UNDP report exposes Pakistans development gap, over 38% live in poverty

According to Dawn, figures released by the UNDP in New York showed that 38.3 per cent of Pakistanis were multidimensionally poor, significantly higher than Bangladeshs 14.9 per cent. However, the estimates are based on household surveys conducted in different years and should not be treated as a direct comparison of conditions at the same time.

The report found that the intensity of deprivation among Pakistans multidimensionally poor population stood at 51.7 per cent. A further 12.9 per cent of the population was classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty, highlighting the widespread risk of people slipping into severe hardship.

Unlike income-based poverty measurements, the MPI examines interconnected disadvantages, including malnutrition, child mortality, limited schooling, poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water, inadequate housing and restricted access to electricity and household assets. The findings also point to a troubling global trend.

The number of people experiencing multidimensional poverty has increased for the first time in 15 years, reaching 1.2 billion worldwide. The latest estimate represents an increase of 51.5 million people from the previous update.

Children constitute more than half of those affected, with 617 million living in multidimensional poverty. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of the affected population resides in rural areas, where access to essential services remains a major challenge, as highlighted by Dawn.

South Asia continues to account for a substantial share of global deprivation. The region contributes at least one-third of worldwide deprivations in nutrition, housing and years of schooling. Around 150 million poor people in South Asia live in households where at least one school-aged child is not attending school, as reported by Dawn. (ANI)