Oleg Cara, the General Director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), participated on April 30th at the international Webinar titled „Leveraging the Transformative Power of Official Multidimensional Poverty Statistics for Social Development”, organized by the Global network for the study of Multidimensional Poverty - Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network (MPPN), whose activity is facilitated by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). OPHI contributes to the development of national and global measures for analysing multidimensional poverty and well-being, using the Alkire-Foster method.

The event addressed the advanced experience of the world's countries in measuring multidimensional poverty to provide useful information to authorities in support of measures to eradicate poverty and enhance the well-being of the population.

During the event, which brought together over 120 participants from different countries, Mr Oleg Cara, presented the experience of the Republic of Moldova in developing the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). He emphasised that the extensive work on developing the MPI involved a complex and participatory process, initiated in 2016. It included wide consultations with relevant authorities, vulnerable groups and other representatives of civil society. As a result, the dimensions of poverty and corresponding indicators for multidimensional poverty measurement were identified. As a result, in 2020-2021 a draft methodology for calculating the national MPI was developed using the Alkire-Foster method, and in 2022 the first experimental calculations were carried out. The National Multidimensional Poverty Index goes beyond monetary indicators, encompassing dimensions: health, education, living conditions and employment, measured by 11 specific indicators, based on the Household Budget Survey data source.

In 2023-2024, within the framework of Experimental Statistics, the Methodology for calculating the multidimensional poverty index in the Republic of Moldova (available in Romanian), was been finalized and approved by NBS Order No. 104/2023, as well as the Analytical Report Analysis of multidimensional poverty in the Republic of Moldova in 2022 (available in Romanian). The report was presented and discussed at the Workshop entitled „Using the National Multidimensional Poverty Index for public policy making".

In 2025, the MPI will be published, for the first time as official statistics, marking a crucial step in the analysis and monitoring of multidimensional poverty in the Republic of Moldova. Adopting a multidimensional approach to poverty measurement allows Moldovan authorities and society to better understand the prevalence and complexity of poverty at national and regional level, identify and implement necessary measures to combat poverty in all its forms.

Oleg Cara highlighted the importance of cooperation and support provided by international partners and expressed the gratitude of the NBS to the United Nations Development Program in Moldova and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, as well as to national partners throughout the entire period of elaboration and implementation of the MPI in our country. During the webinar, organized by MPPN, the experience of other countries was also presented: Belize, Pakistan, Somalia, Paraguay, Malaysia, Bhutan, Egypt and South Africa.

MPPN is a growing global community, consisting of 64 countries and 20 organizations, focused on studying multidimensional poverty with the aim of reducing and eradicating it. The network operates under the auspices of the University of Oxford and provides its platform for dialogue, capacity building and access to experiences and lessons learned on measuring multidimensional poverty worldwide.