of the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and the leadership provided by the Minister of State, Budget, and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba; and the commitment of people at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In his remarks on the occasion, Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba said Nigeria had significant achievement in this aspect.
He said Nigeria was one of the first countries in Africa to conduct the exercise as a standalone survey with this level of disaggregation.
“So I say a big congratulations to the National Bureau of Statistics and the entire Nigerian Statistical System for recording this feat.”
Agba commemded Buhari for his visionary leadership by setting up the presidential mandate to lift 100 million out of poverty, by 2030.
“This vision was the catalyst for the implementation of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which survey findings we are gathered here today to launch.
“The journey to today began during the first phase of the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), under the Office of the Vice President (OVP). This was a programme over-sighted then by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP). It was concerning however that in spite of the programme successfully empowering more than 5 million persons, the poverty narrative about Nigeria seems not to have changed. This necessitated the examination of poverty beyond monetary terms to considering how deprivations in different sectors contribute to this narrative.
“Monetary poverty figures showed that pre-COVID, of Nigeria’s over 200 million population, approximately 82.9 million (40.1%) were income poor. However, multidimensionally, a higher 50% were identified as poor while 51% experience intense poverty in education, health, energy, water, assets, and other living standard indicators. Unfortunately, this information as provided in the 2018 global MPI conducted across 50 countries, does not provide sub-national data that should trigger responsive action.
“Hence, beyond pondering why the country’s poverty narrative has not changed in spite of the huge government funding, we are conducting a sub-national MPI survey across the 109 senatorial districts, to investigate at granular level, why there is a disconnect between available social welfare opportunities and its uptake; identify which sector, State, senatorial district, and groups of persons with poverty incidences, and then use these data to nudge for behavioural changes that will lead to increase in uptake, influence design and implementation of projects, and also use as policy tool for targeted resource allocation,” the Minister stated.
He disclosed that the official flag-off of the survey took place in August 2021, with the first sub-national MPI survey completed in February 2022.
“And in January 2022, I led a team of high-level partners to formally brief His Excellency- the Vice President on the MPI. I must pause at this juncture to specially recognise Prof. Alkire’s support at the meeting, with the invitation extended to His Excellency, Juan Manuel Santos- former President of Columbia, who joined virtually and contributed to the successful outcome of the meeting.”
He emphasised that the 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index is not just another poverty measurement tool but one useful for influencing policies.
He noted that the report provided a more comprehensive view of poverty by not only revealing who is poor, but in what way, and to what degree of intensity, turning it into a very practical resource for addressing the problem of poverty in all its forms and dimensions.
He disclosed that since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic which reversed some of the gains made by this administration, particularly in the areas of healthcare and educational development, the government has been making significant efforts to address these setbacks and put the country back on a sound footing for long-term economic and social prosperity.
“This is no small task given the myriad of issues the government is grappling with, domestically and internationally. The National Development Plan (2021 – 2025) launched by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, highlights several areas of priority where the administration is focusing to reverse these setbacks and achieve the poverty reduction objectives. The Plan, which is a medium-term blueprint designed to unlock the country’s potentials in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable, holistic and inclusive national development, lays significant emphasis on human capital and social development. Specifically, the Plan aims to generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025; thus setting the stage for achieving the government’s commitment of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
“The 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey results therefore equips us with valuable information available for the first time in our country to adequately and judiciously utilise in designing and implementing more efficient policies and programmes that effectively addresses poverty in a multidimensional way.
“The uniqueness of this report which presents new and updated information for urban and rural areas, at the level of zones, states, and senatorial districts, makes it the richest household level data sources available to policymakers in recent times.”
He said Index survey revealed how poverty levels across the states varied significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from as low as 27% in Ondo to as high as 91% in Sokoto.
He noted that the set of deprivations varies between states with similar poverty levels.
“For instance, in Ondo, educational and housing related deprivations contribute more to multidimensional poverty than in Lagos, where food security, unemployment and shocks contribute more. So, using the MPI beyond measurements but as a policy, allows to tailor interventions according to the deprivation profiles of each State, making them more efficient by making data driven, and evidence-based policies that will result in greater impact.
“This is how valuable and useful this powerful tool can be; when deployed objectively, it can be a real game changer in the lives of citizens, just as we have seen in other countries that have utilised it, such as Colombia and Mexico. Mexico reduced its MPI by a quarter within a span of ten years, and Colombia and India cut their National MPI in half within a decade.”
He maintained that the government was committed to transparency in the utilisation of the MPI for policy.
He stated further: “There will be a series of other activities aimed at sensitising the public on the production and use of the data. There will be zonal dissemination of the results in all the six geo-political zones of the country. The Poverty Dashboard Situation Room headquartered at the National Bureau of Statistics will be commissioned soon.
“This Poverty Situation Room is part of the Data Demand and Use (DDU) strategy of the MPI, which houses more detailed information about the survey results, as well as other relevant and available welfare related information. The idea is to have a data hub of poverty and welfare information with different features, where policy discussions can be hosted, and members of the public can access to gain more knowledge and understanding on concepts and methods on how poverty measurements are done and how the data can be applied in practice.
“Furthermore, the implementation of the Data Demand and Use includes the deployment of the National Poverty Map- which can be accessed at www.nigeriapovertymap.com which presents the survey findings in a user-friendly manner, comprehensible for a wide-range of stakeholders- the public, researchers, policy analysts, private sector, and the academia. On the map, you will see disaggregated data displaced in charts and maps, with the opportunity to compare across regions, States, and different groups. The activities of the Data Demand and Use strategy also include collaboration with the Policy Innovation Unit of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group. They are supporting to conduct further research on the current findings and extending these to sub-groups that were hitherto not included within the survey. Specifically, detailed analysis is being conducted to collect more gendered disaggregation, understand the deprivations within the correctional system and the Internally Displaced Persons’ camps across the Federation.”
The minister said that to ensure the sustainability of the new multidimensional way of addressing poverty, the MPI has already been adopted as the key policy tool and measurement method (complementing income-based measurement) for poverty, within the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025.
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