The current COVID-19 pandemic, which took hold in early 2020, put policymakers in a vexing situation. First, there is a high degree of uncertainty associated with both the effectiveness and potential side-effects of most policy measures aiming to curtail the spread of the virus, including the virus’ precise epidemiological characteristics. Secondly, much is at stake, including a significant number of premature deaths, extraordinary economic contractions, and the education of several young generations.

Electricity is a crucial proxy for multidimensional poverty, and one of its best predictors. Tackling energy poverty is of pivotal importance in the fight against multidimensional poverty (1).

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have been collaborating to explore how multidimensional poverty and vulnerability indices (MPIs and MVIs) could be, or are already being, used to inform equitable plans, policies, and interventions in the preparedness for, response to, and recovery from, health emergencies. This article summarises some key findings from this collaboration, which prominently drew upon the applications of MPIs and MVIs by several Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network (MPPN) participants during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Iván Ojeda, a graduate in Administration from the Universidad Nacional de Asunción, and a specialist in Governance, Political Management and Public Sector Management from George Washington University, is the first Director of Paraguay’s newly created National Institute of Statistics (INE). Upon accepting this appointment, Ojeda took on a double challenge: founding this new institution and supporting the process for the development of the new National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Paraguay. In this interview, Ojeda talks about the main challenges involved in the creation of Paraguay’s MPI, and its importance for public policy.