Post-COVID Multidimensional Poverty Profile of Rural and Urban Households in Malakand Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Authors: Nighat Ara  , Ghaffar Ali  , Syed Attaullah Shah  
Published: January 2025

This study examines the multidimensional poverty profile of rural and urban households in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistan using modified version of Alkire-Foster deprivation matrix. The study employed a stratified random sampling method to select 758 households from the rural and urban stratum of the districts of Swat, Malakand and Dir Lower randomly selected among the nine districts. The survey constructed to capture cross-sectional information on poverty indicators categorized under education, health, and living standards dimensions. Both household and individual levels data were gathered to assess deprivation across dimensions. Results reveals significant deprivation in the overall Malakand in various indicators, such as ante-natal care (65.7 percent), quality of education (62.9 percent and waste management (56.9 percent), access to cooking fuel (54.8 percent) and access to basic health facilities (54.1 percent) with rural areas faring worse than urban zones. Among education dimension, “quality of education” shows the highest deprivation especially in the rural areas, while in health dimension, “ante- natal care” and “access to basic health facilities” showing highest deprivation across both rural and urban zones. Among living standard dimension, “cooking fuel” and “land & livestock” shows substantial disparities, with rural households experiencing greater deprivation while in case of waste management urban households had poor waste disposal system as compared to rural households. Overall, 59.4 percent of households in are multidimensionally poor. Dir Lower is the most deprived district, with 69.5 percent of households in poverty, followed by District Malakand (62.7 percent) and District Swat (50 percent). At individual level, multidimensional poverty is highest in Dir Lower (69.1 percent), followed by District Malakand (63 percent) and Swat (49.9 percent) respectively. The average proportion of deprivations experienced by poor individuals is relatively similar across districts, with the overall intensity at 50.2 percent. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) values are highest in Dir Lower (0.343), indicating severe poverty, followed by Malakand (0.306) and Swat (0.261). In terms of contribution of each of the indicator to the overall multidimensional poverty, the results indicate significant levels of deprivation in health and education dimensions. This shift in dimensional deprivation to health and education could be due to COVID-19. A binary logistic regression model identified significant determinants of multidimensional poverty. Higher levels of education (secondary and above) significantly reduce the likelihood of being poor. Increase in income significantly reduced poverty. Households with non-diversified livelihoods are more likely to be poor, and exposure to environmental threats increases the risk of deprivation. Households in Malakand and Dir Lower are more prone to poverty compared to those in Swat. The findings suggest targeted policy interventions to improve educational attainment, especially secondary and higher education; enhance income-generating opportunities and diversify livelihoods; strengthen resilience against environmental threats; and focus on high-risk areas like Malakand and Dir Lower for poverty alleviation programs. Specific policy interventions should include improving access to quality education, basic health facilities and vocational training programs in rural areas as well as in urban areas to enhance human capital and economic prospects. Additionally, implementing robust social safety nets and disaster resilience programs can mitigate the impact of environmental threats and economic shocks on vulnerable households.