Youth make up more than a third of the national population in Bangladesh. The role of the youth has always been highly emphasized since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have been first conceived and Agenda 2030 has been adopted around the globe. Indicators that do not directly refer to the youth also have serious implications for the youth.
The ongoing pandemic has, undoubtably, adversely impacted every citizen of Bangladesh. However, this impact is disproportionately higher among the marginalised and disadvantaged communities. As such, specific and rightly directed policies need to be implemented for these vulnerable groups. Employment being restored with low skills and low-income jobs, extensive under-employment, growing indebtedness and deepening inequality have been on the rise during the second wave.
কোভিড -১৯ এর অর্থনৈতিক প্রভাব স্বাস্থ্য এবং সামাজিক সম্পর্কিত প্রভাবগুলোর তুলনায় অনেক গভীরভাবে পড়েছে। আয়ের হ্রাস এবং ব্যয়ের থেকে সমাজে সবচেয়ে প্রান্তিক জনগোষ্ঠীর মানুষগুলো পুরোপুরি সেরে উঠতে পারেনি। বিপুল সংখ্যক পরিবার ঋণের জালে পড়েছে এবং তাদের সঞ্চয় হারাচ্ছে।
The economic impact of COVID-19 has been far more profound compared to the health and social-related impacts for the marginalised population in Bangladesh. Apparently, all marginalised groups (LNOB and PNOB) could not fully recover from the deceleration of income and expenditure.
করোনাভাইরাস অতিমারির কারণে গতবছরের মার্চ মাস থেকে প্রায় এক বছর বন্ধ রয়েছে সকল শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠান। সাম্প্রতিক পরিস্থিতি বিবেচনা করে আগামী মার্চ-এপ্রিল মাসে সীমিত আকারে শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠান খোলার চিন্তা করছে সরকারের সংশ্লিষ্ট মহল। শিক্ষক ও অভিভাবকসহ সাধারণ মানুষ স্কুল খুলে দেওয়ার পক্ষে মতামতা দিলেও, তারা মনে করেন, স্কুল খুলে দিলে সংক্রমণের হার বেড়ে যেতে পারে।
Bangladesh’s coronavirus experience is mixed compared to the experiences of its neighbouring countries. While Bangladesh is doing better than countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in terms of coronavirus cases, deaths and number of tests, it is faring worse than Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Even with the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines to combat the pandemic, there remain questions regarding whether the vaccines are a scientific triumph or a commercial success. These observations were presented in a virtual dialogue on “Access to COVID-19 Vaccine in Bangladesh: Who, When and How?” on 20 December 2020.
During the Seventh Five Year Plan period (2015-2020), Bangladesh witnessed significant development achievements. These include increases in literacy rate, life expectancy at birth (aged 15 and above), rice production, energy production, remittance earning, and sectoral contribution in GDP. In the last five years, along with accelerated economic growth, macroeconomic stability in terms of low inflation and stable exchange rate, improvement in Gender Gap Index, more than one crore people came out of poverty. Despite these achievements, several faultlines were also visible during the last five years.
Marginalised and vulnerable populations (e.g. low-income groups living in urban areas, informal sector workers, women, indigenous and Dalit communities, transgender communities, and people with disability) have been disproportionately facing challenges of the COVID-19 induced pandemic.
Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh conducted an online survey among young population to get a wider understanding about the youth agenda in COVID-19 situation. 67% of the respondents despite having need did not receive any support from either government or NGOs.
