The overall poverty rate in the country has almost doubled in two years due to the coronavirus epidemic. Poverty rates are higher in urban and rural areas than in rural areas. This information has come up in a recent survey of the research institute Sanem.
According to research data, the ability of poor people to spend all kinds of money has decreased, but the lion's share of income has been spent to buy food. There are doubts as to whether the newly descended people will be able to change the economic situation on their own. Moreover, despite the increase in overall remittance income, the families who took part in the survey said that their relatives abroad sent less money last year than in previous years.
The research institute said this on the occasion of releasing a virtual data titled 'Effect of Kovit-19 epidemic on poverty and livelihood in Bangladesh: results of Sanem's nationwide survey'. Sanem executive director highlighted the research data. Selim Raihan.
He said that in 2018, a joint survey was conducted with the General Economics Department (GED) of the Planning Commission on 10,500 households in 64 districts of the country. Sanem was able to communicate with 5,577 of them last year. The study was conducted by comparing the results of these two surveys.
Elaborating on the data of the survey, Selim Raihan said that the survey conducted in November-December showed that the overall poverty rate in the country has increased to 42 percent. According to the survey of Planning Commission and Sanem in 2018, this rate was 21.60 percent. In 2016, the overall poverty rate in the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics household survey was 24.30 percent. According to the BBS household survey, the overall poverty rate in rural areas was 26.40 percent in 2016, which was 24.50 percent according to the 2018 GED Sanem survey, and increased to 45.30 percent in 2020 during the Corona period. The overall poverty rate in urban areas was 18.90 percent in 2016, which was 16.30 percent in 2018 and increased to 35.40 percent in the wake of the Corona epidemic.
Selim Raihan added that the extreme poverty rate has risen to 28.5 percent last year. In the GED-Sanem survey in 2018, which was 9.40 percent. The rate of extreme poverty in rural areas has increased from 11.20 percent in 2018 and to 33.20 percent last year. The rate of extreme poverty in urban areas has increased to 6.10 percent in 2018 and 19 percent in 2020.
Elaborating on the survey data, Selim Raihan further said that the average per capita education expenditure has decreased between 2018 and 2020. The rate of the poorest households has decreased the most (58 percent). On the other hand, the average per capita health expenditure has increased. Due to the closure of educational institutions in Corona, 19 per cent students in rural areas and 27 per cent students in urban areas took part in online education. Those who could not take part in online education cited unavailability of online classes, unavailability of necessary devices, inadequacy of devices, inadequacy of internet connection, inability to bear the cost of internet connection.
The results of the survey show that poor people have resorted to various strategies to deal with the crisis during the epidemic. Of these, 48.72 percent borrowed, 32.40 percent relied on savings, 27.33 percent reduced food costs, 27.2 percent were forced to make changes, and 16.67 percent received grants from friends or relatives.
Surprisingly, the remittance income in the country increased during the Corona period, but the amount received from immigrant members at the family level decreased. 82.5% of the households surveyed claim that they have received less remittances from abroad. In the case of internal migration, 64 per cent claim they received less than what they received before the epidemic. A possible explanation for this contradiction is that before the epidemic, a large amount of remittances came through unofficial channels. Since these channels have been closed, families have received less money than before.
Dhaka University Chairman of the Department of Economics. MM Akash said the damage caused by Kovid was a matter of explanation, whether it was short-term or long-term impact on so many years of progress. It will depend on the nature of the damage, the extent to which a sector has been damaged and the extent to which the government has taken urgent action. In order to change the condition of the most affected people of the country, it is necessary to start it as soon as possible, subsidize the health sector, take action by acknowledging the changes in employment.
Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director. Fahmida Khatun said the survey highlighted the impact of poverty on the medium to long-term, and reversed the pre-Covid-19 poverty gains under Covid-19. While the struggle for survival in difficult times may not have had such an impact on the affluent, there is not enough way for the poor. Initiatives or institutional reforms are needed to address these inequalities at the policy-making level. The trend of jobless growth has exacerbated Kovid's detrimental effects. It will take several years to recover the lost jobs and create new ones. As a result of the aggression of technology on it, many jobs will be lost and many people will become unemployed. There was a need to revive the economy through government investment so that money could go to the poor and they could go to the market and buy goods with that money.
Economist said. Zahid Hossain said that the data of the survey shows that the geographical coverage of poverty has spread and the rate of poverty in rural areas has increased at the same rate as in urban areas. Again, where poverty was low before, it has risen sharply, where it was high. Versatile concepts of poverty, such as the impact of education and treatment, have also come up. Poverty in education has increased, spending on education has decreased, most of them are not able to participate in the alternative education system.
Dr. Saima Haque Bidisha said that there are a large number of people who were above the poverty line, but Kovid's injury has created the possibility of falling below the poverty line, which means that they are at risk of poverty even if they are not poor. Thirty-two percent of people are using previous savings to cope, while many are being forced to make unintentional changes to their food list. This will hurt nutrition and health in the long run, if they do not get the help they need. He urged to keep these issues in mind at the policy-making level.
