The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection is declared as an international pandemic and public health emergence by WHO. The situation is very rapid and quickly emerging. For this, billions of people are staying at home to restrict the transmission of the virus. Presently, more than two hundred countries have been suffering and adopting preventive measures, e.g., remote office activities, international travel bans, social distancing, and in some cases lockdowns [1]. Bangladesh, a lower-middle-income country and one of the world’s most densely populated areas, is also struggling to control the spread of the disease. Among different damaging effects, COVID-19 outbreak mainly shows two prominent concurrent global crises-a health crisis and an economic crisis. The crises are posing huge challenges, are global but their impacts are intensely local [2]. In this write-up, we briefly articulate the initiatives to control the effect of outbreak of COVID-19 on socio-economic condition in Bangladesh.
The COVID-19 pandemic is varied from country to country, that most likely increased poverty and inequalities globally. The impacts of this crisis on societies, economies and vulnerable groups are primary. Immediate development responses in this crisis must be undertaken. The United Nations has taken initiatives to support national authorities in developing public health preparedness and response plans to the COVID-19 crisis. The global recession induced by COVID-19 is escalating, the disruptions in production started in China that led to a lower supply of goods and services [3]. Different approaches in some countries in South-East Asia including Bangladesh have proved fairly successful in reviving their economies. Bangladesh confirmed the first COVID-19 case on March 7 through experts assumed that this virus may have entered the country earlier than that but had not been detected due to inadequate monitoring [4]. In Bangladesh, where 45 percent of the population is vulnerable to falling into poverty, garment factories are crucial for providing incomes, especially to the near-poor. The impact is sudden for millions of people who are losing incomes and jobs such as daily laborers, domestic and cross-border migrants etc. The highly contagious nature of the virus and strict social distancing measures prevent many strategies at individual and community levels. Bangladesh managed the emergency getting support fund to help its workers, employers, parents, marginal people, and hosted refugees. They already received fast-track support of USD 100 million from the World Bank [5,6]. The country has offered an economic stimulus package of 8 billion USD to counter the adverse effects of the pandemic [7]. Government postponed temporally all non-essential developmental works and gathers a modest amount of money to support its people in fighting this crisis. In addition, high entrepreneurs, business organizations and international funders came forward to help Bangladesh to face the COVID-19 challenges.
Though, at the initial stage of pandemic, the job and financial insecurity was anticipated in course of time and concerned a global depression which might affect the local market, government provided incentives to the poverty-stricken community as well as insurance for the healthcare professional at the frontline. Based on the expected size and incidence of economic downturn, a large part of stimulus packages were allotted towards the poor and most vulnerable people by the government. They provided stimulus packages to safeguard public goods such as health, employment and human security. These helped people to support in need and preclude major getaway or set the platform to improve the social safety and extending the coverage of formal employment. We should be more careful to make the response more effective and reduce the cost of the crises, strong coordination and cooperation among governments is needed, coupled with clear and transparent communication.
The preparation is the key factor to address any health crisis, and so far, Bangladesh, as a lower-middle-income country, has numerous limitations in restricting the spread of the virus. The Government is not able to mitigate the situation alone [8], individual efforts from the citizens, direct involvement of the nation’s public health experts, and international help are also needed. So, a quick and supportive collaboration between the government, citizens, and health experts, along with international assistance, may enable the country to minimize the impact of the pandemic successfully.
- 1. Directorate General of Health Services. Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Press Release. (2020). Available online at: [https://www.dghs.gov.bd/index.php/ en/home/5373-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-press-release] accessed April 11, 2020
- 2. Berger ZD, Evans NG, Phelan AL, Silverman RD (2020) Covid-19: control measures must be equitable and inclusive. BMJ 368: m1141. [Croosref]
- 3. Anderson RM, Heesterbeek H, Klinkenberg D, Hollingsworth TD (2020) How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic? Lancet 395: 931-934. [Croosref]
- 4. PereraW. Bangladesh Government Downplays COVID-19 Threat as Job Losses Mount. (2020). Available online at: [https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/16/bang-m16.html] accessed March 26, 2020
- 5. Dhaka Tribune. Tackling Covid-19: Bangladesh Will Need $378 Million Fund. (2020). Available online at: [https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/2020/03/29/bangladesh-will-require-378mn-fund-for-covid-19-preparedness].
- 6. The World Bank. World Bank Fast-Tracks $100 Million COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Support for Bangladesh. (2020). Available online at: [https:// www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/04/03/world-bank-fasttracks-100-million-covid-19-coronavirus-support-for-bangladesh] accessed April 11, 2020
- 7. Rana BJ, Sakka HEl, WHO-BAN. COVID-19 Situation Report No 06. (2020). Available online at: [https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/bangladesh/covid-19-who-bangladesh-situation-reports/who-ban-covid-19-sitrep-06.pdf?sfvrsn=36254da0_6] accessed April 11, 2020
- 8. Wang J, Xu C, Wong YK, He Y, Adegnika AA, et al. (2020) Preparedness is essential for malaria-endemic regions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet 395: 1094–1096. [Croosref]
