Covid pushed 31 mn into poverty in 2020: Report

New Delhi, September 14

A new report tracking challenges through the pandemic has predicted sharp disparities in the impact of Covid.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s fifth annual Goalkeepers Report, featuring an updated global dataset on the impact of Covid on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) says “disparities caused by Covid-19 remain stark, and those who have been hit hardest by the pandemic will be the slowest to recover”.

The report finds that because of Covid, an additional 31 million people were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 compared with 2019.

“While 90 per cent of advanced economies will regain pre-pandemic per capita income levels by next year, only a third of low- and middle-income economies are expected to do so,” read the report released today.

It illustrates the so-called “miracle” of Covid vaccines, but also notes inequities.

“Though Africa is home to 17 per cent of the world’s population, it has less than 1 per cent of the world’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities,” the report stated. — TNS