New Atlanticist
Apr 4, 2020
A new “Asian drama”: Will COVID-19 destroy the progress against poverty eradication and human development in South and East Asia?
By
Ajay Chhibber
With weak health systems and crowded living conditions, the chances of wide-spread pandemic is very high. If COVID-19 is not brought under control quickly, despite all the progress in medicine and healthcare since 1918, the number of deaths may rise rapidly. Governments are responding with lockdowns, more health spending, and fiscal and monetary packages for economic life-support—but with weak social safety nets millions will have fallen back into poverty