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Bangladesh is one of the countries hit the worst by COVID-19, and slum dwellers, who account for 6.33% of the urban population and 1.48% of the total population of the country, are one of the most economically vulnerable populations during this crisis. Adolescents living in the slums of Dhaka city are facing complicated physical, emotional, and cognitive transitions, further exacerbated by the pandemic crisis and state-sanctioned lockdown. To shed light on the impact of the pandemic and countrywide lockdown on the lived realities of adolescent boys and girls living in slums and low-income settlements in Dhaka, a rapid research study was conducted by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (BRAC JPGSPH), and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), under the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) program, a nine-year mixed methods longitudinal research program funded by UK Aid from the UK government.
The findings from the research was presented by Maheen Sultan, Senior Fellow of Practice and Head, Gender and Social Transformation Cluster, BIGD, and Farhana Alam, Assistant Director, Center of Excellence for Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (CGSRHR), BRAC JPGSPH in a research dissemination event, “Young People’s Voices During COVID-19: How the Pandemic Affected Adolescents in Urban Slums and Low-Income Settlements in Dhaka“. The presentation was followed by perspectives of other GAGE country experiences, comparison of the qualitative and quantitative findings, and open discussion.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, Former Advisor to the Caretaker Government Government of Bangladesh and Honorary Executive Director, CAMPE, was present as the Chair of the session. S M Latif, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Project Director, Accelerating Protection for Children (APC); Dr Sabina F Rashid, Dean and Professor, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University; Workneh Yadete, GAGE Ethiopia Qualitative Research Lead & Research Uptake and Impact Coordinator; Dr Jennifer Seager, Assistant Professor, George Washington University; and Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BIGD, were also present at the event.
The study found that adolescents from these areas are in risk of falling behind in attaining educational outcomes due to lower access to internet and mobile device. Moreover, it found significant differences among male and female adolescent respondents in how COVID-19 affected them, in terms of education, domestic burden, mobility and future risks and potentials.
