The Covid-19 pandemic is set to push over 115 million people into extreme poverty, a world Bank report has said.
According to the report, after decades of steady progress in reducing the number of people living on less than $1.90/day, the pandemic has harmed the poor and vulnerable the most, and it is threatening to push millions more into poverty.
“In a worst-case scenario, the figure could be as high as 115 million. The World Bank Group forecasts that the largest share of the ‘new poor will be in South Asia, with Sub-Saharan Africa close behind. According to the latest Poverty and Shared Prosperity report, ‘many of the new poor are likely to be engaged in informal services, construction, and manufacturing – the sectors in which economic activity is most affected by lockdowns and other mobility restrictions.”
The June edition of the Global Economic Prospects, put it plainly: “COVID-19 has triggered a global crisis like no other – a global health crisis that, in addition to an enormous human toll, is leading to the deepest global recession since the Second World War,,” the report said.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com