Report hails Nepal's achievement in fighting multidimensional poverty

Nepal is one of the 'star performers' to reduce multidimensional poverty in the region, a latest study conducted by Oxford University has shown.

Results from the study, which used measures that assesses a range of deprivations in health, education and living standards, showed that two countries in South Asia -- Nepal and Bangladesh have made remarkable progress in fighting poverty.

Researchers found that the percentage of poor people in Nepal dropped from 64.7 percent to 44.2 percent between 2006 and 2011 -- 4.1 percentage points per year. Similarly, in Bangladesh poverty rates decreased by 3.2 percentage points per year between 2004 and 2007.

According to the report, India made significant progress between 1999 and 2006, but at a rate that was less than one third of the speed of its poorer neighbours, with a reduction in poverty rates of 1.2 percentage points per year [instead of 4.1 percent (Nepal) or 3.2 percent (Bangladesh)].

“The success of Nepal and Bangladesh in reducing poverty despite their relatively low income highlights the effectiveness of social policy investments combined with active civil society engagement.” said Dr Sabina Alkire, director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), the research centre at Oxford University.

Of 22 countries analysed, Nepal, Rwanda and Bangladesh were found to have made the largest absolute reductions, followed by Ghana, Tanzania, Cambodia and Bolivia. nepalnews.com