UNDP and G.O.B. Partners to Improve Belize’s Poverty Assessment Strategy

Belize is among a list of eleven countries across Latin America and the Caribbean that has developed and implemented a Multidimensional Poverty Index to assess and address poverty. This morning, the United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Economic Development, along with the Statistical Institute of Belize, signed an agreement to develop a Monetary Poverty Measure.  It will serve to complement Belize’s Multidimensional Poverty Index in measuring the prevalence of monetary deprivation in Belize, allowing for a more comprehensive assessment of poverty.  A government release following the agreement signing says, “being able to use this powerful tool to diagnose the condition of poverty and identify changes over time can lead to innovative and articulated actions within and across the government and civil society organizations that will better address the specific needs of the country’s population”. The agreement comes with six deliverables that are expected to be completed by July 2024.