India has more poor states than Africa

London, Jul 12: A new 'multidimensional' measure of global poverty said that real poverty persists in eight Indian states together accounting for more poor people than in the 26 poorest African nations altogether.

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are among the eight poor states in India.

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), the new measure was developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support.

It will be featured in the forthcoming 20 th anniversary edition of the UNDP Human Development Report.

The MPI assesses a range of critical factors or 'deprivations' at the household level, from education to health outcomes to assets and services.

This new multidimensional approach to assessing poverty has been adapted for national use in Mexico, and is now being considered by Chile and Colombia.

"The MPI is like a high resolution lens which reveals a vivid spectrum of challenges facing the poorest households," said OPHI Director Dr Sabina Alkire.

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