Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne built a clear and
compelling case for the use of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) at
a media briefing for the groundbreaking measure, held during the annual meetings
of the World Bank and the IMF in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Prime Minister Browne, who co-chairs the United Nations High-Level Panel on
the MVI, has been at the very forefront of an exercise to construct a new index that
would allow vulnerable developing countries to access concessional financing, to
build resiliency and offset the crippling effects of climate change and other
external shocks.
Left to their income alone, many of these nations simply do not qualify for the
grants and financing available from international financial institutions required to
rebuild their fragile economies when impacts like hurricanes and pandemics
undermine their debt-burdened fiscal resources.
Under the circumstances, Prime Minister Browne pressed home the point that “the
MVI is the one lifeline that (SIDS) are grabbing onto,” as the outdated mechanism
of using gross national income to determine a country’s needs is long outdated and
ineffective.
“The destructive force of a hurricane is absolute. It has no respect for deceptive per
capita metrics,” Prime Minister Browne argued.
“In a sudden onset disaster, a small island nation like my own can lose everything
overnight. Without an MVI that shows in a data-driven manner how some
countries are more vulnerable than others, the ability of the most vulnerable
countries to withstand pandemics, economic shocks, disasters, and climate change,
will be lost,” the Prime Minister continued.
The High-Level Panel recently presented its report to the UN General Assembly
after 18 months of intense work, collecting data, scientific evidence, and detailed
analysis on the creation of an MVI framework, that provides a deeper and
enlightened understanding of a country’s true vulnerability and development
requirements.
The report, a first of its kind, contains a series of recommendations to UN Member
states on the next step of the MVI including its use by all stakeholders. “The
Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are strongly encouraged to pilot test the
MVI. Put it to use, and test it out. This has already begun by the Caribbean
Development Bank. We also encourage the OECD Development Assistance
Committee (DAC) to consider how the MVI could be incorporated into the
governance framework for Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility and
graduation, to complement World Bank income data,” Prime Minister Browne
stressed.
Ultimately, according to Prime Minister Browne, the goal is to have a globally
accepted MVI that will provide vulnerable countries with accurate metrics by
which their vulnerabilities can be accurately and precisely measured.
The high-level panel, chaired by Prime Minister Browne and the former Prime
Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, holds the view that consensus on an MVI that
works in harmony with traditional measurements like Gross National Income or
GNI has the potential to revolutionize global development.
“…the index can empower our countries and the international community in
making informed decisions, craft effective policies, and build lasting resilience.”
