Prime Minister Gaston Browne is in Marrakech, Morocco, where he is one of the
main speakers at today’s (Wednesday) launch of the Report of the High-Level
Panel on the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) on the margins of the
2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF).
Prime Minister Browne, who is Co-Chair of the High-Level Panel of the MVI, has
been working since March 2022 with experts and Co-Chair, Former Prime
Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, on developing the MVI framework, which
includes the new MVI index – a global-level assessment tool, and the enlightening
Vulnerability and Resilience Country Profiles (VRCP), serving as a valuable
complement to the MVI. The panel has also outlined governance mechanisms to
ensure the MVI's effectiveness.
Prime Minister Browne said that this is another opportunity for Small Island
Developing States to again engage with developing countries and the international
community on the ongoing efforts in support of the MVI within the framework of
the World Bank Group and the IMF.
The event brings together participants from the Annual Meetings and the media,
providing a platform for robust conversations. The MVI event is expected to
contribute to another significant gathering focused on the Debt Crisis in SIDS and
the imperative for immediate action in the lead-up to the fourth International
Conference on SIDS, also to be held in Marrakech. According to Prime Minister
Browne, the SIDS-focused events will serve as a valuable platform to deliberate on
potential areas where developing countries, particularly SIDS, could receive
enhanced support.
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed said that
Prime Minister Browne’s participation in the launch event will add substantial
value to the discussions and will also convey a resounding message from the UN
system to the broader international community about the urgent need to reconsider
the approach to accessing and allocating development assistance, including
concessional finance.
Prime Minister Browne has always advocated that measuring a nation's progress
and well-being should not be confined to Gross National Income (GNI) per capita
alone. He said the limitations of this traditional metric are especially evident in
countries facing substantial external shocks and stressors, compounded by their
lack of resilience.
While the international community, including the International Financial
Institutions (IFIs) and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), acknowledge the
inadequacy of GNI per capita, in capturing the multifaceted development
challenges of developing nations, the missing piece of the puzzle has been a
reliable and universally accepted measure of vulnerability.
The MVI now fills this crucial void. It presents a new quantitative benchmark
designed to measure structural vulnerability and lack of resilience across multiple
dimensions of sustainable development at the national level. Importantly, the MVI
is not intended to replace GNI per capita; rather, it complements it, offering a
deeper understanding of a country,s development requirements, including its need
for concessional financing.
The launch takes the form of a High-Level panel which will also include, Co-Chair
of the High-Level Panel, Erna Solberg; Permanent Representative of Zambia to
the United Nations, Chola Milambo; Deputy-Secretary General of the United
Nations, Amina Mohammed and Brookings Institute’s, Dr. Louise Fox, Technical
lead for the High-Level Panel.
Accompanying Prime Minister Browne to the World Bank/IMF Meetings and the
Launch of the MVI Report are Debt Manager, Peter Abraham Jr.; Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Aubrey Webson; Deputy
Permanent Representative to the United Nations Tumasie Blair; and First Secretary
Claxton Duberry.
