Tackling the Pandemic of Inequality in Asia and the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah AlisjahbanaBANGKOK, Thailand, Apr 12 2022 (IPS) After two years of human devastation, the world is learning to live with COVID-19 while trying to balance the protection of public health and livelihoods. For countries in Asia and the Pacific, this is challenging not only because national coffers are heavily strained by record public spending to mitigate pandemic suffering, but also due to deeper structural economic issues. Armida Salsiah AlisjahbanaCOVID-19 has exposed a pandemic of inequality in a region which has the world’s most dynamic economies but also half of the global poor. A region where nearly half of the total income goes to just 10 per cent of people while the poorest 10 per cent get just 0.2 per cent. This failure to grow together meant that the pandemic worsened the circumstances of those left behind. Estimates suggest that more than 820 million informal workers and over 70 million children in low-income households have been denied access to adequate income and education since the outbreak. Even more worryingly, this will leave long-term scars on economic productivity and learning, harming the future earning potential of those already marginalized. Amid continuing uncertainty over when the pandemic will finally be behind us, the one certainty for the region’s policymakers is that the benefits of recovery and progress must reach everyone. The prospects of the regional economy are riddled with downside risks related to the pandemic and emer...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific COVID-19 Development & Aid Economy & Trade Education Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Inequality Labour Sustainability TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news