Extreme poverty rose by 80 million in Asia and Pacific due to COVID-19

An estimated 75 million to 80 million more people in Asia and the Pacific were pushed into extreme poverty because of disruptions in economic activity due to COVID-19 last year, according to a recent report from the Asian Development Bank. Before the pandemic, the percent of the population living in extreme poverty was expected to decrease.

The report analyzed data from 35 of its developing member countries, which it refers to as “developing Asia.”

Pandemic impacts: In 2017, some 203 million people, or about 5.2% of developing Asia’s population, lived in extreme poverty — on less than $1.90 a day. Before the pandemic, that number was estimated to decline to about 2.6% last year.

In more than one-third of the countries that reported data, unemployment increased by at least 20% last year. The report noted that many families were forced to cope by deferring payments, eating less, drawing from savings, borrowing money, selling property, or pawning assets.

Strategies like these can have “long-term harmful or scarring effects,” the report stated.

Sliding back on SDGs: The pandemic threatens to reverse regional gains in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in areas such as education, health, and nutrition.

While there has been progress in overall school completion rates in the region, the poorest 40% of children are still struggling for basic education and half of the countries that reported data documented reading and numeracy scores below 50%.

The pandemic has exacerbated this. Nearly half of the 463 million students globally who did not have access to online-based learning, or other educational broadcast platforms such as radio and television during school shutdowns were in the East Asia, Pacific subregions and South Asia regions.