A workshop was organized in a hotel on the post-COVID-19 period on the experience of the urban poor of insecurity, inadequate assistance and area-based discrimination. The workshop titled “Poverty Transitions and Social Protection: Experiences of and Attitudes Towards Urban Poverty” was organized by BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. The workshop presented the findings and recommendations of a study conducted under the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)’s Covid-19 Learning, Evidence and Research Program (CLEAR).
The research used longitudinal data on the COVID period collected by PPRC-BIGD and collected new survey data in Dhaka and Chittagong. Researchers collected data from Kalyanpur, Dhaka and Shantinagar, Chittagong in March 2023. The study highlighted high levels of insecurity among residents living in low-income areas, the impact of poverty on mental health, experiences of discrimination and inadequate social protection support. The findings were presented by Dr Keetie Roelen, Principal Investigator. Panelists present at the workshop discussed the need to extend social protection to urban areas, prevent area-based discrimination, ensure dignified distribution of aid and adopt an integrated policy response.
The first half of the two-part workshop was chaired by Mr. NM Ziaul Alam, Advisor, BIGD and former Senior Secretary, Information and Communication Technology Department, Government of Bangladesh. There was a debate on how government data could be supplemented by private data and N M Ziaul Alam said that the two should complement each other.
Dr Munira Begum, Joint Head of the General Economic Department of the Planning Commission present at the event emphasized a more holistic approach to social protection.
Research Director of Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr. Khandakar Golam Moazzem emphasized that persistence of high levels of poverty was not due to COVID alone but due to persistence of various other economic factors such as inflation, energy crisis as well as the strain on foreign exchange reserves.
Mr M. Kamrul Islam Choudhury, Director, Department of Social Services, discussant, emphasized the Government’s efforts to leave no one behind.
Md. Salim Reza, Chief Executive Officer, Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka, Bangladesh also spoke as a discussant. He mentioned the challenges of the high rate of influx of 2000 persons per day into the city and the high population density of 49,500 persons per square kilometre.
In the second half of the workshop, Md Imamul Azam Shahi, Program Head, Urban Development Programme, BRAC added that we should not forget the children, women and elderly as being disproportionately affected by poverty in general and COVID in particular.
In closing, Marjiana Mahfuz Nandita, Economic Adviser, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) appreciated how the research had provided insight into the negative mental health consequences of poverty and crises and the need to continue work on strengthening the identification of beneficiaries.
The second half of the workshop on social protection, was presided over by Mr. M. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Senior Advisor, BIGD and former Cabinet Secretary, Government of Bangladesh. Mr. Bhuiyan concluded the session by recalling that the National Social Security Strategy was a visionary one that aimed to bring about fundamental reform but there were challenges in implementation.
Speakers at the workshop discussed how the poverty rate in Bangladesh had increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in urban areas. Rising commodity prices and high inflation rates have further exacerbated socio-economic uncertainty. It was emphasized that social protection is essential to deal with the impact of this type of crisis and to protect families from uncertainty. Recommendations such as increasing the scope of social protection programs in urban areas, preventing discrimination against residents of low-income areas of the city, ensuring dignified distribution of assistance and undertaking integrated policy initiatives also came up in the discussion.
