UN expert: Pandemic's worst impacts on poverty yet to come
Geneva: The United Nations independent expert on poverty has warned that the worst impacts from the coronavirus pandemic on poverty are yet to come, and that measures taken by governments to protect people so far have been insufficient.
The social safety nets put into place are full of holes, said Olivier De Schutter, a Belgian legal scholar appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.
These current measures are generally short-term, the funding is insufficient and many people will inevitably fall between the cracks, De Schutter said.
His message was directed to world leaders meeting this month for the UN General Assembly. He called on them to take more decisive steps to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities, according to a UN statement released on Friday.
De Schutter said the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic is unprecedented in times of peace since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
He warned that 176 million additional people worldwide could fall into poverty, with 3.20 per day being used as the poverty baseline.
Even though governments have pledged social schemes to help, the world's poorest people are often excluded because they don't have the digital literacy or internet access, he said.
In some cases, government programs are now running out.
Families in poverty have by now used up whatever reserves they had and sold their assets, he said. The worst impacts of the crisis on poverty are still to come.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
