Describing the decrease as the worst in recent history, including the financial crisis, the Washington-based development bank said migrant workers were especially vulnerable to losing their jobs during coronavirus lockdowns which are still largely in place across the developed world. Remittances total aabout three times the amount of aid received by low-income countries and have become a cornerstone of living standards across the developing world. Migrants typically send money to their families to boost living standards in some of the poorest parts of the world, including south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and South America.
Eastern Europe is expected to be one of the worst-hit regions as migrant workers in western Europe and Russia are forced to cut back the amounts they send back to families in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc countries. The World Bank said studies showed that remittances alleviated poverty in lower- and middle-income countries , improved nutrition, were linked to higher spending on education, and reduced child labour in disadvantaged households.
Countries that are large recipients of remittances, such as India, have also imposed lockdowns, causing widespread unemployment and hardship, often making the situation even worse for families that suffer a decline in money being sent home.
Dilip Ratha, chief economist for migration and remittances at the World Bank , said migrants often worked in insecure jobs and were among the first to be let go in a crisis. Ratha said the developed world has come to depend on migrant workers for cheap and skilled labour, and should do more to alleviate their situation.
They need access to healthcare for themselves and their families and cut-price banking facilities, which would allow them to send money home without paying high fees and commissions. Next year, the World Bank expects a 5. Remittance flows are expected to fall across all regions, most notably in Europe and central Asia, where the fall in income is expected to be This article is more than 9 months old.
