From Recognition to Implementation: Portugal Co-hosts UN Retreat on the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index

On 15 May 2026, Portugal co-hosted, together with Antigua and Barbuda, UN DESA and UN OHRLLS, a one-day retreat at United Nations Headquarters dedicated to the operationalization of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI).

The retreat gathered high-level participation from Member States, alongside representatives of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, vertical funds, experts and development partners. Discussions focused on how the MVI can move from political recognition to practical implementation.

Opening the retreat, the Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations, Ambassador Rui Vinhas, recalled that UN General Assembly Resolution 78/322, co-facilitated by Portugal and Antigua and Barbuda, marked a milestone in recognizing that income alone does not capture the full reality of development. He stressed that the real test is now implementation: whether the MVI can help countries make their case more clearly, support institutions in designing better responses, and mobilize action for those most exposed to shocks.

Opening remarks by UN DESA and OHRLLS also underlined the urgency of moving from recognition to application. UN DESA emphasized that vulnerability is economic, social, environmental and financial at the same time, and that the MVI can help align finance with countries’ real exposure and resilience needs. OHRLLS stressed that the MVI should serve as a tool for fairness, better targeting and more responsive finance, particularly for SIDS, LDCs and LLDCs.

The keynote address was delivered virtually by the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, H.E. Gaston Browne, who called for the MVI to be integrated into the work of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, vertical funds and other development finance frameworks. He also highlighted the value of Vulnerability and Resilience Country Profiles in guiding national planning and investment.

The retreat addressed four areas: the role of the UN system in integrating multidimensional vulnerability; the pilot experience of Saint Kitts and Nevis with the Vulnerability and Resilience Country Profile; the consideration of vulnerability in the international financial architecture; and the role of international organizations and development partners in applying the MVI.

For Portugal, the MVI is an important element of the reform of the international financial and development cooperation architecture — not as a substitute for existing criteria, but as an additional lens for more informed, responsive and equitable decision-making. Portugal remains committed to working with partners to ensure that better measurement leads to better decisions, better financing and better outcomes for communities most exposed to shocks.