Covid-19 has created ‘new poor’ in East Asia and Pacific, says World Bank report

The report, titled ‘From Containment to Recovery,’ said triple shock of the pandemic, the economic fallout from containment measures and the impact of the global recession means the region will grow only 0.9% this year, its weakest expansion since 1967.

The Covid-19 shock is creating a class of ‘new poor’ across East Asia and the Pacific with 38 million more people expected to be living in poverty in 2020.

A woman standing near a logo of World Bank (REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo/File Photo)

That’s according to a new report from the World Bank titled ‘From Containment to Recovery’ that assesses the economic scarring caused by Covid-19 and prospects for recovery.

A triple shock of the pandemic, the economic fallout from containment measures and the impact of the global recession means the region will grow only 0.9% this year, its weakest expansion since 1967 -- and poverty will increase for the first time in 20 years.

“The region is confronted with an unprecedented set of challenges, and governments are facing tough choices,” Victoria Kwakwa, Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank said in a release.

The report also finds:

“There are smart policy options available that can soften these tradeoffs - such as investing in testing and tracing capacity and durably expanding social protection to cover the poor and the informal sector,” Kwakwa said in the release.