How is Covid Impacting People Living in Poverty Worldwide?

As of October 2020, the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak has been severe and direct, with more than one million deaths and tens of millions of confirmed infections, many of which will not be fatal but may have lasting health effects. The burden of cases has largely been concentrated in high- and middle-income countries. Low-income countries have generally seen low prevalence of the disease, likely due − at least in part − to swift and comprehensive public health measures taken in these areas.

These measures, however, have had significant economic impacts. Our recent roundtable event that considered the response to Covid-19 and the challenges to the Leave No One Behind agenda concluded that Covid-19 was ‘a disease of poverty, a disease of inequality’. Lockdowns, school closures, travel restrictions and other interventions have impacted employment, trade and production. All of these factors are expected to influence efforts to ensure that no one is left behind – efforts that were already off track before the disruption of the pandemic.

In this briefing we look at data on how Covid-19 is impacting people in poverty worldwide. Forecasting the economic impact of the pandemic and related public health measures is complicated. In many countries, the pandemic has led to rapid changes in policies and imposed uncertainty about economic and social activity. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have both forecasted that nearly every country is facing a recession in 2020.