Around 90 million people are expected to fall into poverty as a repercussion of Covid-19, and the future of migrant workers of the South and South-East Asian economies does not seem encouraging, said Centre on International Migration, Remittances and Diaspora (CIMRAD) Director Rashid Amjad. Amjad further added that in most countries the migrants were not responsible for spreading the disease as they constituted only a small minority of the population. Speaking on the occasion, economic expert G M Arif highlighted the need to consider the pandemic’s impact on labour markets. However, he added, measures to facilitate migrant workers under the pandemic have also been taken by the government that should not be ignored. Regular remittances are received from Sri Lankan migrants in the Gulf region, who are also more vulnerable to the crisis.

Source: The Express Tribune October 29, 2020 03:22 UTC