UN: Half of Myanmar's Population May Fall into Poverty by 2022
2021-05-07
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1The United Nations says the effects of Myanmar's political crisis and the coronavirus could push half the country's population into poverty by 2022.
2The warning came in a report released last week by the U.N.'s Development Program (UNDP).
3It said as many as 25 million people, or nearly half the population, is in danger of dropping into poverty.
4Both COVID-19 and the country's ongoing political crisis "are pushing the most vulnerable back and more deeply into poverty," the UNDP's Kanni Wignaraja told Reuters.
5She is Assistant U.N. Secretary-General and leads UNDP's operations in Asia.
6The report noted that from 2005 to 2017, Myanmar was able to reduce its poverty level by about 50 percent.
7But those development gains are now "being erased in a matter of months," Wignaraja said.
8Without a working democracy, "Myanmar faces a tragic and avoidable backslide towards levels of poverty not seen in a generation," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement.
9Myanmar's political crisis began when the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
10The government has used deadly force against individuals protesting against the military overthrow.
11Activist groups say more than 750 civilians have been killed in demonstrations across the country.
12Before the military takeover, Myanmar citizens were struggling financially because of the coronavirus pandemic.
13The report showed that by the end of 2020, about 83 percent of families reported their incomes had been cut nearly in half because of the health crisis.
14The report estimates that the number of people in Myanmar living below the poverty line increased 11 percent by the end of 2020.
15It adds that the country's poverty rate could rise an additional 12 percent.
16Among the reasons for expected increases in poverty include Myanmar's worsening security situation and threats to human rights since the military takeover of the government.
17The report said poverty in the nation's cities was expected to increase by 200 percent.
18Wignaraja said women and children are most affected by the country's continuing health and political crises.
19"Half of all children in Myanmar could be living in poverty within a year."
20The report said security issues have severely restricted the movement of people, services, and goods, including agricultural products.
21In addition, pressure on Myanmar's currency, the Kyat, has increased the price of imports and energy.
22The country's banking system is also weak.
23This has resulted in money shortages and limited availability to government assistance payments and remittance services.
24The U.N. said that before the latest crises, nearly 1 million people in Myanmar had already been identified as needing humanitarian assistance and protection.
25"As stated by the U.N. secretary-general, the scale of the crisis requires an urgent and unified international response," Wignaraja said.
26I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The United Nations says the effects of Myanmar's political crisis and the coronavirus could push half the country's population into poverty by 2022. 2The warning came in a report released last week by the U.N.'s Development Program (UNDP). It said as many as 25 million people, or nearly half the population, is in danger of dropping into poverty. 3Both COVID-19 and the country's ongoing political crisis "are pushing the most vulnerable back and more deeply into poverty," the UNDP's Kanni Wignaraja told Reuters. She is Assistant U.N. Secretary-General and leads UNDP's operations in Asia. 4The report noted that from 2005 to 2017, Myanmar was able to reduce its poverty level by about 50 percent. But those development gains are now "being erased in a matter of months," Wignaraja said. 5Without a working democracy, "Myanmar faces a tragic and avoidable backslide towards levels of poverty not seen in a generation," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement. 6Myanmar's political crisis began when the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. The government has used deadly force against individuals protesting against the military overthrow. Activist groups say more than 750 civilians have been killed in demonstrations across the country. 7Before the military takeover, Myanmar citizens were struggling financially because of the coronavirus pandemic. The report showed that by the end of 2020, about 83 percent of families reported their incomes had been cut nearly in half because of the health crisis. 8The report estimates that the number of people in Myanmar living below the poverty line increased 11 percent by the end of 2020. It adds that the country's poverty rate could rise an additional 12 percent. 9Among the reasons for expected increases in poverty include Myanmar's worsening security situation and threats to human rights since the military takeover of the government. The report said poverty in the nation's cities was expected to increase by 200 percent. 10Wignaraja said women and children are most affected by the country's continuing health and political crises. "Half of all children in Myanmar could be living in poverty within a year." 11The report said security issues have severely restricted the movement of people, services, and goods, including agricultural products. In addition, pressure on Myanmar's currency, the Kyat, has increased the price of imports and energy. 12The country's banking system is also weak. This has resulted in money shortages and limited availability to government assistance payments and remittance services. 13The U.N. said that before the latest crises, nearly 1 million people in Myanmar had already been identified as needing humanitarian assistance and protection. 14"As stated by the U.N. secretary-general, the scale of the crisis requires an urgent and unified international response," Wignaraja said. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English, with additional information from the U.N. Development Program report. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 17___________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19vulnerable - adj. able to be easily hurt, influenced or attacked 20erase - v. to remove from existence 21backslide - n. to return to a worse condition 22remittance - n. an amount of money that you send to someone 23scale - n.