Covid threatens gains in poverty reduction

THE coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is endangering progress made in reducing poverty and inequality here and abroad.

Former Social Security System president Corazon de la PazBernardo, citing a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), said the immediate human and economic cost of Covid-19 is severe.

“It threatens to scale back years of progress of reducing poverty and inequality and to further weaken social cohesion and global cooperation,” de la Paz-Bernardo said during the joint general membership meeting of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, Shareholders’

Association of the Philippines, and The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service held virtually on Wednesday.

WEF’s virtual event dubbed “Global Risks Report 2021” stated that job losses, a widening digital divide, disrupted social interactions, and abrupt shifts in markets could result in “dire consequences and lost opportunities for large parts of the global population.”

“It further states that among the highest impact risks of the next decade, infectious disease (takes) the top spot, followed by climate action failure and other environmental risks as well as weapons of mass destruction, livelihood prices, debt crisis and IT (information technology) infrastructure breakdown,” said de la Paz-Bernardo, who was honorary president and past president of the International Social Security Association.

But if there’s one thing the Covidf-19 pandemic has achieved, de la Paz-Bernardo noted it accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution as well as expanded the digitalization of human interaction, e-commerce, online education, and remote work.

“These shifts will transform society long after the pandemic and promise huge benefits. The ability to telework and rapid vaccine development are two examples but they also risk exacerbating and creating inequalities,” she said.

Amid the challenging times brought by the pandemic, de la Paz-Bernardo said laying off employees is not an option.

“In our home setting, for example, I have several household helps and drivers, who I try to maintain in our payroll even if the drivers are not doing much anymore,” she said.

She added: “But the question is should I let them go? Why should I when they have been so loyal and so helpful and they need the employment?”

According to de la Paz-Bernardo, it is important for companies to invest on their most important asset — the employees.

“It’s a way of also retaining their loyalty because if you can show that you are loyal to them, they will pay you back in kind. For me, training is very important part of one’s continuing usefulness in an organization,” she added.