The initial panic of COVID-19 in early 2020 has given way to a broader realization that the pandemic is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. In April 2020 when lockdown measures had been put in place, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and BRAC Institute for Governance and Development (BIGD) teamed up to launch a rapid response telephonic survey on the immediate impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods and household welfare. Phase I of the survey utilized respondent telephone databases of both PPRC and BIGD from earlier surveys among urban slums and rural poor. After an interval of three months, by which time economic activities had largely resumed, the second survey (Phase II) was launched in June 2020 on livelihood and coping during the COVID-19 crisis, with an additional focus on recovery dynamics. The World Food Program (WFP) came forward to provide supplementary support to this end. Of the 11,671 households in the final sample, 7,638 were successfully interviewed using a quantitative and close-ended questionnaire. Female workers are considerably worse off compared to male workers, with housemaids suffering the worst impact – 54% respondents in this category were unemployment in June. Moreover, around 35% female small business owners became unemployed compared to 16% male business owners. Phase II also explored whether the food consumption of the food insecure household improved from the initial reduction in March – Dhaka appears to be the worst-off with 15% of sample respondents reporting less than three meals a day.
Authors: Zillur Rahman, Hossain; Rahman, Atiya; Zillur, Umama; Matin, Imran; Gain, Sabrina Miti; Mohammad, Fatema; Ahmed, Shakil
Type: Report
Year: 2020