As a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic 1.3 crore citizens of the country are at risk of losing their jobs. In particular, citizens employed in temporary or part-time employment are at risk. This estimate is being made by reviewing the data of 2017-18 labor force survey. Considering the current situation, the number of citizens at risk of losing their jobs will increase further.
These observations were captured in a virtual dialogue titled ‘New Challenges of SDGs and Budget 2020-21’ organized by the Citizens' Platform for SDG Implementation, Bangladesh on Thursday (June 18). Convener of the SDG Platform and Honorary Fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr. Devapriya Bhattacharya presented the key note report in this dialogue.
The government may consider a special economic recovery program to overcome the stagnation, the dialogue said, adding that backward and marginalized people are at most risk. The government needs to move forward with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework in the process of reviving the country's economy and ensuring economic security, including employment for its citizens.
It is important to take a detailed action plan and take steps to recover from the ongoing crisis through periodic monitoring. The SDG framework needs to be specially incorporated in the country's Eighth Five-Year Plan to address the new challenges posed by the pandemic. In this case, special attention is required to bring the backward and marginalized people of the country under the fold of cooperation.
Speaking as a special guest in the dialogue, a member of the General Economic Division of the Planning Commission (Senior Secretary) Shamsul Alam said the government will take a short-term action to recover the economy from the ongoing crisis. In all development activities, including the Eighth Five-Year Plan, the government will consider providing assistance to all citizens at risk in the country.
Professor Rehman Sobhan, Member of the Advisory Council of the SDG Platform and Chairman of the CPD, presided over the dialogue. The ongoing challenges of women, children, the elderly, the disabled, the tribals, the people in the remote areas, the youth and the backward sections of the society were discussed in the dialogue. The dialogue was attended by development workers-experts, economists, researchers, business representatives, youth representatives and journalists from different parts of the country including Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Barguna, Sunamganj, Thakurgaon, Bogura.