Staff reporter :
A recent survey conducted by the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) has unveiled notable shifts in the poverty landscape of the country over the past five years.
Remarkably, 20.7 percent of the nation’s populace grapples with poverty, delineating a sobering reality that demands urgent attention.
Within this distressing statistic, 21.6 percent of individuals reside in rural areas, while 18.7 percent are situated in urban settings.
These revelations stem from a meticulously crafted research report titled ‘How the Corona Pandemic and Subsequent Disruptions are Impacting Poverty, Income Inequality, Education, and Food Security in Bangladesh,’ a collaborative effort between the esteemed private research institutions, SANEM and the Global Development Institute of the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
SANEM-GED embarked on a comprehensive survey in 2018, canvassing 10,500 households across the nation.
Subsequently, in October and November of the previous year, a subset of 9,650 households underwent re-evaluation, culminating in a profound analysis that illuminated the intricacies of poverty dynamics.
The dissemination of the research findings to the media on Tuesday shed light on the nuanced intricacies of poverty’s grip on society.
The report delineates a nuanced narrative of contrasting trajectories in rural and urban poverty.
Notably, rural poverty exhibited a commendable decline from 24.5 percent in 2018 to 21.6 percent last year, signifying a glimmer of progress amid adversity.
However, urban areas witnessed a disheartening rise in poverty rates, surging from 16.3 percent in 2018 to 18.7 percent by 2023, underscoring the multifaceted challenges facing urban communities.
Amidst the economic turbulence exacerbated by the pandemic, a staggering 70 percent of households found themselves compelled to recalibrate their dietary patterns in response to soaring inflationary pressures.
Concurrently, 35 percent of households curtailed non-essential expenditures, while 28 percent resorted to borrowing, and 17 percent were forced to dip into dwindling savings.
The juxtaposition of heightened expenditure against stagnant or dwindling incomes painted a poignant picture, with ultra-poor households experiencing a harrowing 20 percent decline in monthly per capita expenditure compared to 2018.
According to the report, a striking revelation emerges: the urban poor face heightened food insecurity compared to their rural counterparts. A notable 29 percent of rural and 32 percent of urban poor households grapple with moderate food insecurity, as per the guidelines stipulated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Mahtab Uddin, Research Economist at SAMEM, said , “The burgeoning poverty rates in urban areas can predominantly be attributed to the scourge of high inflation.”
He elucidated further, shedding light on the coping mechanisms adopted by impoverished families, foremost among them being the austerity measures imposed on their dietary habits.
Tragically, this entails a stark deprivation of essential nutrients, as households resort to abstaining from consuming meat, eggs, fruits, and other vital sources of sustenance.
