MPI

On Thursday 27^th June 2024, the District Statistical Office of the Denkyembour District Assembly conducted a sensitization program aimed at educating Heads of Departments within the Assembly on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report for the District. This initiative was part of the broader efforts to disseminate critical findings from the Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC). The census aimed to provide updated demographic, social, and economic data to support national development activities and track progress towards national, continental, and global development goals.

The primary objective of the sensitization program was to inform and engage Heads of Departments on the findings of the MPI report, highlighting the multidimensional aspects of poverty within the District. The program sought to provide a comprehensive understanding of the MPI and its implications for policy and planning, highlight the dimensions of poverty covered in the report, including living conditions, education, health, and employment and discuss the relevance of the data for the implementation and monitoring of the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (MTNDPF), 2022-2025.

Key highlights of the report revealed that A total of 13,299 (18.1%) of the 73,435 household population in Denkyembour are multi dimensionally poor. Among the poor, the degree of poverty is 42.3 percent. The dominant forms of deprivations were employment (19.5%), health insurance coverage (6.2%), and school lag (4.3%). Three (employment (46.0%), health insurance coverage (14.7%), and school lag (10.3%)) of the thirteen indicators, contribute 71 percent to the incidence of poverty in the District. Deprivation in health insurance coverage is higher in rural (17.2%) than in urban areas (13.0%). Households with ten or more members (24.0%) are most likely to experience multidimensional poverty, compared to households with five to nine members (16.7%). Multidimensional poverty is higher among households headed by females (23.7%) compared to males (14.8%). Lastly, among the largest localities in Denkyembour, the incidence of multidimensional poverty range from 28.0 percent in Akwatia Awosua to 8.6 percent in Akwatia Sadams.

The sensitization program was a strategic initiative aimed at equipping Heads of Departments in the Denkyembour District Assembly with the knowledge and tools necessary to leverage the findings of the MPI report. By understanding the multidimensional nature of poverty within the District, the Heads of Departments can better contribute to the formulation and implementation of targeted interventions to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development.