The incidence and mortality of the coronavirus-2019 disease (COVID-19) have increased dramatically around the world. The effects of COVID-19 pandemic are not limited to health, but also have a major impact on the social and economic aspects. Meanwhile, developing and less developed countries are arguably experiencing more severe crises than developed countries, with many small and medium-sized businesses being disrupted and even bankrupt (Fernandes
2020). Consequently, some individuals’ mental health is very fragile (Lin
2020). Sahoo et al. (
2020) reported some of the psychological consequences in India (the neighboring country of Bangladesh) including self-harm due to COVID-19 misinformation. Moreover, impacts on mental health (e.g., depression, anxiety, panic, and traumatic stress) can also occur due to the lack of accurate information (Rajkumar
2020; Sahoo et al.
2020; Tandon
2020).
In addition, pandemic-related restraints (e.g., spatial distancing, isolation, home quarantine, etc.) is impacting on economic sustainability and well-being, which may induce psychological mediators, such as sadness, worry, fear, anger, annoyance, frustration, guilt, helplessness, loneliness, and nervousness (Mukhtar
2020; Mamun and Griffiths
2020a). These mediators are also distinctive features of psychological suffering that individuals can experience during and after pandemics (Ahorsu et al.
2020; Pakpour and Griffiths
2020). Without early economic interventions, such mental health issues can facilitate suicidal behaviors among some individuals (Arafat and Mamun
2019; Mamun and Griffiths
2020b,
c; Jahan et al.
2020), because economic recession, unemployment, and poverty are strongly associated with severe psychological comorbidities such as suicidal behaviors (Goldman-Mellor et al.
2010; Oyesanya et al.
2015; Rafi et al.
2019). There is one prior study that has examined COVID-19-related suicide in Bangladesh (Mamun and Griffiths
2020a).
Discussion
The coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) pandemic is causing economic problems for those individuals whose livelihoods have been affected due to the lockdowns occurring in many countries around the world including Bangladesh (Banna
2020). Bangladesh is beset with widespread corruption and extreme politicization alongside other issues such as money laundering which seriously hamper smooth governance and economic growth (Daily Star
2020b; Khan and Islam
2015). Consequently, the country has substantial income inequality throughout (Mazid
2019). The country is developing day by day although the wealth distribution is imbalanced. Therefore, a significant minority of individuals live below the poverty line (i.e., 20% live below the poverty line and 10.5% live in extreme poverty as reported in the 2018–2019 economic year; Financial Express
2019). Additionally, (i) the country is also ranked as having the second most unemployed graduates among Asia-Pacific countries, based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) report (Daily Jugantor
2019); (ii) youth unemployment rates doubled between 2010 and 2017 (Daily Jugantor
2019); (iii) the country has an unemployment rate of 4.4% among the general population (Daily Jugantor
2019); and (iv) 70% of the people in Bangladesh live from hand-to-mouth (Kamruzzaman
2020). However, a recent report showed extreme economic fallout due to COVID-19 crisis among poor Bangladeshi people. More specifically, per capita income dropped by 82% to $0.32 (US) in early April from $1.30 in February among individuals who live in slums compared to a 79% reduction among rural poor people (i.e., $0.39 down from $1.05; Kamruzzaman
2020).
Furthermore, sufficient food availability, production, and supply have been disrupted due to the lockdown. This has led to rising food costs making it difficult for unprivileged individuals to survive. Although the government is trying to support these people and combat the situation by the introduction of financial aid (Daily Bangladesh
2020), corruption and mismanagement have occurred during the distribution of relief goods (e.g., food, sanitary goods, household items, medicines that are required for the everyday life) and individuals have not been getting basic things they need. There have been serious allegations reported in the Bangladeshi press media (Daily Star
2020b) including the stealing and retention of relief goods by local government representatives instead of supplying it to individuals most in need. Consequently, the sudden economic recession has led needy individuals to contemplate suicide. Globally, it is well-established that unemployment, poverty, and economic distress are associated with suicide, and that when there are increases in these, there are increases in suicide (Goldman-Mellor et al.
2010; Oyesanya et al.
2015). Therefore, the suicide-related cases that are reported here are not unexpected in the COVID-19 lockdown situation because of the economic instability and disruption throughout the country.
It is worth mentioning that Bangladesh is predicted by the Asian Development Bank to face an overwhelming economic impact as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the country is expected to lose approximately $3 billion in GDP (i.e., 1.10% total decline) and there will be job losses for around nine million people (Banna
2020). The situation is also getting worse day by day. For instance, at the time of writing, 78,000 garment workers have protested because their wages have not been paid. (RisingBD
2020b). Additionally, the country is also losing foreign money from garment and leather product exportation, and is losing investment in large-scale projects from host countries like China (Banna
2020). Consequently, it is evident that Bangladesh is going to face great economic fallout if the lockdown persists for a long time.
There are at least eight COVID-19 suicide cases in Bangladesh (seven reported here and one previously reported by Mamun and Griffiths
2020a) and all but one was due to the economic-related issues. Additionally, the actual suicide incidence may arguably be higher than the reported cases because families do not want the death of loved ones reported as suicide news in Bangladesh to avoid the suicide-related social and criminal complexities (Mamun and Griffiths
2020d; Mamun et al.
2020a,
2020b). However, the findings for Bangladesh, a developing country, reflect the extreme psychological impacts for poor and unprivileged people.
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