Multidimensional Poverty in Sudan and South Sudan

This paper assesses multidimensional poverty in Sudan and South Sudan. We use the National Baseline Household Surveys (NBHS) of 2009 to measure poverty incidence in education, consumption, access to public assets and possession of private assets across these two countries. We differentiate between children/teenagers aged six to fourteen years and adults aged fifteen years or older. We apply a counting method for measuring multidimensional poverty at the individual level and perform dominance tests to check for the robustness of the poverty comparisons. Our findings show regional and sub-population differences in the unidimensional and multidimensional poverty status of people in Sudan and South Sudan. Poverty in Sudan is generally less severe than in South Sudan, with a pattern showing (i) lesser unidimensional incidence of poverty; (ii) lower multidimensional poverty indices and prevalence, but similar breadth, in Sudan than in South Sudan, both for adults and children. This pattern also points towards Khartoum and Western Equatoria as the states with the least poverty, and Northern Darfur, and Warap as the states with the greatest poverty, both for adults and children, in Sudan and South Sudan, respectively. Policy intended at reducing poverty in each of the two countries should recognize the poverty profile differences across age groups, geographical areas and dimensions. Ballon and Duclos MD Poverty in Sudan The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) is a research centre within the Oxford Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House, at the University of Oxford. Led by Sabina Alkire, OPHI aspires to build and advance a more systematic methodological and economic framework for reducing multidimensional poverty, grounded in people’s experiences and values. The copyright holder of this publication is Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). This publication will be published on OPHI website and will be archived in Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) as a Green Open Access publication. The author may submit this paper to other journals. This publication is copyright, however it may be reproduced without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, and will normally be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from OPHI and may be subject to a fee. Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Oxford Department of International Development Queen Elizabeth House (QEH), University of Oxford 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB, UK Tel. +44 (0)1865 271915 Fax +44 (0)1865 281801 [email protected] http://www.ophi.org.uk The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by OPHI or the University of Oxford, nor by the sponsors, of any of the views expressed.