Lockdown squeezed earnings of 96pc families: icddr,b survey

A study has revealed that 96 percent families in Bangladesh had suffered a reduction in their average monthly earnings during the 66-day nationwide lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak.

The icddr,b survey also found that 91 percent families considered themselves financially unstable during the period from late March.

During the lockdown, 47 percent families saw their earnings drop below the international poverty line of Tk 160  or $1.9 per person per day, the study says.

As much as 70 percent families experienced food insecurity, with 15 percent running out of food, going hungry or missing meals, according to the survey published in the Lancet Global Health on Wednesday.

Researchers from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh or icddr,b and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute or WEHI conducted the survey on 2,424 families in Rupganj, Bhulta and Golakandail unions of Rupganj Upazila under Narayanganj District.

They documented the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stay-at-home measures on the wellbeing of women and their families in rural Bangladesh.

The new study found that families with low socioeconomic status – and particularly women – experienced financial hardship, food insecurity, domestic violence and mental health challenges during COVID-19 the lockdown measures in Bangladesh.

The study found that low socioeconomic families experienced a range of economic and mental health challenges during the two-month stay-at-home order, and women reported an increase in intimate partner violence.

The lockdown also had mental health impacts, with women showing an increase in depressive symptoms, and 68 percent of participants reporting their anxiety level had increased.

It is of concern that among the women who reported emotional, physical or sexual violence from their intimate partners, more than half reported that violence had increased since lockdown.

“The marked increase in severe food insecurity in our study population shows the impact of economic pressure on food access. It also supports modelling to suggest the pandemic could have a catastrophic effect on food security and consequently on nutrition worldwide,” said Dr Jena Derakhshani Hamadani, emeritus scientist, Maternal and Child Health Division at icddr,b and principal investigator of the study.

“Comparing how families were faring before and during lockdown, we could determine the impact lockdown had on them. What we observed were substantial financial and mental health pressures during lockdown,” said Dr Sant-Rayn Pasricha, associate professor at WEHI and co-author of the study.

The study also highlighted the need for wide-reaching welfare and other forms of financial support for families impacted by lockdown measures, not only for those on low incomes.

Crucially, social support is needed to protect women’s safety and it is essential that intervention services against domestic violence remain accessible during lockdown.

The research was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and was conducted in partnership with the Doherty Institute and Monash University, Australia.