THE BIG PICTURE

The COVID 19 pandemic is one of the most devastating pandemics the world had to face. Since the end of 2019, this has not ended yet. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. Right now, all the people in the world are risking not only health but also the economy, society, etc. Billions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by 132 million by the end of the year. In summary, most enterprises are affected by COVID-19.

As a developing country, Sri Lanka faces a lot bigger problems when we look into heath the COVID-19 is now at a very critical point health staff is fighting very hard to control this situation with the help of the forces of Sri Lanka. At this moment total COVID-19 cases are about 250 000+ and about 2000 - 3000 Patients are confirmed as Covid-19 infected daily and 2444 confirmed deaths and about 30-40 daily new deaths are reported from Sri Lanka.

But people's health was not the only thing affected by COVID-19. The economy is the other major thing affected by COVID-19. Globally most countries are locked down and under restriction laws. Because of that, the World Bank says that billions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty. while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year. Most enterprises are affected by COVID-19, And for Sri Lanka, this is very jeopardizing because even before the Covid-19, at a time when the Sri Lankan economy was in a state of decline the US dollar was rising and the Sri Lankan rupee was reporting depreciation continually. When the Covid-19 began, it was a deadly strike on the Sri Lankan economy. as 2020 reports issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka the GDP(Gross Domestic Product) was -1.3% than 2019 and REGR(Real Economic Growth Rate) was at -3.6% at end of 2020 and also due to Covid-19 situation the unemployed rate grown up to 5.5% in 2019 which was 4.8% in 2019. Most of the incomes have plummeted due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

COVID-19 had a relatively low impact on the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. in percentage 30% of the population is engaged in agriculture but the contribution of this sector to the GDP is as low as 10%. rice can be found as their main food around 40%, followed by the plantation crop (38%) consisting mainly of tea, rubber, and coconut. because of the pandemic agriculture has become an endangered section of the country and it’s highly affected on a Low-income population.

Now is the time for global solidarity and support, especially with the most vulnerable in our societies, particularly in the emerging and developing world. Only together can we overcome the intertwined health and social and economic impacts of the pandemic. We must recognize this opportunity to build back better, as noted in the Policy Brief issued by the United Nations Secretary-General. We are committed to pooling our expertise and experience to support countries in their crisis response measures and efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. We need to develop long-term sustainable strategies to address the challenges facing the health and agri-food sectors. Priority should be given to addressing underlying food security and malnutrition challenges, tackling rural poverty, through more and better jobs in the rural economy, extending social protection to all, facilitating safe migration pathways and promoting the formalization of the informal economy.

We must rethink the future of our environment and tackle climate change and environmental degradation with ambition and urgency. Only then can we protect the health, livelihoods, food security and nutrition of all people, and ensure that our ‘new normal’ is a better one.

FIND AN ARTICLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE IMPACT ON OUR LIFE FROM COVID-19