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Covid-19 pushed 4.7m in Southeast Asia to extreme poverty: ADB Report
The coronavirus disease had a disastrous effect on Southeast Asia as the pandemic pushed 4.7 million people into extreme poverty in 2021, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report presented at the Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) on Wednesday.
In its latest report titled, ‘Southeast Asia Rising from the Pandemic’, ADB stated that the number of people living below the poverty line was limited to those earning $1.90 a day, up from 24.3 million in 2021, or 3.7 percent of the total population of 650 million in Southeast Asia. The ADB also called on local governments to take the necessary steps to boost economic growth.
“The pandemic has led to widespread unemployment, worsening inequality, and rising poverty levels, especially among women, younger workers, and the elderly in Southeast Asia,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.
“ADB will continue to work with policymakers as they seek to rebuild, improve national health systems, and streamline domestic regulations to strengthen business competitiveness. We encourage Southeast Asian governments to invest in smart, green infrastructure and adopt technological innovations to reinvigorate economic growth.”
The report pointed out that the growth prospects are brighter for economies with widespread technology adoption, resilient merchandise exports, or rich natural resources. It said an economic recovery across the region, with most countries seeing visits to retail and recreational areas rising by 161 percent in the two-year period ending 16 February 2022.
Still, the region faces global headwinds, including emerging COVID-19 variants, tightening global interest rates, supply chain disruptions, and higher commodity prices and inflation.
Hong Vannak, an economic researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told Khmer Times, “For Cambodia, we do not have the latest official data on the poverty rate during the Covid-19
crisis for 2020 and 2021.
We have the UNDP data confirming that by 2020, the poverty rate of Cambodian population will increase to 17.6 percent, which is equivalent to about 1.3 million people. Cambodia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.8 percent compared to the pre-Covid-19 period.”
“The 3 R strategies is a good and comprehensive strategy since the recovery, reform and resilience of the Cambodian government is meticulous when we look at the whole content and other aspects. When Covid-19 slows down, the opening up of priority areas, such as receiving vaccinated tourists, can contribute to the development of Cambodia’s economy,” he added.
The ADB report also pointed out that Omicron wave could cut the region’s economic growth by as much as 0.8 percentage points in 2022. The region’s economic output in 2022 is expected to remain more than 10 percent below the baseline no-Covid scenario. Among the most affected are unskilled workers and those working in retail and the informal economy, as well as small businesses without a digital presence.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501042564/covid-19-pushed-4-7m-in-southeast-asia-to-extreme-poverty-adb-report/