Saving the poor and vulnerable families during lockdown
Although the government announced a special stimulus package for the country's poor and extreme poor families recently, according to economists and researchers, it is hardly enough to feed people who are most vulnerable during the ongoing lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. While the government has aimed to help only 34 lakh poor families, planning to provide them with Tk. 2,000 to 3,000 per month for three consecutive months starting from April, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) suggested that the government should provide Tk 8,000 to each of the 1.9 crore vulnerable families to save them from hunger during the shutdown. According to the civil society think-tank, if the government provides this specific amount to the households for two months, it will create domestic demand for goods and services of Tk. 186,500 crore in the economy, stimulating local small business activities. Moreover, it will also be an indirect stimulus for the large businesses involved in the supply of essential commodities.
Since the enforcement of the countrywide shutdown, the government declared a number of stimulus packages to address the impacts of Covid-19. It has announced Tk. 72,750 crore package for the large industries which are relatively more capable of dealing with the shocks of the shutdown, while the poor and extreme poor families are left with no opportunity to earn a living and are eagerly waiting for the government's food and financial assistance to survive.
Given the situation, the CPD's proposal to provide Tk 30,000 crore to 1.9 crore poor families, covering 7.5 crore out of the 16.6 crore population (according to the Labour Force Survey 2016-17), seems to be well-researched and so should get the government's immediate consideration. Needless to say, the lockdown strategy and social distancing measures will only be successful if the state is able to protect its lower income population from hunger and provide them with necessary financial assistance on time.
Comments