A Cambodian community’s struggle to survive virus economic fallout

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Cambodia’s urban-poor communities have suffered severe economic shocks and fallen further into poverty. Without a secure social security safety net to fall back on, many are now relying on NGOs to keep them afloat.

In the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, home to over two million people in the metropolitan area, it appears to be business as usual as Covid-19 prevention measures continue to ease.

From the outside, it seems the country has been relatively untouched health-wise, with less than 150 reported cases to date and no deaths. However, the pandemic has already caused economic shocks that the city’s poorest, largely unseen and unheard, are continuing to struggle to recover from.

In Posenchey district, home to an urban poor settlement located along the city’s airport railway line, families are falling further into poverty and children are not only missing out on their education, but also their childhood, as the pressure mounts for them to earn an income in the face of a stuttering economy.

In full: https://southeastasiaglobe.com/cambodian-community-struggle-to-survive-covid-economic-fallout/

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