The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development holds a discussion session on the multidimensional poverty index

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, headed by Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister; a discussion session on the National Multidimensional Poverty Index.
During the session, Dr. Ahmed Kamali indicated that a series of discussions were held on the poverty index in the presence of representatives of the ministries of Planning and Economic Development, Social Solidarity, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS), ESCWA, UNICEF, and other parties. Kamali stressed the necessity of unifying concepts, noting that there is a specific measurement for the definition of multidimensional poverty.He added that specialists in this field agree on this definition by international and national bodies.Kamali also referred to the Egyptian government's efforts in the field of social protection and the fight against poverty in all its forms, explaining that there are some initiatives launched by the state in this field.Kamali pointed out the importance of the evaluation process for the situation before and after these initiatives, so measuring an important indicator such as the multidimensional poverty index; gives some sort of orientation towards the impact of these various initiatives on multidimensional poverty.The Deputy Minister of Planning emphasized that despite the importance of material poverty, multidimensional poverty is also of particular importance. It measures not only material poverty but also various aspects related to social protection.Kamali explained the importance of participation, dialogue, and discussion, to enrich different ideas and trends.

Dr. Ahmed Kamali explained that the national indicator of multidimensional poverty will be launched soon, and this indicator will be approved by various international bodies due to the consistency of its measurement methodology with international best practices, as well as the participation of development partners and international organizations in its preparation.For her part, Dr. Riham Rizk indicated that multidimensional poverty gives a clearer picture of poverty, and identifies a set of difficulties and dimensions that determine who falls within the poor segment, explaining that multidimensional poverty can be measured at the level of geographical areas in the governorates.Rizk stressed the importance of defining the multidimensional poverty index as a tool for governance and policy documentation, and helps improve the efficiency of the work of national programs and public policies, and enhances the role of the Egyptian government as a pioneer in the region to use this indicator and design evidence-based policies.During the discussion session, the results of the framework of the National Multidimensional Poverty Index during the past months, the main dimensions of the National Multidimensional Poverty Index, and the indicators of those dimensions were reviewed.