Mobilise aid to help the new poor

According to the findings of a survey done by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), the number of new poor reached 32.4 million in August, after the second wave of the pandemic. In March, before the second wave of Covid led to another round of lockdown, the percentage of people counted as new poor was 14.75, according to an earlier edition of the study. In the latest study, that number has gone up to 19.54 percent.

This study once again confirms what a number of others have previously suggested—that the shock from the second wave of the pandemic has led to a further rise of poverty. Since the Covid pandemic started, a number of studies conducted by different organisations have indicated that poverty in Bangladesh has risen due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns, as well as other factors. In the meantime, we have seen high-level government officials refuting these numbers, while failing to provide any of their own or without giving reasons as to why these numbers weren't acceptable.

In any case, what is clear as day is that poverty in the country has gotten worse, and people are struggling as a result. On top of that, due to international supply chain disruptions and the workings of various local trade syndicates, prices of essential commodities have gone through the roof in recent times. All these combined is causing huge sufferings to people—particularly those who have been pushed into the poverty trap during the time of the pandemic.

Amid such circumstances, we fail to understand why the government is raising fuel prices, which will surely have a knock-on effect on all other goods and services. What is required is for the government to provide all forms of support to the people who are economically struggling, not measures that will increase their financial burden.

In line with that, the government should immediately consult with experts to formulate strategies that can quickly help those who have become newly poor, to get back on their feet. A big factor that has led to the rise in poverty is the loss of jobs. The government should, on the one hand, provide some sort of unemployment benefit to them, while on the other, take measures that can help them get reemployed. Moreover, the government should also provide financial aid in terms of direct cash transfer to these people, and for that, it needs to identify who are in most need of such assistance, through consultations with different NGOs and think tanks.