A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report says that the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the effects of the coup and the protests, will result in more than half of Myanmar living in poverty by 2022.
“The hardest hit will be poor urban populations and the worst affected will be female heads of household,” Kanni Wignaraja, the UNDP's assistant secretary-general for the region, told AP.
The report says that at least 25 million of Myanmar’s population could end up living in poverty, more than a decade after attaining hard-won gains against poverty.
The country slipped into a state of turmoil on February 1, when the military, in a coup, ousted leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Relentless protestors have been taking to the streets, demanding that the leaders be released. So far, over 750 people have lost their lives in the clash between the protestors and the military forces.
Prices of essentials have gone up since the coup and there is a shortage of essentials like fuel and food. As per the report titled, ‘COVID-19, Coup d’état and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and their Impact on Human Development in Myanmar’, levels of poverty in 2022, could deteriorate to that seen last 2005.
Myanmar currency has slipped from 1,350 kyat per dollar to 1,600 kyat per dollar.
As per the report, the incomes of 83 per cent of households have reduced after the coup. Added to this, economic sanctions from western nations could freeze deposits linked to the state-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank.
The report said that the military has been prioritising budget spends on weapons and security operations than on public services.
