Proceed with caution, and hope
Protecting lives and livelihoods was the challenge facing the world as soon as it became clear that covid-19 was here to stay. Governments around the world struggled to find the difficult balance between the two. Shutting down sectors that support millions of people, to keep them safe from the virus, could only be a short-term measure. It is premature to say that any country has successfully dealt with the virus, as we still don’t know how this pandemic will play out. …Read more >>
Reopen and reimagine: the post-covid-19 economy
As Bangladesh recovers from the ravages of covid-19 and the economy reopens, both government and business must face an important fact: the world is not going to be the same again and the normalcy that everyone desires will be a New Normal. Dealing with this…
Data, digitalisation and public welfare post-covid-19
As oil was once the new gold, data is now the new oil. The 2009 political promise to establish a “Digital Bangladesh” heralded the beginning of the data-driven digital and knowledge economy. In Bangladesh’s push for such a digital knowledge economy, even pre-covid-19 processes were…
A new compact for the creative community?
The covid-19 pandemic had a sudden and substantial impact on the arts and cultural sector. The global health crisis and the uncertainty resulting from it have profoundly affected the operations of organisations as well as individuals – across the sector. Artists and the creative sector…
Getting all Bangladeshis to wear masks
The case for universal mask use to slow the spread of covid-19 is disarmingly simple: people with respiratory illnesses must wear masks to avoid infecting others and people without the disease can wear a mask as a barrier to infection. Yet in many parts of…
Cohesive education in the time of covid-19
Bangladesh’s extraordinary development trajectory has established the country as a paragon of neoliberal growth – a remarkable feat for a young nation saddled with high poverty and extreme vulnerability to disasters. This momentum has been supported by major advances with regard to improving education for…
Insights into the rural non-farm sector of Bangladesh
Traditionally, the rural non-farm (RNF) sector in Bangladesh consisted of an assortment of rural households dependent on a variety of livelihoods: artisans, barbers, petty food processors and vendors, craftspeople, dairy workers, potters, tinkers, tailors and carpenters. They relied on the custom of the vast farming…
Job creation and inclusive growth as the agenda for covid-19 recovery
The effects of the covid-19 pandemic go beyond health implications to include vital socioeconomic factors. Measures to reduce the spread of the pandemic, such as movement restrictions, partial shutdowns and social distancing, have had an immediate impact on labour-intensive jobs. Factories, farms, retails, tourism, transportation…
Geopolitical consequences of covid-19: rethinking diplomacy in Bangladesh
Historically, the consequences of pandemics have always been ground-shifting. With drastic increases in mortality and morbidity, they have led to significant economic, social and political disruption on a global scale. Pandemics recorded in history such as the plague of 1720, cholera in 1820 and Spanish…
Bangladesh covid-19 policy action timeline 2020
1. Early responses and containment In February, the Bangladeshi government started screening at air and land ports, and set up quarantine facilities in the adjacent areas. In March, after the first case was detected, all education institutions were closed. In March, a “Public Holiday” –…