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.