UNICEF

Zahidul Hassan, Fundraising and Partnership Specialist and Mayang Sari, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Bangladesh.

01 July, 2020

The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh – and many other countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia – has been severe, mostly due to the large proportion of low-wage workers. The situation is likely to worsen unless there is renewed focus on investing in policies, practices and programmes that support workers and their families while also promoting more resilient business models. Collaboration between key public and private sector stakeholders – in Bangladesh and globally – will be critical to supporting workers and their families in the world’s second largest RMG sector as they cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Efforts will need to focus on:

• Helping factories meet the government’s reopening requirements;
• Distributing evidence-based, accurate public health and hygiene information, along with guidance that echoes government guidelines on how best to stay safe at work; and
• Prioritizing environmental, social and governance issues going forward, while aiming to rebuild the post-pandemic RMG industry using sustainable and resilient business models.

Source: https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/reports/covid-19