More than 20 public servants were awarded certificates for completing training on how to better measure and analyse changes to national poverty rather than simply relying on measurements of wealth.  

A total of 21 public servants received certificates after training in the use of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (M.P.I), a new and more accurate measure of poverty. 

The certificate award ceremony was held at the Taumeasina Island Resort on Tuesday with participants from Samoa, Cook Islands, and Tokelau attending.

The M.P.I was jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (U.N.D.P) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (O.P.H.I) from the University of Oxford, to broaden the way a country measures policy Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.Gs).

(Adopted by U.N. members in 2015, the S.D.G.s, are aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring all people on earth live in prosperity for the next decade). 

In her keynote address on Tuesday, the Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) of the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (S.B.S) Ali'imuamua Taua Faasalaina congratulated the participants.

"In many countries including Samoa, poverty is measured based on the level of income of the household. This usually determines the proportion of households in poverty, at the national and also at the regional level,” she said. 

“The preliminary results of the poverty measure in Samoa from the latest [Household Income and Expenditure Surveys] in 2018, indicated that about 22 per cent of households were in poverty. This is based on the income measurement.”

"However, I gathered that the M.P.I on the other hand, measures poverty, based on non-monetary factors such as: school attendance, nutrition, access to services, and other factors. Hence, the M.P.I has a wider focus on poverty measurement than [a simple] income measurement. 

This also means the M.P.I has a wider coverage of poverty factors for policy decisions. This is a valuable contribution to poverty measurements.

"I understand that the Samoa Bureau of Statistics has already requested the U.N.D.P to conduct the same training using its own data source by the same trainers. This will give them sufficient time to evaluate and validate the strengths and weaknesses of both the monetary and the non-monetary poverty measures. The opportunity will strengthen the capacity of the staff to make relevant decisions in future productive partnerships."

She said that whatever decisions they will make about poverty measurement will ensure that the world’s most vulnerable and poorest people can be correctly identified and provided for. 

The U.N.D.P.’s Resident Representative, Jorn Sorrensen, said Samoa’s adoption of an M.P.I index will be essential for the country making sure that no one is neglected by social policy. 

One of the participants, Ministry of Education Sports and Culture (M.E.S.C) Senior Officer of the Information Unit Tonumaipe'a Juan Aiolupotea said in a U.N.D.P statement that the training was an eye-opener and broadened his views about the true meaning of poverty. 

"We've always linked poverty to the lack of money, but the M.P.I training has enlightened me on other important areas that a person can be deprived of such as good health, sanitation and education," he said.

Mr. Sorrensen said he could not immediately point to the differences in the M.P.I.’s measurement of poverty and those currently in use in the public service.

"But with saying generally most societies, anyone who lives below $2 a day lives in poverty but it is correct also that some societies are blessed with having natural access to food resources that may not be readily available in other societies," he told the Samoa Observer.

He added that poverty is not only access to food but is also in terms of not having access to other resources and having access to opportunities, 

"But I think Samoa is blessed [...] relative easy access to natural produce and that's probably one area I think is worth considering also in saying that while supporting poverty alleviation it's also important to support healthy lifestyle and that's an area where Samoa is very blessed because you have an abundance of food resources that maybe traditionally was used more than it was used today,” he said. 

"So there is access to that but again the M.P.I. will help statistical experts in Samoa guide the policymakers in where their needs are the biggest,”

He added that the effort by the many participants to take part in the training after work hours speaks volumes for the way that Samoan professionals are responding to upcoming opportunities. 

"So when I say opportunities, U.N.D.P. is very pleased to have helped organise this training and we are very pleased that so many took that opportunity and we look to how we can support these initiatives in the future " he said.