By Emegwoako C. Paschal
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 133 million Nigerians are multi – dimensionally poor.
According to the NBS’s latest National Multidimensional Poverty Index Report, released on Thursday, 63% of Nigerians are poor due to a lack of access to health, education, and living standards, as well as unemployment and shocks.
The MPI assesses poverty in a multivariate manner, identifying deprivations in health, education, living standards, work, and shocks.
According to the NBS’s Statistician-General, Semiu Adeniran, this is the first time a standard multidimensional poverty survey will be conducted in Nigeria.
“The survey was conducted from 2021 to 2022, and it is the largest survey with a sample size of over 56,610 people in 109 senatorial districts across Nigeria’s 36 states,” he said.
According to Matthias Schmale, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, who revealed the report’s findings, 63% of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, which means they are deficient in more than one of the four dimensions measured.
“Multidimensional poverty is more pronounced in rural areas, where 72% of people are poor, compared to 42% in urban areas,” he said.
“Gender disparities persist in the population, with one in every seven poor people living in a household where the man has completed high school but the woman has not.”
