A survey of global nations shows that 1.2 billion people, including Nigerians and Afghans, are living in “acute multidimensional poverty”, says an index by the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at Oxford University.

The report placed Nigeria as the multidimensional poverty capital, saying progress recorded in the 2010s was reversed in the 2020s.

“Nigeria shows how fragile progress can be. After significant reductions in multidimensional poverty during the 2010s, this progress reversed in the 2020s, with both the poverty rate and the number of people living in poverty increasing,” said a statement on Monday.

Findings from the index, released on Monday, showed the figures increased by 51.5 million for the first time since 2010.

Of the 1.2 billion, more than half are children living largely in rural communities. The report stated that 617 million children still lack access to education, electricity, clean water, etc.

“The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world. Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity,” UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo said. “This is unacceptable. But it does not have to be this way. We know progress is possible. Countries that have tackled these challenges together, rather than in isolation, have shown what determined action can achieve.”

The report attributed the rise in figures to population growth without a corresponding increase in electricity supply, access to water and food.

The multidimensional poverty index declined in five nations, including Egypt, Nepal and Tajikistan.

China recorded the largest MPI reduction within four years, as the rate of Chinese citizens living in multidimensional poverty fell from 9.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent.