People’s buying capacity needs to be protected by reining in commodity prices

Infograph: TBS

The government should immediately give an exemption from different taxes, inducing import duties and VAT, to keep prices of daily commodities within disadvantaged people's reach, thus protecting their purchasing power, said economists at a discussion on Thursday.

Covid-19 has affected almost all SDG indicators, and economic development targets have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. The number of poor people has ticked up significantly because of Covid-triggered job losses and income erosion. To top it all, soaring commodity prices have put them into deeper trouble with an extra cost burden, they noted. 

In this situation, they also suggested keeping the value of the taka against the dollar stable, reducing bank loan interest rates for labour-intensive industries and even exempting interest if necessary and offering more stimulus support.

The Citizens' Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh organised the programme, titled "What impact will pandemic have on SDGs delivery in Bangladesh?" at BRAC Centre Inn in the capital. 

Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor at Citizens' Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh and distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said the number of poor people in the country has increased owing to Covid-19. Similarly, increasing income inequality has had a greater impact on marginalised people.

Most job losses during the pandemic period were in the non-formal sector. The number of NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) among the youth has increased at an alarming rate.

In his keynote paper, Debapriya said much of the progress made in the implementation of SDGs since 2015 has been lost. There are no targets or indicators in SDGs that are not affected by Covid-19. 

Some 43% of SDGs suffered long-term effects of the pandemic, while 57% experienced medium-term impact, he noted.

The implementation of SDGs can be even more challenging in the coming days. Explaining the reason, he said it would not offset Covid-induced effects on any indicators. Some indicators may take longer to return to normal, Debapriya added.

Although the SDG implementation situation was assessed in 247 indicators, a report prepared by four CPD researchers evaluated 27 indicators under four pillars – economic, social, environment and governance indexes. 

The report is based on feedback from more than 40 experts, with only one index containing up-to-date government data.

Tracking mechanisms to capture the pandemic impact on SDGs are severely affected due to the dearth of data. There is hardly any up-to-date data to capture the impact of Covid-19 on SDG targets.

Debapriya said there is a big disparity in the vaccination programme managed by the government. He said a maximum of 81.5% of people in Dhaka division got the first shot, while the rate in Mymensingh division is only 68.9%.

Similarly, in Khulna division, 56.8% people got the second dose, but in Sylhet, the rate is the lowest at 46.1%.

The areas with more resources and influence are getting priority in vaccination

Vaccinations are being given earlier in the areas where resources and influence are ahead, he said, adding that there is also gender inequality in vaccination as only 40% of women received the third dose.

Dr Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, convener at Bangladesh Health Watch, pointed out that after every catastrophe, the country can also use learning as an opportunity to implement reform to address the weaknesses in the prevailing system. 

"We also have to use the lessons of the current crisis to build forward better," he said.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, demanded that the social safety net be expanded adequately in urban and peri-urban areas. To this end, a lack of data and information is obstructing the government from reaching people in need.

Zakir Hossain, chief executive at Nagorik Uddyog, said high prices of essential commodities are not adequately addressed by the policymakers. 

He also gave importance to conducting an independent mid-term review of SDG implication as "we are crossing the midpoint of the 2030 timeline".

Poverty affects women across all dimensions, especially those working in the informal sector, so the upcoming budget should be focused on allocating more finance for the social safety net, said Dr Maleka Banu, general secretary at Bangladesh Mahila Parishad.

The pandemic increased inequality, including gender inequality, and a lack of good governance has further constrained addressing this issue, she added. 

Reefat Bin Sattar, director of Programme Development and Quality at Save the Children in Bangladesh, said the pandemic may have affected all, but those with better resilience were able to cope better. 

While fighting Covid-19, the health sector faced difficulties to deal with priorities, such as maternal and child care. 

He also said being absent from schools during the pandemic has adversely affected the mental health of children and so this requires special attention.

Budgetary allocations for environment and climate have declined in recent years, said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive at Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association. 

Apparently, Covid-19 has de-prioritised environmental issues for the government, which Bangladesh, as a climate vulnerable country cannot afford, she pointed out. 

Agreeing with her, Hasin Jahan, country director at WaterAid Bangladesh, said Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) was key in dealing with the pandemic. Unfortunately, budgetary allocations declined for WASH. In Bangladesh, the budget for WASH is highly urban-biased. 

It is critical to give more importance to rural areas. Additionally, budget tracking for WASH is not possible due to lack of a separate budget code, she also said. 

Dr Mostafizur Rahaman, program manager at Campaign for Popular Education, recalled the fact that the poorest and most disadvantaged children were deprived of online-based education during the pandemic. 

The children who are more at risk of dropping out should be provided with more fiscal incentives in the next budget, he added.  

Advocating for ensuring public health services for marginalised people, including the urban poor, Dr Rumana Huque, an economics professor at the University of Dhaka, said the private sector could not play its due role in the health sector during the pandemic and the increased out-of-pocket expenditure made the poor people more vulnerable. 

Khandekar Jahurul Alam, executive director at Centre for Services and Information on Disability, specified that education, health and employment are the three areas where persons with disabilities have been mostly affected. 

He stated that more than 40,000 children with disabilities have dropped out of school during the pandemic. 

Raju Bashfor, general secretary at Horijon Oikko Parishad, Thakurgaon district, said a large section of Horijon children dropped out of schools, while child marriages have increased. 

He stressed providing mid-day meals for Horijon students.

Anisatul Fatema Yousuf, coordinator at Citizen's Platform for SDGs, said the pandemic has pushed the marginalised group further behind and it has affected Bangladesh's SDG progress. Hence, it has become crucial to give voice to those marginalised groups.