Pandemic_ military coup in Myanmar; Urban poverty on course to triple

Urban poverty is on course to triple in Myanmar_ pushing nearly half the population below the poverty line next year_ the United Nations said on Wednesday_ as the twin impact of the pandemic and a military coup threatens progress made in the past decade.

The army seized power from the elected civilian government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1_ unleashing political and economic turmoil as it sought to crush opposition and hurting efforts to fight the coronavirus_ reports Reuters.

Based on a survey of 1_200 households_ the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said Myanmar was set to return to levels of deprivation not seen since 2005_ before democratic reforms began.

"A slide into the poverty of this scale could mean the disappearance of the middle class  a bad omen for any rapid recovery from the crisis_" Kanni Wignaraja_ the director of the UNDP bureau for Asia and the Pacific_ said in a statement.

A spokesman for the military junta did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.

In the worst-case scenario_ the United Nations estimates the numbers of those living below the poverty line could double to 46.3 per cent from 24.8 per cent_ while urban poverty is expected to triple by 2022 to stand at 37.2 per cent_ versus 11.3 per cent in 2019.

Half of survey respondents in urban areas said they had no savings left_ while about a third reported having sold a motorbike_ often a family s main means of transport.

There was a "clear rising trend of households eating less food" and increasing high school drop-out rates.

Major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay_ formerly home to a growing middle class_ have seen disruptions to small businesses and sectors_ from construction and hospitality to retail and textiles_ bringing job losses and reduced wages_ the UNDP said.

In October_ the junta s investment minister told Reuters military authorities were trying their best to revive the economy_ and blamed foreign-backed "economic sabotage" for the crisis_ but gave no details.

If no action was taken_ "you're going to see this carried through an entire generation_" the UN official_ Kanni Wignaraja_ added.

"You lose a generation not only due to war_ you lose a generation because of impairments and disabilities that come from a lack of food_ poor nutrition_ just extreme poverty_" she told Reuters.

The World Bank_ which before the coup projected economic growth in Myanmar despite COVID-19_ now forecasts the economy to contract by more than 18% this year_ far outstripping its neighbours.

Myanmar's campaign against the disease foundered along with the rest of the health system after the military overthrew the elected government_ which had stepped up testing_ quarantine and treatment.

Services at public hospitals collapsed after many doctors and nurses joined strikes in a civil disobedience movement at the forefront of opposition to military rule and sometimes on the frontline of protests that were quashed.

More than 1_200 people have been killed by junta troops_ says a monitoring group_ the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners_ and the protests have grown into an armed uprising_ bringing clashes countrywide.