Spreading COVID-19 against growing poverty on the globe.

Byline: Akram Khatoon

Globally, eradication of poverty has been a burning issue since early fifties when war ravaged economies particularly of European countries were to be rehabilitated. Thereafter, world encountered several natural and manmade disasters pushing almost 1.6 billion people in the clutches of poverty. In this regard various aid giving agencies formulated various plans/strategies like Marshall Plan, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now new initiatives under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and these being top down and bottom up plans to address the issue of growing poverty, particularly in developing countries along with tailor-made multipurpose aid packages for countries in dire need of support for combating escalating poverty.

However despite these initiatives at global level as well as individual countries own poverty eradication programs in place little has been achieved so far and overall reduction in poverty remains insignificant except in some pockets, particularly in South Asian countries like China, India, Korea and some Latin American countries where sustained increase in economic growth rate with emphasis on development of small and medium size industries has generated ample employment opportunities for their economically disadvantaged segment of population.

But the new situation developed due to onslaught of coronavirus (Covid-19) engulfing entire world causing unprecedented human loss and massive loss to economies of both developed and developing countries has wiped of all hopes of eradication of poverty from the globe by 2030 as envisaged under SDGs.

Already, low and middle income developing countries despite receiving aid packages for poverty alleviation program until now and now in present scenario expecting similar financial assistance from economically rich countries and various aid giving agencies will barely be able to recoup the lost pre corona virus position what to speak of eliminating poverty by end of targeted period. In fact until now South Asian and majority of African countries have been experiencing sizable number of their population slipping down poverty line every year. It is because of defective mode of delivery of aid by aid giving agencies and mainly due to poor governance in aid receiving countries.

Pakistan like other low and middle income developing countries is being extended multipurpose aid/financial assistance packages to arrest growing poverty and now in present scenario...

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