United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Kishan Khoday has joined youth delegates of the organization’s Ready Set Great youth conference in calling for the adoption of a national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) along with regular State of Youth Poverty reports to enrich the measurement of poverty beyond income in Jamaica.

A national MPI would include the measurement of deprivations in health, education and living standards, he explained, but would not replace income-based consumption measures. Some 40 countries across the world have added national MPIs to their poverty measurement toolkit, including Belize and Guyana in the Caribbean.

Speaking at last week’s launch of UNDP’s 2024 Ready Set Great Youth Conference, Mr. Khoday said considering higher-than-average rates of poverty among youth, it would be important to generate age disaggregated MPI reports to highlight the state of multidimensional youth poverty in support of targeted solutions.

“We hear your calls for a national MPI that reveals the nature of youth multidimensional poverty and embrace your vision for (regular) state of youth poverty reports”, he told delegates while assuring them that UNDP stands with them in advancing their dialogues nationally on the issues.

He further announced that UNDP will strengthen the Ready Set Great initiative into the future and bolster the youth empowerment component of its country programming. “This will enable the translation of dialogue into action, including new opportunities that embrace youth entrepreneurship towards the goals of reducing multi-dimensional poverty in Jamaica”, he explained.

In acknowledging the calls for a national MPI, Dr Wayne Henry, Director-General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica underscored the importance of youth specific indicators and interventions. “By disaggregating data on youth poverty, we can conduct a more nuanced analysis of the issues affecting this group which will enable targeted responses through evidence-based policies, programmes and projects”, he said.  

Dr Henry said although the poverty rate among children and youth in Jamaica remains elevated, the complexity of youth poverty often escapes media scrutiny, suffers from data limitations and is underrepresented in policy and programme design.

“This (Ready Set Great) conference provides a timely and vital opportunity to elevate the voices of youth bring attention to the barriers they face and explore innovative youth driven solutions to these challenges”. He said the ongoing advocacy for the adoption of the MPI, focusing on the multidimensional aspects of youth poverty, is central to the discourse.

Dr Henry said the Ready Set Great initiative challenges Jamaica to uphold the commitments of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development ensuring that no youth is left behind. “It’s a prime example of youth-led advocacy aligning with the principles of sustainable development and poverty eradication, positioning the ready set great movement as a pivotal force in driving transformative youth focused solutions”, he observed.

UNDP’s Ready Set Great conference, now in its fourth year, is a youth empowerment vehicle for young people who want to make a difference in the lives of other young people and their nation.  In the past two years, delegates and youth partners have focused their advocacy on better plans, policies and resources to combat extreme and multidimensional youth poverty.  Ready Set Great’s steering committee includes youth partners, Anni-Vee Moore, Young Women/Men of Purpose (YWOP/YMOP); Neville Charlton Youth Inspiring Positive Change JA. Ltd.; Christina Williams, Policy advisor and digital rights advocate; Jénine Shepherd, Youths For Excellence Ltd; Shamar Wedderburn, Equipped To Speak; Jhannel Tomlinson, Caribbean Youth Climate Justice Coalition; Tavoy Barrett, Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students. Institutional partners are Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Research (SALISES), and Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).