Semester Final Assignment- Spring 2020

POL 101 (Section: 4)

Submitted to Dr. Mahbubur Rahman (MbU)
Submitted by-
Jannatul Nayeem
ID: 1611482030
Date of Submission: 30/05/2020

“How Coronavirus pandemic has

affected your personal life and what
lessons, you think, we should take
from it on individual as well as
national level.”
"Covid-19", first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and first death case in Bangladesh
on 18th March 2020, has significantly affected our life at personal, national, and international
level. The country declared quarantine on 4th March 2019. Since then, I have gone through a
specific different life course that has taught me a few lessons incorporating multifaceted aspects-
physical, mental, financial, and lifestyle. First, I learned that health is the most crucial asset, and
we must maintain a very hygienic and healthy lifestyle. Second, we feel freedom when we are
almost caged. My education and daily routine were severely affected, so I learned to adapt to the
situation. Since my income was blocked, so, I lost my financial freedom. Therefore, I had to rely
solely on family. I learned that it is important to be economical, save for the future, and avail
dynamic sources of income. This pandemic also taught me a few practical lessons; for example-
I learned cooking a few essential items, maintaining my stuff, and acquiring a few
sophisticated technological knowledge. Though my efficiency and productivity level were
unexpectedly low in this period, however, I learned to be more creative and enjoy seclusion by
engaging myself in learning new skills like website design and SEO. I also learned that family
and social bonding are essential in our life. Showing empathy and helping the
unprivileged are our moral responsibilities.

Coronavirus pandemic has severely affected Bangladesh by paralyzing it in every sector. Since
Bangladesh is a democratic country, the government's social accountability is the most burning
issue now. The government must take effective measures for being responsible to its citizen. The
first disaster of this pandemic will fall upon the economy. Therefore, the government is
accountable to redeem the economy. Already the government has declared a budget of BDT. Six
hundred seventy-seven billion for emergency stimulus package with a well-engineered
expenditure outline though it is facing multiple challenges while budgeting required funds.
Therefore, the government has learned that a state must secure and maintain national
reserve effectively and transparently. They should also introduce unconditional cash transfer
to redeem GDP. The government faced challenges while allocating funds and spending on
people. Therefore, they also learned that it is vital to have honest leaders in the party. Since
everyone from most vulnerable to elite class people will suffer from this situation, they realized
that providing job security and employment opportunity is a fundamental government role for
survival. In this case, the government can enhance its public-private business alliance. Taking
proactive measures is inherent implied responsibility for a state during the global crisis. The
government must impose rules about the entry-exit barrier, prepare a rapid action emergency
body to handle the critical situation, aid the health and R&D sector with enough budget for
facilitating all required equipment and medicines. We have experienced some ridiculous and
below standard comments and false information from a few political leaders. The government
must ensure that citizens have access to all legit and rightful information, and the political
leaders must not say something to create confusion among mass people.
We know that the global economy will contract by 2.2%, and our remittance will shrink due to
the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, the state must take an enthusiastic approach to ensure
quality and efficiency in manufacturing sectors to revive remittance. There should have
enough technological experts and installation of automation technology in such situations in
the future. Therefore, the state must invest and monitor the IT sector of the country more
effectively. Ensuring the first four basic needs- Foods, Clothing, Residence, and
Healthcare for the citizens to combat the immediate danger of vulnerable and
underprivileged groups is another core accountability of government. However, we have seen
that being accountable to the people, the government has already taken a few beneficial and
necessary measures. Still another long mile to go!

Civil society is an important government actor. During any national crisis, they have shown
enough praiseworthy actions in the past. It is high time for all civil society organizations to prove
their worth and legitimacy during this pandemic. They can play some essential roles, such as
ensuring digital honesty, accountability, and transparency of the government by engaging
them actively. They can also play an active role in response to public demand. Though these
organizations are facing challenges at field level activities, however, they have the opportunity to
put significance on digital platforms. Few non-state government actors like NGOs and MNCs are
also participating in different social work. Few remarkable NGOs- NAHB, NIRAPA, ADAD,
and FNB and few MNCs like BATB, Unilever, GSK, and P&G- are engaging themselves in
different CSR activities example- providing free food, medicines, mask, safety measure
education and donations. Bidyanando Foundation, Bangladesh Pashe Achhi Foundation,
Students' Union, Mission Save Bangladesh, Shishuder Jonno Foundation, JAAGO
Foundation are few honorable mentions in this consideration. Some organizations took
initiatives to offer free counseling to combat domestic violence and maintain good mental
health. Finally, we can conclude that the Corona outbreak has affected everyone in the country.
Therefore, it is responsible for everyone to fight back this situation and save our beloved
Bangladesh. No organization can help combat this situation alone. So, we should do our best at
our limit.