'COVID-19 may push 150 million people into extreme poverty by 2021'

The World Bank on Wednesday warned that by 2021, as many as 150 million people are likely to be in extreme poverty because of the pandemic and countries will have to prepare for a "different economy" post-COVID-19 by allowing capital, labour, skills and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors.

The pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year, with the total rising to as many as 150 million by 2021, depending on the severity of the economic contraction, according to the Washington-based global lender.

This would represent a regression to the rate of 9.2 per cent in 2017, according to the biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report. Had the pandemic not convulsed the globe, the poverty rate would have been expected to drop to 7.9 per cent in 2020, it said.

Nations need to prepare

"The pandemic and global recession may cause over 1.4 per cent of the world's population to fall into extreme poverty," World Bank Group President David Malpass said.

"In order to reverse this serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction, countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID-19, by allowing capital, labour, skills and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors," he said.

Poor nations to be hit most

Noting that the new poor will be in countries that already have high poverty rates, the report said that a number of middle-income countries will see significant numbers of people slip below the extreme poverty line. About 82 per cent of the total will be in middle-income countries, the report estimates.

The convergence of the pandemic with the pressures of conflict and climate change will put the goal of ending poverty by 2030 beyond reach without swift, significant and substantial policy action, the World Bank said, adding that by 2030, the global poverty rate could be about seven per cent. Absence of recent data on India, one of the economies with the largest population of extreme poor, creates substantial uncertainty around the current estimates of global poverty, the Bank said. The contagion has infected over 35 million people and killed more than 1 million across the world.

Curfew extended in 20 more areas in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan authorities have extended police curfew in nearly 20 more areas in the western provincial Gampaha district, the COVID-19 task force said on Wednesday, a day after a new virus cluster of over 800 factory workers was detected in the area.

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday prohibited public gatherings until further notice. Public service institutions have been asked to impose strict COVID-19 measures to restrict the spread of the virus.

With the detection of new cases, the country has reverted to observing the same COVID-19 protocols as during the height of the pandemic from March to June. Sri Lanka has reported 4,252 COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths.

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