Lockdowns and travel disruptions have curtailed people’s ability to earn money, while small and medium businesses have lost income and savings are being depleted.
Across Africa, over two-thirds of people reported that they are earning less than half of their pre-coronavirus income, while one-third of households across Asia reported they had lost work or income since the outbreak. A group leader in Myanmar told World Vision: “The lives of most daily casual workers in our village are more difficult as they have no job opportunity for earning income.”
In Cambodia, 28 per cent of households facing loss of work and income were sending their children out to work, while in Bangladesh 34 per cent were sending their children to beg. Children who would normally benefit from school meals are now going hungry because of school closures.
The pandemic has struck a double blow for displaced families seeking asylum in countries already affected by food insecurity. Mr Hsu added: “It is often the most vulnerable families and their children who are hardest hit. Those living in fragile countries already suffering from conflict, climate change, instability or displacement, and those who are relying on humanitarian assistance.”