Eradicating poverty remains one of the greatest challenges for humanity. While the number of people living in extreme income poverty (under PPP $1.90 per day) decreased in the world by almost two-thirds between 1990 and 2015—from 1.897 billion people in 1990 to 731 million in 2015—there are still many people struggling to fulfil their basic needs. Of all the regions, Asia and the Pacific has seen perhaps the most significant reduction in extreme poverty. Yet a larger proportion of people in the region are poor in non-income dimensions, suggesting the need for addressing poverty beyond income.

Several studies have found that poverty and inequality prevail because of deprivations and inequality in non-income dimensions, such as health and education, implying that reducing multidimensional poverty complements the effort to eradicate extreme poverty. This
requires measuring and tracking non-income dimensions of poverty.

This regional review is the first in the series of two knowledge products developed to support UNDP country offices in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to end poverty in all its forms, everywhere. The overall objective of this report is to share country experiences with multidimensional poverty measurement and the MPI in UNDP programme countries in Asia and the Pacific.