COVID19 Archives - BRAC Institute of Governance and Development

Rethinking Anti-Corruption for COVID-19

Posted on 23 May 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

Why the COVID-19 Response is Undermined by Corruption

‘Flattening the curve’ and lockdowns have sadly become part of our new vocabulary. That this is not just about limiting patient numbers temporarily but primarily about using the opportunity to scale up COVID-19 testing and treatment capacities often appears not to be understood.

Developing countries will have to access global emergency funding to enhance their health response and to mitigate economic hardship. But the reality is that in many countries, corruption and governance constraints will limit the rapid scaling up of responses to COVID-19. As we explain in a SOAS-ACE policy brief, this will not only undermine treatment responses but result in cycles of unsustainable lockdowns and massive economic deprivation.

Corruption is Already Affecting Crisis Response

In times of crisis, even the best governments are often forced to side-step standard procurement processes to speed up responses. It is not at all surprising that corruption can spike under such conditions in systems that are already corrupt.

Even as countries have scrambled to address the pandemic, there has been padding of procurement contracts, leakages in distribution, including of emergency food supplies, and cronyistic appointments to head newly formed response agencies in countries as diverse as Colombia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Romania and Ukraine. Oversight agencies across the world have pointed out significant breaches in governance increasing in COVID-19 contexts.

Consequences

The result is a huge escalation in the cost of scaling up testing, treatment, and quarantine facilities. The cost of an extra bed or testing kit is not just the cost of the material and staff that go into procurement and service delivery. It includes the additional cost of corruption, so that the same expenditure delivers fewer kits and fewer beds, and of lower quality.

Standard anti-corruption measures like setting conditions for health sector reform when countries borrow for COVID-19 are too blunt and have in any case not worked well in the past. This may even backfire if people are made to believe that their hardship is exacerbated by international lenders. Nevertheless, once we start getting out of this mess there may be a real appetite for more serious reform.

Why Aid Agencies Need to Try Something Different—the Case for Multiple Providers

We have argued that even in ‘normal’ times anti-corruption efforts in developing countries have to look for opportunities where important participants have incentives to deliver better outcomes in their own interest with less corruption. In a crisis, the task is more challenging but not hopeless. Mobilising multiple organisations may be feasible if the temporary, anti-corruption strategy in an emergency.

Most countries have a mix of organisations involved in healthcare with different capabilities and strengths and weaknesses. They include clinics and hospitals at different levels, NGOs and charities, local pharmaceutical industries and importers, testing labs, universities and research institutes both public and private.

Given the implausibility of a quick fix of the corruption problem, a feasible emergency response would be to identify the most ambitious test and treatment strategy that can be envisaged in that context if all available organizations could be mobilized. If the treatment strategy is too ambitious and cannot be delivered, the outcome may be just as bad as if the treatment strategy lacked ambition. The enormity of the crisis justifies thinking in terms of a wartime response and asking how the different parts of this strategy could be provided by mobilizing different delivery agencies to achieve the most cost-effective and rapid scaling up.

It is not necessary to predict which organizations will be better at what. Mobilizing multiple providers for each goal can generate incentives to cooperate and provide cost-effective results if the strategy scales up providers who perform better. There will be resistance from rent-seekers, but they may be overcome if the strategy is presented as a national emergency response. And, of course, the top leader(s) at least have to believe that a social collapse due to COVID-19 is not in their interest.

The rapid development of testing capacity in the UK is an example of an emergency response with multiple agencies, universities, the private sector and even the army mobilized to deliver a rapid increase in testing capabilities. This was not an anti-corruption measure, but a strategy to accelerate delivery.

Similarly, developing countries could temporarily mitigate corruption and low capacity by involving public, private and third sector actors to enable scaling up on the basis of revealed competence. This does not get rid of corruption but reduces its level to maximize scaling up. This is very different from the optimization strategy of standard economics.

When we discussed this idea with Duncan Green, he suggested we should make explicit that we were deliberately suggesting building in redundancy. In a storm, even if you are building a small hut, you would do well to build some redundancy into each wall. A leaner approach may look more cost effective, till the storm blows it away. It is only if developing countries have an effective strategy of strengthening their health responses in the storm can lockdowns be relaxed in a sustainable way.

Mushtaq Khan is a Professor of Economics at SOAS University of London, and Executive Director of the DFID-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence Research Consortium. Pallavi Roy is a lecturer in International Economics at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS. They are both part of the SOAS Anti-Corruption Evidence Consortium (SOAS-ACE).

**This article has been reposted from Oxfam Blogs – From Poverty to Power**

কোভিড-১৯ এর সামাজিক সংকট: স্বাস্থ্য সুরক্ষা আর অর্থনীতির ভারসাম্য: একটি ২০ দফা প্রস্তাব

Posted on 5 May 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

করোনাভাইরাস -২০১৯ (কোভিড-১৯) মহামারী সরকার, অর্থনীতি ও স্বাস্থ্যসেবা ব্যবস্থাকে এক অভূতপূর্ব সংকটের মুখোমুখি দাঁড় করিয়েছে। আজ পর্যন্ত, এই ভাইরাস মোকাবেলায় কোন কার্যকর টীকা বা চিকিৎসা আবিস্কৃত হয়নি, আর নিকট ভবিষ্যতে এটি যে পাওয়া যাবে এমন সম্ভাবনাও দেখা যাচ্ছে না । তাই এই রোগ বিস্তার রোধে সামাজিক দূরত্ব (যেমন, হোম কোয়ারেন্টাইন, লকডাউন) মেনে চলাকেই মূল কৌশল হিসাবে গ্রহন করা হচ্ছে। এর ফলশ্রুতিতে, বিশ্বব্যাপী কোটি কোটি মানুষকে এখন বাড়িতে থাকতে হচ্ছে।

দেখা গেছে এই ভাইরাস বিস্তারের গতি হ্রাস করতে ’লকডাউন’ কার্যকরী একটি পন্থা। যেমন চীন, জার্মানি, অস্ট্রেলিয়া ও নিউজিল্যান্ডে লকডাউনের মাধ্যমে মহামারীর গতিকে কমিয়ে দেয়া সম্ভব হয়েছে। এর ফলে এই দেশগুলোতে স্বাস্থ্যসেবা ব্যবস্থার উপর চাপ কমে এসেছে এবং মৃত্যুর হারও কমে গেছে।

কিন্তু সমস্যা হলো লকডাউন পরিস্থিতি দীর্ঘকাল অব্যাহত থাকলে কর্মসংস্থান, অর্থনীতি, মানসিক স্বাস্থ্য এবং সামাজিক শৃঙ্খলার ওপর এর ব্যাপক নেতিবাচক প্রভাব পড়তে পারে (বিশেষত যেখানে সামাজিক সুরক্ষা বলয় সীমিত)। তাই লকডাউনের ফলে সৃষ্ট অর্থনৈতিক সঙ্কট কাটিয়ে উঠার ক্ষমতা ধনী রাষ্ট্রগুলোর থাকলেও নিম্ন ও মধ্যম আয়ের রাষ্ট্রগুলি এ বাস্তবতায় কতদূর টিকে থাকতে পারবে, সেটি একটি কঠিন প্রশ্ন।

ধনী দেশগুলোর তুলনায় অপেক্ষাকৃত কম আয়ের দেশগুলোতে লকডাউন বজায় রাখাও কঠিন। উদাহরণ হিসাবে বাংলাদেশের প্রেক্ষিতে দেখা যায় প্রায় ৯০% মানুষ কাজ করে অনানুষ্ঠানিক খাতে এবং মোট জনসংখ্যার প্রায় পনেরো শতাংশ মানুষের মাথাপিছু দৈনিক গড় আয় ৫০০ টাকার কম । তাই জনসংখ্যার একটি বিশাল অংশ তাদের পরিবার চালাতে দৈনিক মজুরির উপর নির্ভরশীল হওয়ায় লকডাউনের মতো কঠোর পদক্ষেপ ব্যক্তি ও পারিবারিক পর্যায়ে আরও বিপর্যয় বয়ে নিয়ে আসতে পারে ।

বাংলাদেশের মতো উন্নয়নশীল দেশগুলোতে দীর্ঘমেয়াদী লকডাউন বজায় থাকলে কর্মহীনতা ও দারিদ্রতা লাগামহীন হারে বাড়তে পারে, এর সাথে বাড়তে পারে অনাহারজনিত মৃত্যুর সংখ্যাও । এতে এমন এক পরিস্থিতি সামনে আসতে পারে যেখানে অর্থনীতিজনিত মৃত্যুর সংখ্যা করোনা মহামারীতে প্রাণ হারানো সংখ্যার সমানুপাতিক হয়ে যেতে পারে। বাংলাদেশে বিআইজিডি-পিপিআরসির যৌথ উদ্যোগে গ্রামে ও শহরের বস্তিতে থাকা ৫,৪৭১টি পরিবারের উপর পরিচালিত সাম্প্রতিক এক সমীক্ষায় ভিত্তিতে দেখা যায়, তাদের গড় আয় কমেছে প্রায় ৭০% আর খাবারের ব্যয় কমেছে ২৬%, পাশাপাশি এও উঠে এসেছে যে, এই পরিবারগুলি বাহ্যিক কোন সহায়তা ছাড়া আর সর্বোচ্চ দুই সপ্তাহ চলতে পারবে।

সঙ্কটের আরো গভীরতর রূপ সামনে আসে যখন দেখা যায় যে, এই করোনা দুর্যোগের আগে যে পরিবারগুলোর আয় জাতীয় দারিদ্র্যসীমার বেশ উপরে ছিল, তাদের ৮০% এর বেশি বর্তমানে দারিদ্র্যসীমার নিচে নেমে এসেছে। এই স্বল্পমেয়াদী নেতিবাচক প্রভাবের পরিপ্রেক্ষিতে দেখা যায় যে,পূর্বের অর্থনৈতিক সামর্থ্যে ফিরে আসা নির্ভর করছে এই সঙ্কটে সরকারের গৃহীত পদক্ষেপগুলো কতটা দ্রুত, নির্ভরযোগ্য ও যুৎসই তার উপর।

ইতিমধ্যে বিশ্বব্যাপী সামাজিক অস্থিরতা ও দুর্ভোগের চিত্র ক্রমশ স্পষ্ট হয়ে উঠছে। যেমন ভারতে লক্ষ লক্ষ অভিবাসী দিনমজুর তাদের গ্রামে ফিরে যাওয়ার জন্য লকডাউন উপেক্ষা করেছে, কেনিয়ায় দোকানীরা পুলিশের সাথে দাঙ্গা বাধিয়েছে, খাদ্য সংকটের প্রভাবে দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকা ও নাইজেরিয়ার রাস্তায় মারামারি শুরু হয়েছে, এমনকি বাংলাদেশেও জরুরি ত্রাণ বহনকারী গাড়ির উপর আক্রমনের খবর সামনে এসেছে।

এটা পরিষ্কার যে স্বল্প আয়ের দেশগুলোর জন্য অর্থনৈতিক কার্যক্রম বন্ধ করে দেওয়া কোনো দীর্ঘমেয়াদী সমাধান হতে পারেনা। তাই বাংলাদেশসহ অনেক দেশ বর্তমানে এই লকডাউন শিথিল করার কথা বিবেচনা করছে। তবে এই সিদ্ধান্ত অত্যন্ত ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ, সঙ্কট থেকে বের হয়ে আসার সুস্পষ্ট পরিকল্পনা ছাড়া দেশগুলিতে যদি লকডাউন তুলে দেয়া হয় তবে এ মহামারী প্রকট রূপ ধারণ করতে পারে। এর প্রভাব প্রথম আঘাতের চেয়ে আরও ভয়াবহ হতে পারে। এ প্রসঙ্গে স্মরণ করা যায়, বিশ শতকের গোড়ার দিকে স্প্যানিশ ফ্ল’র কথা যেটির দ্বিতীয় আঘাত প্রথমটির তুলনায় অধিক বিভিষীকাময় ছিল।

সুতরাং অত্যন্ত জরুরী বিষয় হলো – মহামারীকালীন মৃত্যু এবং অর্থনৈতিক পতন – এ দুইয়ের মধ্যে কিভাবে ভারসাম্য তৈরি করা যায়? আরও সুনির্দিষ্টভাবে বলতে গেলে, মহামারীকালে সামাজিক দূরত্ব বজায় রেখে দেশগুলি কিভাবে অর্থনীতির চাকা সচল রাখতে পারে? এসময়ে সামাজিক পর্যায়ে করনীয়গুলি কী? করোনা মোকাবিলা ও একইসাথে অর্থনীতির চাকা সচল রাখতে বাংলাদেশের মতো উন্নয়নশীল দেশগুলিতে কি ধরণের জনস্বাস্থ্য ব্যবস্থাই বা গ্রহণ করা উচিত?

এই প্রশ্নগুলোর সহজ কোন উত্তর নেই, তবে এমন পরিস্থিতিতে সকলের সুসমন্বিত উদ্যোগ ও একত্রে তাল মিলিয়ে কাজ করা জরুরি। আর এ বিষয়ে সমন্বয় ও কর্মপন্থা কেমন হবে তা নিয়ে আলোচনা হওয়া এখন খুব প্রয়োজন।

এই আলোচনাকে সাহায্য করার জন্য, বর্তমান বাস্তবতার প্রেক্ষিতে, আমরা ২০ দফা উত্তরণ কৌশল প্রস্তাব করছি। এই প্রস্তাব আমরা তিনটি মূল বিষয়কে মাথায় রেখে সাজিয়েছি: কর্মক্ষেত্র, সমাজ এবং স্বাস্থ্যখাত।

কর্মক্ষেত্রঃ

১) শারীরিক দূরত্ব এবং স্বাস্থ্যসুরক্ষা বিষয়ক প্রশিক্ষণের ভিত্তিতে সব কর্মীদের আরো সচেতন করে তোলা । কাজের সময়ে যে সকল স্বাস্থ্যবিধি এবং শারীরিক দূরত্ব বজায় রাখা জরুরী, সকল কর্মীর জন্য সে বিষয়ক প্রয়োজনীয় প্রশিক্ষণ নিশ্চিত করা নিয়োগকর্তার একটি প্রধান দায়িত্ব।

২) মাস্ক ব্যবহারের অভ্যাস গড়ে তোলা

সর্বক্ষেত্রে সকল শ্রমিকদের জন্য যথাসম্ভব মাস্ক ও হ্যান্ডগ্লাভস সহজলভ্য করতে হবে। এই জিনিসগুলো একটি স্বল্প আয়ের দেশের জন্য খুব একটা ব্যয়সাপেক্ষ হওয়ার কথা না তাই সহজেই বাস্তবায়ন করা সম্ভব। তবে এর জন্য সঠিক পরিকল্পনা, প্রস্তুতি এবং একই সঙ্গে এগুলোর সঠিক ব্যবহারের যথাযথ প্রশিক্ষণ দিতে হবে।

৩) কর্ম পরিবেশ পরিবর্তন

-যেখানে যেখানে প্রয়োজন, সুস্পষ্ট এবং সহজবোধ্য নির্দেশিকা দিতে হবে, যেমনঃ দেয়াল ও মেঝেতে ছবি এঁকে শারীরিক দূরত্ব বজায় রাখার কথা মনে করিয়ে দেওয়া যেতে পারে।

– শিফটের শুরুতে বা শেষে কর্মীদের চলাচল এমনভাবে নিয়ন্ত্রণ করতে হবে যাতে কর্মীরা নিরাপদ দূরত্ব বজায় রাখতে পারে।

-কর্মীদের সীমানা নির্ধারণ করে দেওয়া যেতে পারে, যাতে তাদের চলাফেরা শুধুমাত্র প্রয়োজনীয় ক্ষেত্রে সীমাবদ্ধ থাকে

– সম্ভব হলে ব্যারিকেড ব্যবহার করে কর্মক্ষেত্রে কর্মীদের আলাদা রাখার চেষ্টা করতে হবে।

-পর্যাপ্ত সংখ্যক প্রবেশ ও প্রস্থানের ব্যবস্থা থাকতে হবে যাতে খুব বেশি ভিড় না হয়।

– দোকানপাটে একমুখী চলাচলের নিয়ম এবং ব্যবস্থা চালু করতে হবে। দোকান (যেমন সুপারশপ) এবং রেস্তোঁরাতে একসাথে নির্দিষ্টসংখ্যক গ্রাহকের বেশী প্রবেশের অনুমতি দেয়া যাবে না। কাউন্টারে কাঁচ, থাই অ্যালুমিনিয়ামের (নূন্যতম পলিথিনের) প্রতিবন্ধক স্থাপন করা যেতে পারে।

৪) শ্রমিকদের সীমিতভাবে কাজ করার সুবিধা প্রদান

বিশাল কর্মীবহর কিন্তু সীমিত জায়গা – এরকম কারখানায় এই পদ্ধতিটি সংক্রামণের ঝুঁকি হ্রাস করতে পারে। তবে এর ফলে কারখানার সামগ্রিক উৎপাদন কিছুটা কমে যাবে, শ্রমিকদের আয়ও কিছুটা হ্রাস পেতে পারে। তবে এই ব্যবস্থা অন্তত মন্দের ভালো। দীর্ঘমেয়াদী লকডাউন যেমন খারাপ তেমনি শারীরিক দূরত্ব বজায় না রাখায় হঠাৎ প্রচুর সংখ্যক কর্মী একই সময়ে অসুস্থ হয়ে পুরো কারখানাটি বন্ধ হওয়াও কাম্য নয়। এরকম অবস্থায় এই পদ্ধতিটি ভারসাম্য নিয়ে আসতে পারে।

৫) সকল শ্রমিকের জন্য পর্যাপ্ত পানি, সাবান ও সাধারণ স্যানিটেশন সুবিধা নিশ্চিত করা এবং জীবাণুনাশক সরবরাহ করা ।

কর্মক্ষেত্রে ব্যক্তিগত সুরক্ষা নিশ্চিত করার জন্য এটি একটি অত্যন্ত গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয় যা সব সময় মেনে চলতে হবে।

৬) “স্বাস্থ্য ও সুরক্ষা” বিষয়গুলো নিশ্চিতকরণে কর্মকর্তা নিয়োগ ।

উপরের সমস্ত পদক্ষেপগুলি যথাযথভাবে প্রয়োগ করা ও নিয়মিতভাবে তা মানা হচ্ছে কি না, তা দেখার জন্য একটি পদ তৈরি করা যেতে পারে।

৭) একটি সুস্পষ্ট জাতীয় নীতিমালা প্রণয়ন ও বাস্তবায়ন করতে হবে, এবং লকডাউন তুলে নেওয়ার আগে এই নীতিমালা কঠোরভাবে মানার ব্যাপারে সব ব্যবসায়ীকে ঐক্যবদ্ধ হতে হবে।

ওপরের কৌশলগুলোসহ অন্যান্য উপযুক্ত কৌশল বিবেচনা করে একটি সুস্পষ্ট নীতিমালা প্রণয়ন করতে হবে, যেখানে পরিষ্কারভাবে বলা থাকবে যে কি কি করতে হবে। খাতভেদে এই নীতিমালা ভিন্ন হতে পারে।

সমাজ পর্যায়ে:

৮) প্রবীণ এবং শারীরিক ভাবে দুর্বলদের রক্ষা করা।

প্রবীণ (৬০ ঊর্ধ্ব) এবং স্বাস্থ্যঝুঁকিতে থাকা মানুষ, যেমন – যাদের হৃদরোগ, শ্বাসকষ্ট, উচ্চ রক্তচাপ এবং ডায়াবেটিস আছে তাদের কোভিড-১৯ এর ঝুঁকি সবচেয়ে বেশী। তাই এই শ্রেণীর মানুষদের জন্য বিশেষ সুরক্ষা নিশ্চিত করতে হবে। তবে, দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার দেশগুলোতে প্রায়ই তিন প্রজন্ম একই ছাদের নিচে বাস করে। তাই সেখানে বয়স্কদের এবং ঝুঁকিতে থাকা সদস্যদের আলাদা করা কঠিন। বিশেষত প্রবীণ সদস্যদের অন্যের সাহায্য প্রয়োজন হতে পারে। সুতরাং, তাঁদের সাথে বাড়ির নির্দিষ্ট একজন সদস্যকেও আলাদা করে দেওয়া যেতে পারে। যারা বাইরে কাজ করেন বা পড়াশোনা করেন, তাদের অবশ্যই বাড়ির বেশী ঝুঁকিতে থাকা সদস্যদের কাছ থেকে সবসময় শারীরিক দূরত্ব বজায় রাখতে হবে।

৯) মাস্ক ব্যবহার করা ।

বাইরে থাকা অবস্থায় মাস্ক ব্যবহার করা উচিত, বিশেষত গণপরিবহণ, সুপারশপ / বাজার, হাসপাতাল / ক্লিনিক এবং জনাকীর্ণ অফিস (যেমন ব্যাংক বা ডাকঘর) এর মতো সম্ভাব্য “উচ্চ ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ” পরিবেশে মাস্ক পরতেই হবে। পরিবারের সদস্যদের কারো যদি কোভিডের লক্ষণ দেখা দেয়, তাহলে পারিবারিক পরিসরেও অবশ্যই মাস্ক ব্যবহার করা জরুরী।

১০) গণজমায়েত সীমিত রাখা

মহামারীর পরবর্তী সময়ের ঝুঁকি মোকাবিলায় অপ্রয়োজনীয় জমায়েত অবশ্যই সীমিত রাখতে হবে, যেমন, ধর্মীয় (মসজিদ / মন্দিরভিত্তিক বা সম্প্রদায়ভিত্তিক), সামাজিক (যেমন, বিবাহ, খেলাধুলা, সিনেমা-থিয়েটার) এবং রাজনৈতিক সমাবেশ। যেখানেই ৫০ এর বেশি লোক উপস্থিত হওয়ার সম্ভাবনা আছে, সেখানেই এই নিষেধাজ্ঞা প্রযোজ্য। গণপরিবহনের জন্যও উপযুক্ত সামাজিক দূরত্বের নির্দেশনা রাখা উচিত (যেমন মাঝখানে আসন ফাঁকা ছেড়ে দেওয়া)।

১১) সম্ভব হলে ঘরে বসে কাজ করাকে উৎসাহিত করা।

যেসব ক্ষেত্রে অফিসের কাজ ঘরে বসেই করা সম্ভব এবং কর্মীদের বাড়িতে কাজ করার যথোপযুক্ত ব্যবস্থা আছে, সেসব ক্ষেত্রে ঘরে বসে কাজ করাকে উৎসাহিত করতে হবে।

১২) সামাজিক পর্যায়ে ব্যাপক সচেতনতা সৃষ্টি করা ।

জাতীয় এবং স্থানীয় উভয়স্তরে ব্যাপক প্রচারণা চালিয়ে

– মৌলিক স্বাস্থ্যবিধি এবং স্যানিটেশন সম্পর্কে সচেতনতা তৈরি করতে হবে,

– করোনা নিয়ে বিদ্যমান সামাজিক কুসংস্কার ও ভুল ধারণাসমূহ দূর করতে হবে, এবং

– করোনার ঝুঁকিগুলো সম্বন্ধে মানুষকে শেখাতে হবে

১৩) স্বাস্থ্য এবং রোগ প্রতিরোধ ক্ষমতা উন্নয়ন ।

সংক্রমণের সাথে লড়াই করতে সুস্থ থাকা খুব জরুরী। স্বাস্থ্যকর জীবনযাত্রা সুস্থতার প্রতীক। একটি সবল ফুসফুস এবং উচ্চমাত্রার রোগপ্রতিরোধ ক্ষমতা থাকলে ভাইরাস সহজে কাবু করতে পারবে না। যেমন ধূমপান বন্ধ রাখা, নিয়মিত উচ্চ রক্তচাপ, ডায়াবেটিসের ঔষধ খাওয়া, ব্যায়াম করা এবং পর্যাপ্ত ঘুমানো – এগুলো রোগ প্রতিরোধ ক্ষমতা বজায় রাখতে সাহায্য করবে।

স্বাস্থ্যসেবা খাত:

১৪) প্রচুর পরিমাণে কোভিড-১৯ পরীক্ষার পাশাপাশি শনাক্ত ও বিচ্ছিন্নকরণ (test-trace-isolate) ।

এটি নিশ্চিত করতে গেলে সাশ্রয়ী এবং সহজলভ্য ডায়গনস্টিক টেষ্ট বাড়াতে হবে এবং কমিউনিটি স্বাস্থ্যকর্মীদের শনাক্তকরণে সংযুক্ত করতে হবে নিয়োগ করতে হবে । এছাড়া বিভিন্ন ডিজিটাল প্ল্যাটফর্ম, যেমন Apps অথবা ক্ষুদেবার্তার ব্যবহার শনাক্তকরণে কাজে লাগানো যেতে পারে।

১৫) এলাকাভিত্তিক লক-ডাউন (যা “Cordon Sanitaire” নামেও পরিচিত) প্রয়োগ করা।

হঠাৎ একটি অঞ্চলে ভাইরাসের প্রাদুর্ভাব বা পুনসংক্রমন হলে, সেই নির্দিষ্ট ”হটস্পটে” লকডাউন প্রয়োগ করতে হবে।

১৬) একটি বড় জনসংখ্যা নিয়ে ”এমিডেমিওলজিক্যাল স্যারো-সার্ভিলেন্স” (Sero-surveillance) প্রতিষ্ঠিত করা।

এটি নিচের জনস্বাস্থ্য সম্পর্কিত বিষয়গুলো জানতে সাহায্য করবে-

ক) ভাইরাসটির গতি নতুন কোন দিকে মোড় নিচ্ছে কি না ।

খ) কতজন মানুষের ভেতরে কোভিড-১৯ এর রোগ প্রতিরোধ ক্ষমতা তৈরি হয়েছে

এছাড়া কত শতাংশ মানুষে টীকার প্রয়োজন হবে তাও জানা যাবে।

১৭) ”রোলিং” লকডাউন পদ্ধতি ।

এটি একটি আকর্ষণীয় মিশ্র পদ্ধতি, যেখানে কিছুদিন সারা দেশে লকডাইন করা হয় আবার কিছু দিনের জন্য খুলে দেওয়া হয়। এটি চক্রাকারে চলতে থাকে যতদিন টীকা আমাদের হাতে না পৌছাচ্ছে। এই “স্যুইচ-অন, স্যুইচ-অফ” লকডাউন পদ্ধতিটি রোগের হার যেমন কমাতে সহায়তা করে তেমনি মানুষের অর্থনৈতিক অসুবিধা কমিয়ে একটি সঠিক ভারসাম্য দিতে পারে। আমরা বর্তমানে এমনই একটি আন্তর্জাতিক মডেল নিয়ে কাজ করছি যেটি নিম্ন আয়ের দেশে কতদিন এধরণের “রোলিং লকডাউন” করতে হবে তা নির্ধারণ করবে।

১৮) অতিজরুরী স্বাস্থ্যসেবাকাঠামো উন্নতকরন।

অর্থনৈতিক কার্যক্রম শুরু হওয়ার সাথে সাথে আইসিইউ, ভেন্টিলেটর, ব্যক্তিগত সুরক্ষা সরঞ্জামের পাশাপাশি মানুষের দক্ষতা ও সক্ষমতা (যেমন, ডাক্তার / নার্সদের পুনঃপ্রশিক্ষণ দেওয়া) বৃদ্ধির প্রচেষ্টা চালু রাখতে হবে।

১৯) করোনাভাইরাসের জন্য প্রাথমিক (অন্তঃবর্তীকালীন) হাসপাতাল এবং ডায়াগনস্টিক সুবিধা তৈরী।

এগুলো উপজেলা থেকে জেলা পর্যায়ে প্রতিষ্ঠা করা দরকার। এটি করার জন্য বর্তমানে যেসব স্বাস্থ্য কেন্দ্রগুলো আছে সেগুলোকে বিশেষায়িত করা যেতে পারে এবং সরকারী বেসরকারী অংশীদারিত্বে নতুন কেন্দ্রও স্থাপন করা যেতে পারে।

২০) উপরোক্ত পন্থাগুলো বাস্তবায়নের জন্য সরকারী-বেসরকারী-ব্যক্তিগত অংশীদারিত্ব নিশ্চিত করা।

সরকারী, বেসরকারী ও জনগনের সমন্বিত উদ্ভাবনী প্রচেষ্টায় নানান জনস্বাস্থ্য সমস্যা (যেমন ডায়রিয়ার ঘরোয়া চিকিৎসা, মাতৃ এবং শিশু স্বাস্থ্যের সংক্রমণ হ্রাস এবং সামগ্রিক পুষ্টি উন্নতকরণ) সমাধানের উজ্জ্বল দৃষ্টান্ত বাংলাদেশ সৃষ্টি করেছে,যা কিনা আমাদেরকে অনেকগুলো মিলেনিয়াম ডেভেলপমেন্ট গোল (এমডিজি) অর্জন করতে সাহায্য করেছে। জনস্বাস্থ্য সমস্যা মোকাবেলায় এই ঐতিহাসিক সাফল্যগুলো সম্ভব হয়েছে শুধুমাত্র সরকারী বেসরকারী অংশীদারিত্বের মাধ্যমে- যা আমাদের বর্তমান করোনা সংকটেও কাজে লাগাতে হবে।

বর্তমানে আমরা অজানা হুমকির মুখোমুখি দাঁড়িয়ে আছি, যেখান থেকে উত্তরণের সুনির্দিষ্ট কোন পরিকল্পনা ও দিকনির্দেশিকা এই মুহুর্তে আমাদের কাছে নেই । তাই বাংলাদেশের মতো উন্নয়নশীল রাষ্ট্রগুলির পক্ষে দেশব্যাপী সামাজিক দূরত্বের বাধ্যবাধকতা শিথিল করার কথা চিন্তা করার আগে নিজস্ব ”সুনির্দিষ্ট উত্তরণ কৌশল” প্রণয়ন করতে হবে।

আমরা বিশ্বাস করি, আমাদের প্রস্তাবিত এই বিশটি পন্থা বাংলাদেশকে একটি উত্তরণনীতি প্রণয়ন করতে সাহায্য করবে।

ডঃ রাজীব চৌধুরী, গ্লোবাল হেলথ এপিডেমিওলজিস্ট এবং অ্যাসোসিয়েট প্রফেসর, ইউনিভার্সিটি অফ কেমব্রিজ, ইউনাইটেড কিংডম

ডঃ ইমরান মতিন, নির্বাহী পরিচালক (এক্সিকিউটিভ ডিরেক্টর), ব্র্যাক ইনস্টিটিউট অফ গভর্ন্যান্স অ্যান্ড ডেভেলপমেন্ট (বিআইজিডি), ব্র্যাক ইউনিভার্সিটি, বাংলাদেশ

ডঃ অস্কার ফ্রাংকো, গ্লোবাল পাবলিক হেলথ এক্সপার্ট, ডিরেক্টর, ইন্সটিটিউট অফ সোশ্যাল অ্যান্ড প্রিভেনটিভ মেডিসিন, ইউনিভার্সিটি অফ বার্ন, সুইজারল্যান্ড

ভাষান্তরে: তানভীর শাতিল, ব্র্যাক ইনস্টিটিউট অফ গভর্ন্যান্স অ্যান্ড ডেভেলপমেন্ট (বিআইজিডি)

Photo : Adli Wahid on Unsplash

Is Coronavirus Bringing the Virtual World Even Closer to Reality?

Posted on 3 May 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

A quarter of the world’s population is under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. It has pushed hundreds of millions of people to go online for communications and entertainment as digital technology-based communication has emerged as the most viable alternative to the physical equivalent.

The New York Times reported, stuck at and working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have been spending more time online. As a consequence, total internet hits have surged by 50-70% and streaming has also jumped by at least 12%, a Forbes report found. Vodafone’s internet usage has surged by up to 50% in some European countries.

Like everywhere else, a majority of the Bangladeshis, particularly in urban areas, have been maintaining social distancing and staying at home for more than a month to avoid spreading the coronavirus. Because of social distancing and the shift to online applications, services, and tools, internet usage and data traffic suddenly increased. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the number of information and communication technology (ICT) users has been growing at a higher rate for the last two months. The use of Robi’s internet data rose by 21% during the time of shut down, as per an official source.

And the internet use is increasing at a faster rate as most of the urban educated, middle- and upper-class population are working from home and using the internet for work, socialisation, and entertainment. They have increased the use of streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook. Additionally, the use of digital communication platforms, such as Google Meet, Hangout, Zoom, and Skype, has skyrocketed among these people for conducting official meetings and conferences and for maintaining personal relationships. Different events are also being organised online, like online advice and discussion programs, online yoga classes, online fun and entertainment programs, and online chatting. For instance, webinars on mental health for young people are organised by the UN’s Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. People are joining these events from different parts of the world and sharing their experiences of and coping strategies for the COVID-19 crisis. These novel types of online social activities are also creating new kinds of social solidarity.

Globally, organisations are depending on ICT and allowing their staff to work from home. Gartner, a leading research and advisory company, conducted a survey with 800 global HR executives on March 17 and found that 88% of organisations have encouraged employees to work from home. Facebook, Google, and Amazon have implemented working from home policies for many of their employees around the globe. Twitter has made working from home mandatory for all workers globally.

In Bangladesh, all non-essential staff out of a total 2,000 employees of BRAC head office are working from home. Telecom companies, like Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, and consumer goods companies, like Nestle, have asked their staff to work from home.

And because of this technological privilege in the time of global crisis, people are feeling that they are also contributing through their work to fight the pandemic.

Like millions of professionals in Bangladesh, currently, I am also working from home and have got an opportunity to become a part of a research about the experience of adolescent slum residents in Dhaka during the crisis. This research is a part of Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE), a nine-year (2015-2024) research study. For me, it is a new kind of experience. I am familiar with traditional anthropological research methodology—in-person participant observation techniques, for example. For the first time, I am using digital communications for my anthropological research.

Like my work, my personal communication is also now completely dependent on ICT. I am connecting with my friends, relatives, and colleagues through technology. The new, virtual connectivity is helping me cope with the crisis and have a normal life.

Social media, like Facebook, Instagram, are very popular in Bangladesh, where people express their opinion and views. Now, most of the social media posts are carrying people’s views, hope, and stress about this Corona crisis. Sometimes those posts are also a reaction to the government’s actions on COVID-19.

We can say that even in Bangladesh ICT has, at least to some extent, replaced the social spaces are with virtual spaces, which is also helping people to maintain social distance, while maintaining their livelihoods.

But it is helping only a particular social class to maintain social distance without disconnecting with others. But poor and marginal people cannot work from home and as a consequence, experienced a 70% drop in income because of the lockdown, according to BIGD’s recent survey on Livelihoods, Coping, and Support during COVID-19 Crisis. Government help is not sufficient and the relief distribution mechanism is not systematic.

A large number of marginal people do not have direct access to ICT. BIGD’s recent national rural survey on Digital Literacy shows that almost 30% of rural mobile phone users cannot read SMS. In this context, a large number of people in our country are outside the radar of COIVD-19 communication. Thus, people connected with the pre-existing digital ecosystem is digitally resilient and can cope with the emergence like COVID-19 pandemic, while people without such infrastructure and connectivity become more vulnerable. They face connectivity and capacity limitations at the same time.

A combination of virtual and physical measures needs to be considered to include this group of people with the ICT-based coping mechanism during this global pandemic. The government and responsible authorities need to work to include the poor and vulnerable with ICT-based services. Digital financial inclusion can be used to help the poor and the vulnerable. Online financial services can be used to provide emergency aid support which will reduce middleman interference and this can really shape the support mechanism which will be suited to their needs and help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taslima Akhter is a Research Associate at BIGD.

COVID-19 and Domestic Violence: Caring States?

Posted on 3 May 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID)’s expert on the politics of domestic violence sets out vital ways that states can address domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The rising levels of domestic violence that have accompanied the lockdowns associated with the coronavirus pandemic have led to urgent appeals from the UN Secretary General, and also from women’s rights groups, for states to focus on and address this issue. The initial dip in reports of incidents of violence, perhaps because victims were unable to report, due to their now continuous proximity to the perpetrator, have been overturned as the lockdown continues in many parts of the world. According to UN WOMEN 2020, being stuck in close quarters with a perpetrator of abuse and having no way of seeking recourse increases the chances of incidents taking place.

What is different from other crises the world has faced, such as natural disasters or global health crisis like SARS, is that this time different groups and actors are talking vocally and publicly about domestic violence and acknowledging that it must be addressed. But two pressing question need answering. First, does the rhetoric match the reality of what states and other organisations are doing? And, second, might this crisis provide an opportunity to rethink the importance of the domestic sphere and its link to what is done in the public space (policies and how these are implemented)?

Media reports within the UK reveal that even in rich countries there is inadequate funding for charities that work with survivors and for the provision of shelters to women who want to escape. This is not an exception. In many developed countries, addressing domestic violence came as an afterthought. Only after lockdown were policies announced and only once the alarm was raised by local rights-based groups and international agencies. Perhaps this shows that the ‘domestic’ in humanitarian, emergency response and in governance strategies remains on the backburner.

The picture is even direr in developing countries – where the risk of domestic violence has increased, but where states are struggling to ensure food supply, testing and care for COVID-19 patients and to gain public compliance for lockdown measures. Comparative research into domestic violence by ESID in six countries – Bangladesh, India, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda – revealed that although each of these countries had passed legislation to outlaw domestic violence, they all have an inadequate number of shelters, limited numbers of one-stop crisis centres, limited funding for the provision of legal aid and other services, and limited numbers of trained professionals at the frontline to deal with survivors of violence.

But in most of these countries, there were hotlines one could call for assistance, an active group of women’s rights organisations that were willing to provide help, including legal aid, and a committed if weakly capacitated women’s ministry to push the agenda forward. What can policymakers and states do to ensure that the issue of domestic violence is addressed during this time of crisis? How will states take into account the needs of this most vulnerable group, who are not safe at home?

Perhaps the starting point should be to focus on what these countries already have in place. But for that resources are needed.

So, the first step would be to allocate resources so the current services can be kept running – in many cases, that would mean an increase in funding.
Second, there is a need to extend the current shelter capacity by repurposing empty space and ensuring self-isolation/quarantine safety in these spaces.
Third, in most of these countries, mobile technology is widely present. So a focus on strengthening the helplines may be an effective and low-cost way of reaching those experiencing domestic violence, including through the use of messaging services and applications that can be used in a more surreptitious manner to avoid detection.
Fourth, raising awareness is key. Service providers, police and the judiciary need to fully recognise the link between COVID-19 lockdown and domestic violence. Public awareness campaigns are needed to spread the message about where women can go for help.
Fifth, ensure support for grassroots women’s organisations who work at the community level and engage these organisations in long-term planning on how to tackle domestic violence as the lockdown continues, often for an indefinite period.
Sixth, place women and their vulnerabilities at the centre when framing policies and long-term solutions around social and economic recovery.

ESID research shows that women’s organisations and policy coalitions have played a vital role in achieving the adoption of domestic violence laws. Now they have a key role during this time of crisis in raising awareness and keeping the pressure on the state to implement and expand services.

This pandemic has revealed many blind spots in the way that development scholars and practitioners think and operate; now is the time for rethinking the false and damaging divisions between the private and public spheres, for renegotiating the relationship between women and the state. It is the moment for states to become genuinely caring states.

Listen to a podcast with Sohela and Sam Hickey presenting the findings of their book on domestic violence policy.

Sohela Nazneen is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

*This blog was originally posted in the Effective States and Inclusive Development (esid) website*

Image: Bangladesh Women Rally For Their Rights. Photo credit: Musfiq Tajwar, Solidarity Center by CC BY-NC 2.0 license

Conducting Online Surveys in the Time of a Pandemic: The Dos and Don’ts

Posted on 1 May 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

While most people at home are doing their best to hide away from COVID-19, researchers are making the most of this time at home to think up ways to demystify the effects of this lethal virus. One such team of young researchers at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) put their heads together (virtually) and decided to study the slowdown in all businesses in Bangladesh, including online businesses, that is being caused by Covid-19. They are particularly interested in examining the resilience of those online businesses that are owned and operated by women.

In a time of crisis, such as now, many people may not understand the urgency of conducting such research. The team at BIGD had anticipated these possibilities. They knew that what seems like unnecessary poking at present, would actually bear something fruitful in the future: gauging out the exact strength of the impact of COVID-19 on the online businesses, informing policy to actually make life easier for the participants and other online women-owned businesses in general.

The lockdown and mandated social distancing meant physical surveys are a no-go. Since the research would be dealing with online businesses, specifically those based on Facebook, an online survey seemed to be the ideal, or maybe the only, choice. The researchers designed the survey to be as short and easy as possible so that it did not add unduly stress on the participants.

With a target sample of 100 participants, the team rounded up a list of more than 200 women-owned Bangladeshi businesses on Facebook, keeping in mind that many potential respondents may refuse to participate because they do not trust online faceless interviewers or have other more important things to worry about. The team found out very early that simply inboxing the survey form with a generic descriptive message from BIGD’s official Facebook ID to a couple of hundred online pages would not get any response (and would not be allowed by Facebook regulations). They had to devise an alternate, more interactive, one-on-one strategy where the researcher would start by properly introducing themselves using Facebook messenger and then ease into a friendly conversation before going into the survey details.

A few ethical considerations had to be made in conducting this research during a global pandemic. Like so, it was clearly stated in the survey that a respondent had the options (a) to give consent, (b) to leave the survey at any point, and (c) to choose not to respond to questions asking for sensitive information.

Many of the contacted pages were wary about a researcher approaching them online with a link. Worried about their cyber security, they were reluctant to open the link to the survey form via Facebook and instead requested to have the link sent to them through email. Some pages agreed to fill up the form but later ignored the follow-up messages. Then there were other pages which did not wish to disclose the identity of their owners. Most respondents did not answer questions about their sales or revenue figures. At this stage, our researchers worked to build trust with the participants. Using snowballing tactics, some of the page owners helped convince other page owners to take part in the survey. Mutual friends between owners and the researchers also helped to connect the owners to the researchers. This being done, the researchers reassured respondents of maintaining strict confidentiality, knowing that these respondents were in a vulnerable spot and respecting their needs was of utmost importance.

The researchers were also aware that these women entrepreneurs faced many demands on their time: trying to keep their businesses afloat, dealing with the pandemic, and taking care of household responsibilities. Frequent follow-ups were required, where the researchers maintained their P’s and Q’s and were prompt to respond to all sorts of queries. The researchers had to bear in mind that the mental health and well-being of the respondents came before the need to maintain research deadlines. Hence even in the planning stage, researchers kept aside a long time frame for the survey duration to allow for any delays.

Despite the hurdles, the researchers believe that the trust that has been built between the researchers and respondents has actually helped to lay the groundwork for future follow-up surveys and interviews which will make for more in-depth research content.

This was a great learning experience for our team of young researchers. Being able to think innovatively, making spontaneous decisions and getting respondents to open up—these are skills which will take these researchers a long way.

Iffat Zahan and Maria Matin are Research Associates in the Research, Policy and Governance (RPG) team at BIGD, BRAC University.

Photo : “Man browses his mobile phone while waiting in Dhaka.” – ADB Photo | Abir Abdullah under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license

Fear Of Uncertainty: An Unexpected Common Ground

Posted on 29 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

Young researchers from the GAGE program realise they are in the same boat as their adolescent peers from the urban slums of Dhaka—but they are not facing the same storm.

“If people are stuck in their home then they won’t be able to eat properly. Even missing a month’s work is a huge deal for us poor people. People like us have to go outside and work hard to earn money, right? If this continues, we’ll just have to starve to death” (Female, age 19)

Over the last two months, the pandemic has spread into Bangladesh and morphed to the community transmission stage, with the number of cases rising at an alarming rate. COVID-19 spares no-one; it does not heed the socially constructed bindings that separate us by gender, status, age, education or wealth. However, even at the hands of this nondiscriminatory disease, the least privileged are the ones suffering the most.

As researchers, we have the privilege of working from home, living our lives as routinely as possible. We’re worried about the world and our loved ones, some facing the mental health issues that come with being stuck at home. However, people without a stable income or formal employment are at an unfair disadvantage that is far worse. For these vulnerable populations, they have to deal with tension and stress on a day-to-day basis. While we bemoan our boredom and ‘Instagram’ our work-from-home struggles, the working-class population can’t ‘afford’ to be bored or take their mental health into consideration.

In the narrow alleyways of the slums in Dhaka, basic utilities are rare. If some houses are lucky enough to have access to electricity, gas or water, the services are rarely uninterrupted. The idea of social distancing is almost laughable in these settlements, where families of six or eight are packed into single rooms. With several households sharing a common bathroom and kitchen, quarantine and isolation is an alien concept.

During the pandemic, adolescents in the GAGE programme are experiencing a different reality compared to their privileged peers. These adolescents are having to grow up far too soon, fast-forwarding through a critical phase of development. The impact of COVID-19 on their education and mental health is of great concern.

Our local team of researchers embarked on a journey to tackle this issue, focusing on adolescents facing the COVID-19 pandemic, located in low-income settlements in three areas of Dhaka – Rupnagar, Gazipur Sadar, and Mohammadpur. We had a list of 31 contacts from a baseline study conducted in 2018, from which we reconnected with 16 adolescents. This research was different for us, given the circumstances. However, we made the best out of the situation by utilising digital tools to coordinate remote working, using services such as Google Sheets, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts.

We thought we wouldn’t have much time during our phone interviews with each of the adolescents – leaving only a narrow window in which they could open up. However, to our surprise, most of the respondents were quite eager to talk, as they already had a rapport with the researchers from the previous baseline study. One challenge we did face during the interviews was finding a separate space devoid of external interruptions and noise, as ‘private space’ is not a “choice” but a luxury that most of the respondents could not afford. However, we tried to make the interviews as accommodating for the respondents as possible, keeping the questions simple and short.

The older adolescents we communicated with were quite well-spoken and aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. They knew that it was an infectious disease, and that they needed to maintain hygienic practices to prevent it. In contrast, the younger ones did not seem to understand the situation at all and were just following their parents’ instructions. One female adolescent (age 16) expressed her annoyance about not being able to go to school, “I don’t like staying at home all day because I can’t talk with any of my friends. My neighbours are boys, so I cannot interact with them either since it is not accepted in our house. If I was attending school or coaching classes now, I would have fun and hangout with my friends. But the lockdown has made everything boring.”

Nearly all the respondents expressed their frustration and anxiety about the situation, worried about how their families would stay afloat in this economic crisis. Being stuck at home for so long, not meeting their friends, is taking a toll on their mental health. They were also stressed about their families’ health, and felt quite helpless. A 15 year old boy told us, for example, how anxious he feels about his family members leaving the house. He said, “Every time my brothers come back from the bazaar, I panic. What if they catch the disease and it spreads to the family? They maintain hygiene, but they go out frequently and don’t always wash their hands every time. My mom and I keep telling them, but they say nothing will happen. I feel annoyed during these times, because they aren’t taking it seriously.”

Most of the respondents’ families were completely dependent on the income earned by their parents or siblings, which had come to a halt. Three of the adolescents in our sample had started to work after dropping out of school, but were compelled to stop due to the lockdown. This means that buying groceries, paying rent and getting by in the upcoming months is going to be very difficult. Although the government has been distributing aid, most of the respondents stated that help was yet to reach their households. One of them even shared concerns about corruption, referring to cases of local government representatives distributing relief only to their relatives.

Most of the respondents were getting information related to COVID-19 from the TV and through local “miking”, with few relying on online sources like Facebook and YouTube. Some of the adolescents stated that they did not have access to the internet at all, and not everyone in their class had a phone. Previously, school or extra classes were their only form of interaction with peers. In fact, none of the respondents were happy about schools being closed or exams being postponed. They are stressed about not being able to study, falling behind in their work, and performing poorly in their exams.

Most of the underprivileged adolescents had not been given any work at home and were trying to study by themselves. However, they all stated that they could not concentrate due to the pandemic, with thoughts of people dying and worries about the future. Moreover, most of the school-going adolescents do not have any support or guidance from their teachers. None of their family members are educated enough to help them with their studies, although their families are quite supportive.

Although we were offering a Tk.100 phone top-up to respondents as gratitude for giving us their time, we realised that simply getting the chance to open up about their anxieties was a much needed release for them. This was when we felt like the researchers and respondents were in the same boat, but fighting different storms. Perhaps, the acknowledgement that on some level, we shared the same hopelessness, despair, and fear in the face of a global disaster is what made the rapport building easy.

We are facing unprecedented times due to this pandemic. Researchers worldwide are conducting remote research, acquiring real time insights on the impact of the virus. As we continue our fight against COVID-19, we must always keep in mind the vulnerable adolescents who continue to bear the brunt of the crisis.

*This blogpost was originally written for the GAGE Programme*

Photo credit: “Mitaly” by Ricci Coughlan/DFID under CC BY-NC 2.0 license

Rethinking UGC’s Directive to Stop Online Tests: Going Back or Moving Forward?

Posted on 24 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

Following the trajectory of global structures of inequality, the death and mayhem the pandemic has brought in its wake has locked down humans in their countries, cities, and homes. As the novel Coronavirus has spread rapidly, governments all over the world have closed schools and universities and led millions of students into online learning systems. These new shifts in our familiar education techniques and approaches have certainly caused a degree of difficulty, but they have also initiated new educational innovation. While academic institutions, and education professionals across the world have prompted innovative teaching strategies and methods, the University Grants Commission (UGC) in Bangladesh has allowed online teaching but held the private universities back from continuing their online evaluation procedure.

On 4 April the University Grants Commission (UGC) asked all private universities to halt examinations and their evaluation until further notice amid the coronavirus pandemic. The direction came less than two weeks after the commission urged universities on March 23 to continue classes online. The incredible inconsistency in the commission’s positions has exposed the crisis of leadership and adequate strategic planning in our education sector. However, we agree with the commission’s concern, which is expressed in a press release “Some private universities have taken decision to give grade without semester final, evaluating students and admitting students without any test which is not right morally” (New Age, 9 April). There is no doubt that we should condemn such unethical actions. Moreover, we also would like to make sure that we do not compromise on standards of learning and evaluating. But then to ensure these standards shouldn’t we go online not only for the classes but also for examinations and evaluation? Why do we need to cancel online examinations/tests, when we know that they are imperative for ensuring fair evaluation? Maybe the answer lies in the fact that the commission does not consider online format of examination as a reliable evaluation method. This is evident in the UGC chairman professor Kazi Shahidullah’s statement “How they would monitor students during tests … when everything is locked up” (New Age, 9 April). His frustration in this prevailing situation is understandable, but hopelessness is not. We cannot afford to let hopelessness overwhelm us.

Moving toward online teaching has never been easy for us. But teaching is not meant to be easy, rather challenging and innovative. Main step for ensuring a reasonable learning and teaching process at the moment of crisis is to establish a relationship between faculties and students based on trust and caring, which is mostly absent from our academic world. We do not know our students, what they like, what their strengths or vulnerabilities, what resources they have and what support they need. On the other hand, students are not aware of the limitations and capabilities of their faculties and universities. Therefore, many of us have started work with our students to develop workable teaching and learning plans.

We have noticed that most of the private universities in Bangladesh cannot afford proper distance learning apps, tools, programs, or software, and many faculties even do not have strong network bandwidth in their homes to arrange large video conferences for classes of 30-40 students. On the other hand, not all students may have personal computers or laptops, but they all have smartphones and limited internet connections (at least that is the case for my students). By using our limited resources, we have tried constantly to figure out what works and what does not. When hangouts, messenger, skype did not work, we chose you-tube live. When we noticed that you-tube live was consuming more data and students were having difficulty watching live lectures, we started preparing PowerPoint presentations, adding our recorded lecture in every slide and sharing that with our students through email. For continuing class discussion, we created a group in a messaging app, so that students can share their concerns, and questions with their teachers and classmates while reading slides and listening to lectures.

Similarly, we have come up with different methods for evaluating students. But, without assessing the effectiveness of different evaluation techniques, the UGC has denounced all evaluation procedures. The UGC chairman claimed that the main problem for taking online exams is the lack of a proper monitoring system during tests. His assumption indicates that he considers supervised written exams (in English) with structured questions in a controlled setting as the only reliable exam method. However, while the written exam is the most prevalent method, its effectiveness in assessing students’ expertise over the learning-content needs to be questioned. This exam method favors students who are good in memorizing study contents and fast in writing, over students who are slow writers and have difficulty with memory. However, assessment for the purpose of grading, can also be made based on students’ online presentation, team works, viva and/or assignments, all of which are considered as very common and reliable evaluation methods in top notch universities across the world. For the class presentation, students can shoot and send over their 3-4 minutes video presentations to the class and faculty so that they can watch the presentation and ask questions and give feedback. Introvert students can prepare their audio presentation if they do not want to be seen by their peers. In the absence of any proper educational tool or app, group or teamwork can simply be ensured if every student gives feedback to their group member’s assignment or presentation through email or messaging app. While students are independently working on their assignment, we can call and quietly work with those who need extra support. All of these can be done only with smartphones and limited internet connection. Students do not need to have a computer or laptop and internet connection with strong bandwidth. Those who do not have a proper typing device can write in a Microsoft doc file by using their smartphone. If typing on a smartphone seems difficult, students can write by their hand, take a photo of their papers and send it to the instructor. Few of us have already applied these methods successfully. There are tons of other options too that we can try.

Tests or assignments can be stressful as the commission claimed. However, canceling online exams is not an acceptable way to reduce students’ anxiety over coursework and grades. Rather, it can create more confusion, fear, and hopelessness. For students coming from middle class backgrounds the real fear is session jam which can make them fall behind and increase their education expenses for an extra semester. Therefore, rather than cancelling we need to continue the online evaluation process in the best possible way so that we can mitigate the pressure on students. In addition to this, to ensure students’ emotional well being all private universities should have online counseling and phone therapy services for students who are susceptible to feeling anxious in unusual situations. Students also should be able to reach their faculties whom they can trust in the moment of emotional distress.

I admit that this is not the best thing we can do. More importantly, here I have presented some online teaching and learning methods, which were convenient for me and my students, but may not be viable options for all other universities. The pandemic has cast a bright light on deep inequality in our education system. Going online is not possible for the millions of students and hundreds of thousand teachers to whom the internet, computers, laptops are luxuries. Considering public universities’ scarcity of resources, it can be said that online education may not be a possible option for them unless the government and the commission takes proper initiatives regarding this matter. Even some private universities may not have the capabilities, skills or management system to even experiment with e-learning. That is the exact reason why we should not look for a uniform teaching or grading policy. Every university has different capability, every department has a different teaching approach and every class has students with different strengths and vulnerabilities. Therefore, universities should consult with their program coordinators, faculties, and students and the UGC should discuss with the universities before taking any decision. Whatever decision the commission takes on the online evaluation procedure should include several feasible options so that depending on the resources, competence, expertise each university can choose their own method.

Online education is a new teaching approach and of course has several limitations. But, isn’t the aim of the commission is implementing effective strategic plans regarding higher education? If so, then rather than just discarding new possibilities the commission needs to build coalitions with diverse stakeholders – including governments, public-private universities, education professionals, librarians, technology providers, and telecom network operators -to create cost-effective, interactive, competent, and scientific learning platforms in this unprecedented time. We should not just focus on solving problems faced by private universities. All the public universities were bound to close their academic procedure for the lack of resources. There are hundreds of thousands less affluent students and faculty members in public universities who cannot go online because of the cost of digital devices and data plans. The commission should form coalitions with the ministry of education and ministry of information and communication technology to decrease the access cost while increasing the quality of access. Only then we will be able to reduce the gap in education quality and the socioeconomic inequality between students.

Online education is not a substitute for face-to-face teaching yet. Technology cannot create the magic that happens in a classroom. We are eagerly looking forward to social interaction with our students. But we need to face the crisis. It is easy to remain stuck in a rut and avoid risks that could lead to live-changing experiences. But we have to take risks to initiate change. Our new experiment will reshape our institutions, the idea of education, and what learning looks like in the moment of crisis. Although it is too early to decide whether these changes would make things better or worse in the long run, we should not refrain ourselves from taking much needed actions. We have a choice to make. We can be the slaves of our old habits, ideas, and actions or we can be adventurous, willing to experiment new methods, implement new ideas, create new teaching and learning environments. Let us not allow the limits of our knowledge shape our imagination. Let our imagination create new knowledge.

Photo credit:”Young Men in Park – Old City – Dhaka – Bangladesh” by Adam Jones under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

As Outcomes Are Uncertain, Pick No-Regret Policies

Posted on 22 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

There is enormous uncertainty about how COVID-19 will affect health outcomes, as well as its impact on the economy and the poor. “Following the science” is great advice, but when the evidence base is thin, it only helps so much. Such uncertainty makes policymaking hard. Some decisions that seem sensible now will prove to be wrong, highly costly, or ineffective later on.

With so much uncertainty, it helps to focus on decisions that no one will regret later on, that are right whether the crisis is short or long, the recession deep or shallow. These are “no-regret policies.” In a short note, I discuss no-regret policies for developing countries and international agencies in three areas: health, vaccine development, and economic rescue.

While much discussion seems to focus on the number of ventilators or hospital beds, even if there is no proven treatment, no one will regret investing in the reach and quality of community healthcare and the protection of health workers, irrespective of whether a choice was made for a long-term lockdown or not. Community healthcare workers will be key to making sure that the collateral health damage from the measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 are kept to an absolute minimum. This will ensure that vaccinations, antiretrovirals, supplementary feeding, maternal health, bed net distribution, malaria treatment, and other crucial interventions that save lives every day will be kept up. These workers will be essential to shield the most vulnerable in high-population density areas, including through information and targeted support. As diagnostic tests are simply not available in sufficient supply, they can help with tracking the spread and control the disease, as Hans Rosling’s spreadsheet did with Ebola.

It is clear that the exit from this crisis will have to involve the large-scale deployment of a vaccine, even if it takes months if not years to get there. So when international agencies or governments look for sensible investments, funding research and development, including through efforts like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), makes sense. Crucially, it is also worth spending public money now to de-risk the required large-scale manufacturing, even though vaccine candidates have not yet proven efficacy nor licensing. Even if we end up having to destroy the vaccines that are not effective, that cost is nothing compared to the crazy costs of this crisis, running in the tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars per month globally. Such spending is still good value for money, as it boost the chances to have the required vast numbers of doses of a working vaccine earlier than usual. And no one will regret making sure that organisations like GAVI get the resources to help countries to build up the capacity to deliver vaccines.

When it comes to the economy, there are calls for vast spending everywhere, even in countries where fiscal resources are tight. The poor and vulnerable, often informal sector workers in urban and rural economies, are heard the least, yet they are the ones who could use these resources most. Without assistance they are at risk of having to sell all their assets just to survive—which would increase poverty figures not just temporarily but permanently, as they then cannot help themselves to get out of poverty again once there is a recovery, burdening state and society later on. Putting resources into all possible existing safety nets is a wise decision that no one will regret. Working with mobile phone operators to spread cash in geographies not covered by social protection schemes also makes sense.

As for other spending across the economy, I would be much more cautious: lots of large-scale support, such as tax relief, bailouts, or formal sector firm support will be hard to reverse. I dread to think how many previously inefficient loss-making utilities or national airlines will be bailed out, locking the state into unsustainable spending even after the recovery. Much wiser would be investing in as much data as possible now, so we can gradually learn more and more in the coming weeks and months, enabling us focus on the areas that can help with later recovery.

The best advice to give in situations of huge uncertainty is to focus on the data. Lifting up the veil of uncertainty is the key for better policymaking. When data does become available, decision-making will have to be highly adaptive. Now is a good moment to listen to John Maynard Keynes’ advice: “when the facts change, I change my mind”—rather than giving in to the temptation to be locked into grand plans that seem right at first. These are hard times for policymakers and politicians. In the absence of clear data, they should prioritize policies that will help mitigate the crisis regardless of what comes next. With public trust in short supply, politicians will need to be authoritative communicators, explaining in a clear narrative why decisions are taken—and may be reversed.

Stefan Dercon is Belgian economist and a Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at the University of Oxford. He is also the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies.

*This blogpost was originally written for Center for Global Development*

Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash

COVID-19 Lockdown Speeding up the Entry Into the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Posted on 13 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Bangladesh, like many other countries, to enforce an extended country-wide lockdown to ensure social distancing and scale down the potential spread of the virus among the people. This long shutdown of the country made organisations in Bangladesh and around the world realize that the traditional office culture of face-to-face coordination and communication is not a viable model to run an office during this pandemic. Soon enough, most of these organisations, even if resentfully, closed the physical office infrastructure and started working remotely.

This is a novel experience for the world, especially for a developing country like Bangladesh. It is almost as if we have teleported to another universe where everything runs on a digital system and the traditional way of life is out of fashion. Moreover, with borders and airports closed people are staying at home much more than they have ever had. But they are neither idle nor isolated. From their own homes, people are assigning and performing remote office work, running business and operations, and maintaining intensive social contacts through virtual media. Schools and universities have also switched to virtual learning methods. This lockdown is also positively influencing people’s attitude towards online shopping, as more and more people are buying their everyday essentials from various online retailers. Managers and leaders of big to small industries and organizations, some of whom were often reluctant to use digital platforms, are learning and adopting digital tools and technologies to manage and oversee remote work and maximize productivity.

This opportunity of continuing office and economic activities during this period of lockdown and social distancing has been made possible by the existing advance technology and functioning telecommunication infrastructures. People today are realizing that a significant part of the office and economic activities can be done from anywhere with more flexibility, and sitting behind the office desk, direct communication, and physical meetings are not as necessary to do things decently as they were thought. Moreover, going to schools and universities physically to gain knowledge is perhaps also not mandatory. This digital style of working during the lockdown may be considered as a forced entry into the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The 4IR is characterised by a range of new technologies that fuse the physical, digital and biological worlds, changing society as we know it. The 4IR could unwrap endless possibilities for billions of creative and capable people connected by digital devices. By digitising business and economic operations for all these people, 4IR has the potential to accelerate our economic growth. This global crisis is driving the world to take that leapfrog what many traditional-minded business leaders and directors were unwilling to do until now. This unintentional, unprepared, and forced entry into the framework of 4IR and temporary acceptance of the digital process of remote work may have a long term impact on the office work culture and economic activities in the post-coronavirus world.

There may be some tentative vital managerial and behavioural adaptation of this crisis period. Employers should realize the effectiveness of working from home and organisations may opt to adopt the concept of remote working. Organisations can start running their operations on digital platforms and perform many business activities like negotiations and business meetings through video conferencing and telecommunicating rather than traditional direct physical meetings and travels, saving both time and cost. Women may enjoy considerable benefits if the virtual work environment becomes a reality as it will enable them to work while fulfilling family responsibilities; this may also uncover new employment opportunities for them. The work and family life balance shall be easier for both female and male professionals.

The scarcity of facility-based health services during this pandemic has increased dependency on telemedicine and virtual medical services. The realization of the utility of online medical services will expand its scope in the coming days. Many diagnostic and pathological tests in future shall be made out through remote terminals at reduced prices. There is a possibility of a revolutionary change in education systems. It may get more flexible and convenient if the use of digital processes can scale down the requirement to go to educational institutes for instructions. If ready-made garments (RMG) industries can also utilize digital platforms to sell their products during this lockdown, the loss in profit they are currently experiencing may turn into thriving business opportunities.

It is hard to predict when this pandemic will end, but it is almost certain that the utilization of technology will get more prominent after this pandemic and dependence on telecommunication and virtual platforms may become standard. It is now expected that the introduction of the 4IR may become a reality after this COVID-19 pandemic.

Sayada Jannatun Naim is a Senior Officer – Training and Communication and the Assistant Director of Executive Development Centre (EDC) of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Bangladeshi Women Playing a Crucial Role in the Fight Against COVID-19

Posted on 11 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

With limited health sector capacities, COVID-19 will be fought in Bangladesh’s homes where women play an outsized role.

Less than a month since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a COVID-19 pandemic on March 11th, the global burden of infections has reached 1.3 million and the official death toll nearly 75,000. The number of COVID-19 positive cases and deaths has started to climb in Bangladesh as testing finally expands to hundreds of people. Within Bangladesh, stress levels are high as anxiety rises about the vulnerability of our near and dear ones and the possibility of future economic fallout from a severe global lockdown.

Yet for health systems like Bangladesh’s, there are no high-tech solutions. Our primary line of defense against this global pandemic is to stay home to limit the spread of the disease and to self-isolate if showing symptoms. Globally, most countries of the world have declared national lockdowns with varying degrees of enforcement and success. In Bangladesh reports coming from even remote rural areas suggest that law enforcement has been mobilised extensively to restrict people’s movement and prevent large gatherings. Mosques have restricted the number of people praying together to five at a time. The virus’ primary strength is the speed with which it can spread, and so restricting social interaction to limit contagion is our weapon of choice against it.

The recommendations are to stay home, wash your hands, do not touch your face and wear a mask and shelter in place if sick. The cities of Bangladesh have emptied out as there are few prospects for earning in cities under lockdown. The day after lockdown millions left for their rural homes. There has been some confusion regarding how the formal workforce is affected. It is widely reported that garment workers, mostly women, who are the main formal sector workers adversely affected by cancelled orders and lockdown orders, have been caught in a confused medley of policies. Their predicament is visible and deserves proactive action.

In all of this confusion, the very forces on whom we will have to rely to combat this scourge, have remained invisible and absent from official and policy discourse. The women and girls who are confined to their homes, or to their role as domestic helpers in other people’s homes, are conspicuously absent in policy discourse. Yet, the more that we learn about this virus and how to cope with it given the realities about our health sector capabilities, the more we realise that it is the home which is the locus of action and intervention, and where women and girls are central to our response to the pandemic.

In Bangladesh, as in the rest of the world, women are the primary caregivers of the young, infirm and the elderly. A recent comparative study on children’s nutrition shows that women spend the majority of their time in domestic work and more so than other low and middle income countries. My own work showed that married and unmarried girls spend considerably more time on domestic work, caregiving work in particular, than boys. As the disease strikes this burden of care is likely to increase disproportionately for women and girls.

In addition to the care responsibilities, the directives about cleanliness and hygiene are also likely to intensify the workloads of women and girls who are the ones implementing instructions on wiping down high touch surfaces, washing clothes, maintaining general hygiene as well as the creative management of dwindling resources to put food on the table as provisions dry up.

Gender disparity in care responsibility may not be something that can be addressed easily in the short run. However, there are associated concerns with regard to stress levels and potential fallout in terms of domestic violence that do need urgent attention. A recent report from UN Women warns of the possibility of increased violence against those who are at the frontlines of care particularly, as household members cope with the stress of illness and potential loss of lives and livelihoods.

As far as we can tell, behavioral change campaigns ignore the role of girls and women and their frontline status in the war against this virus. It is unclear how these messages are received in homes all around the world. A message from UN Women highlights the vulnerability of women and girls as potentially having to bear the brunt of stress in terms of increased domestic violence. However, there is also a need to recognise their key role in the implementation of the barrage of directives about cleanliness which are propagated through the airways, through broadcast channels and nationwide text messaging.

The role of primary caregivers at home is central to current strategies of combating contagion and containing spread. WHO emphasises testing to be able to isolate those who are infected. That puts women and girls on the frontlines. There is evidence that severity of illness is linked to viral load which is why healthcare workers have been infected in high numbers. As primary caregivers in the home, women and girls are therefore at higher risk too, and so they should be the focus of Covid-19 testing as well. In communities and households, girls and women recognise that being on the front line of care makes them both vulnerable to Covid-19 but also well positioned to help stop the spread. It is high time we recognise this essential reality and engage women and girls in meaningful ways to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sajeda Amin, a senior sociologist and demographer, leads the Population Council‘s work on livelihoods for adolescent girls.

Does women’s time in domestic work and agriculture affect women’s and children’s dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique

Looking beyond universal primary education: Gender differences in time use among children in rural Bangladesh

Covid-19: Women front and centre

* The article was originally written for Netra News*

Photo 1: By Adrien Taylor on Unsplash

Photo 2: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/Alamy Stock Photo
Taken from Netra News: April 2nd 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh — A mother with her child waits for rickshaw during countrywide lockdown as a preventive measure against the Covid-19.