Navigating Vulnerabilities: The Untold Story of Informal Households in Dhaka, Bangladesh During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted adversely on lives and livelihoods worldwide. As a developing country, Bangladesh has already experienced a widespread income shock, job loss, food insecurity, health complications, educational institute closure, etc., because of the pandemic. But the consequences are more severe for poor people, including informal workers. Understanding the vulnerability of livelihoods due to pandemics is an urgent need in the current moment. Therefore, this article aims to explore the COVID-19 experience and the vulnerability of informal households in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study adopted a Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) approach by interviewing sixty-six informal households three times during twelve months of participant observation in Dhaka city. Thus, the study has revealed six central themes and ten sub-themes and found that COVID-19 has a profound impact on informal households’ income and occupation, food security, children’s education, housing and health status. The findings will be helpful for policymakers, NGOs and related agencies preparing welfare arrangements for vulnerable informal households.