Puttalam district records highest multidimensional vulnerabilities

• MVI of Puttalam surpasses national average
• 71.8% in Puttalam deemed multidimensionally vulnerable, pointing to profound socioeconomic challenges within district

By Nuzla Rizkiya
The Puttalam district in the Northwestern province has recorded the highest value for multidimensional vulnerabilities, recent data from the United 
Nations showed.
According to the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) District Profiles launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday, the MVI value in Puttalam soared at 0.288, surpassing the national average of 0.206.  
The MVI is an indicator that attempts to capture the intersecting and overlapping vulnerabilities households face, beyond measures of financial vulnerability, considering educational, health-related and other kinds of vulnerabilities. 
In Puttalam, a staggering 71.8 percent of individuals were deemed multidimensionally vulnerable, pointing to profound socio-economic challenges within the district. The highest deprivations experienced by the people were in terms of adaptive capacity to disasters and water source, with 63.7 percent and 58.6 percent of the population being estimated to be multidimensionally vulnerable.
Seventy-two percent of households experienced income reductions in October 2022, with daily wage earners fetching an average of 3,263 rupees, while monthly wage earners merely surpassed a monthly average of approximately Rs.32,466. 

The three main sectors of employment in the district were recorded to be agriculture/sale of crops/sale of livestock (25 percent), fisheries (11 percent) and construction (11 percent).
Digital disparity persists in Puttalam, with only a minority (42.4 percent) using smartphones and only 4.5 percent of households engaged in online banking. Education indicators revealed a concerning trend, with only one percent of households reported having a member that had completed a university degree. 
40.5 percent of respondents reported being in debt, with the district profile listing the main causes for household debt included economic activity (work), building or repairing a house/building and for 
basic consumption.
Additionally, 28 percent of households in Puttalam reported having been affected by natural disasters in the previous year. To compensate for shortages/rising food prices, 74.2 percent of households said they rely on less preferred, cheaper foods, while 26.8 percent indicated that they had reduced the proportions of their meals, the profile further read.
Stemming from Sri Lanka’s first-ever MVI Policy report derived using the UNDP’s National Citizen Survey 2022-23, the MVI district profiles aimed to provide an overview of the multidimensional challenges unique to households in each district of Sri Lanka.