Stop the inequality virus

IT IS nearly one year since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic; and the coronavirus has been wreaking havoc in societies across Asia, massively impacting health and economic systems in the region and across the world.

For most countries, no end is yet in sight although a few seem to have responded well. But overall, unemployment has surged. Labour market participation especially for low-income workers and marginalised groups has plunged.

Last year, Oxfam warned that the pandemic will worsen inequality, and millions of people in Asia and the Pacific could be pushed deeper into poverty. We had hoped to be proven wrong. But this seems to be the case.