Photo: UNICEF/PietrasikFighting poverty and making progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) requires effective policies to reduce poverty and promote inclusive development. The design and implementation of policies for social inclusion require a good system of information to better understand the problem: what is poverty, what causes it, who does it affect, how does it evolve over time and what impact do development policies and programmes have on poverty. Setting up a poverty monitoring and assessment system to answer these questions is fundamental to the design of effective poverty reduction policies. Such systems are also necessary to help governments and the development community to keep track of progress towards the MDGs.

However, many developing countries lack consistent, reliable and timely data on poverty and inequality, making it difficult to establish effective poverty monitoring and assessment systems.

UNDP works to fill this gap, helping developing countries to set up comprehensive poverty monitoring systems. We also work to ensure that when and where data and information are available, they are used as evidence to inform policy-making to reduce poverty and advance human development.

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