Economic impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh
Bangladesh likewise the most countries of the world are facing the
gravest economic crisis for this unprecedented pandemic. Export
Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh (EPB) revealed that export earnings have
fallen to 520 million USD in March this year from 3.03 billion USD in
the same month of the previous year [70]. The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) had projected the country’s GDP growth to be 2%-3.8% for
the fiscal year 2019-2020 from 7.4%-8.2% which was estimated before
[71]. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS),
currently thirty-four million people live below the poverty line that
constitutes 20.5% of the total population. A survey conducted by South
Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) denoted that if the income
level for the poverty line is increased 1.25 percent the number of poor
people would be raised to thirty-six million [72]. The prime
minister of Bangladesh had declared to provide 19 incentive packages of
Tk 1.03 trillion (equivalent to 12.13 billion USD) to cushion the
economic blow of the COVID-19 pandemic [73]. She also announced an
incentive package of 600 million dollars to facilitate the industries
dealing with exporting products [74]. But the government alone
cannot confront this unprecedented situation and requires both public
and private collaboration. Co-operation between the local as well as
international organizations such as the World Health Organization and
the World Economic Forum is mandatory to combat this massive economic
blow caused by COVID-19.