A worse form of inequality that is widespread in the country is inequality of opportunities, which is both the cause and consequence of inequality of outcomes. This highly skewed inequality in the distribution of arsenicosis patients in rural Bangladesh provides enough evidence that arsenicosis is a disease of poverty. This trap poses a real challenge towards National Goals of Poverty Reduction because the conventional poverty reduction approaches address everything (income poverty, consumption poverty, employment poverty, credit poverty, etc,) but not the poverty associated with drinking arsenic-contaminated water. Concluding remarksWe always debate how climate change exacerbates economic inequality, but rarely do we think the opposite: That inequality itself can be a driver of climate change. Shishir Reza is an Environmental Analyst and Associate Member, Bangladesh Economic Association.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 11, 2020 16:41 UTC