Gallup Pakistan finds economic well-being to be improving once again in Wave 9

February 11, 2021 (MLN):  Gallup Pakistan finds economic wellbeing to be improving once again in Wave 9 as 6 of 7 indicators improve.

While the economic impact of COVID-19 has been immense, statistics show somewhat improvement in Wave 9 of December, a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan revealed.

Below are the findings from one of the sections of the survey which aims to look at how Covid 19 is impacting households in economic terms.

1. Reducing meals to sustain household budget:
From 12% of people in Wave 8 in September, only 2% in Wave 9 reported having reduced the number or size of meals of some household members in the last 7 days to meet basic needs.

2. Using less preferred meals to afford food:
Likewise, only 3% had to rely on less preferred food items which is much lesser than the previous 16% of people who had to do so.

3. Borrowing food for survival:
Similarly, the number of people having to borrow from a friend or family members or having to rely on NGOs in the past 7 days has reduced from 21% in September 2020 to 13% in December 2020

4. Relying on savings:
The number of people who previously had to rely on bank savings or their cash savings has gone down from 6% in Wave 8 of September to 4% in Wave 9 of December. This is approximately 1.3 Mn households.

5. Looking for additional ways to meet needs:
When respondents were asked ‘have you found alternate ways to earn additional money to meet the needs of their households’ we see that there is a 9% increase from the previous Wave in September.
Though the economic impact of Covid-19 remains, it has lessened to an extent which is a positive sign amidst the pandemic.

6. Relying on government or NGO assistance:
In Wave 8 of September 2020, while 4% of respondents claimed they had to rely on government or NGO assistance in the last 7 days to cover their household’s basic needs, the figures have reduced to 1% in Wave 9 of December 2020.

Commenting on the above findings, Bilal Gilani, Executive Director Gallup Pakistan said, “The economy has started to emerge from the worst recession since the 1950s. With this increased economic activity, we see that economic wellbeing is improving. Moreover, inflation in Pakistan has been slowing down (though it is still at 8%, which is much higher than the historic average in Pakistan).

This easing of inflation is also ameliorating the negative effects of COVID-19 related shocks to the economy. How do these improvements sustain remains to be seen and the coming few weeks would be crucial in this regard, he added.

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