By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody
Unless actions are taken to reverse the current trend of losing the overall productivity levels of the Sri Lankan society, there is a high chance that the prolongation of the Covid-19 pandemic may further worsen the situation.
This observation was made by the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka 2020/2021 President, N. Abeysinghe in an editorial published in the Journal of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka 27 (3) in November 2021 on the “Human capital and Covid-19”.
The human resource is a crucial determinant of a country’s level of economic growth. This is due to the fact that healthy and educated people are more productive, thus bringing greater resources and income to their own families, and thereby a higher level of economic growth for the nation. Conversely, the failure to meet a person’s needs can have both serious short and long term implications for both the individual and the society. Therefore, investments in health, nutrition, and education are essential in order to help a country develop and prevent people from getting into poverty.
There is sufficient evidence to the fact that, if countries do not strengthen the human capital, they cannot in turn achieve sustained and inclusive economic growth. Furthermore, in such a context, the workforce will not be able to carry out highly skilled jobs, and in turn the country in question will not be able to engage effectively in the global economy, in a dynamic manner. That said, it has been proven that return on investments is high in the investment in human capital. However, most low and middle income countries have failed to give due consideration to this aspect. Moreover, the cost of inaction on human capital development cannot be recovered.
At the micro level, human capital consists of the knowledge, skills, and health that people invest in and accumulate throughout their lives, thus enabling them to realise their potential as productive members of the society that they live in. At the macro level, investments made in nutrition, healthcare, education, and skills which help develop the human capital are essential in order to end extreme poverty and create more inclusive societies.
The “Human Capital Index” is an international indicator that encompasses the three key components of human capital across economies. Firstly, it measures the ability of a child to achieve their full potential. Can a child who is born today live a healthier life without any major health issues? Will they be able to attend a school with adequate facilities and receive an education and reach adulthood in good health and fulfil their responsibilities in the society in which they live? Measuring human capital has five main domains, namely, child survival, school enrolment, the quality of learning, healthy growth, and adult survival. Therefore, health and education are foundational investments in human capital. Hence, it highlights how the country’s current education and health systems shape the next generation’s lives, and it is understood that society improves human capital via access to education, health, employment, and nutrition.
Nevertheless, the current Covid-19 pandemic is driving all the factors that are required to improve the human capital down in a vicious spiral, and in the end, globally, many people will be driven below the poverty line. This is not a reality, Abeysinghe observed, that Sri Lanka can escape from.
Sri Lanka has a free education system, with 4.1 million children getting free primary and secondary education capable of keeping their literacy levels at 98% for the last few decades. However, the permanent closure of schools for more than one-and-a-half years compelled children to move to online education. The physical school environment, which is not only about education but also an opportunity to gain many skills, cannot be replaced by online platforms. As of now, 60% of children are left out of any form of education due to not having digital devices and required connectivity. This situation will leave half of the said generation behind the curve when it comes to improving the required educational skills in the context of language and numeracy.
From the health perspective, 1/12th of Sri Lankan adults are diagnosed with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which hinder labour productivity. Even though there is free primary healthcare, the pandemic is preventing this population with NCDs from attending regular clinics and checkups, which can in turn worsen their conditions. Also, most regular medications were private purchases, and to add to it, given the financial distress and escalated prices, regular medication is the first to be cut from the consumption basket, Abeysinghe claims. With less access to hospitals due to travel restrictions and nearly 52% of medical expenditure being out of the pocket, the people will give less attention to healthcare, which would then reduce the population’s health, and thereby productivity and creativity.
Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic has created substantial social issues and mental illnesses such as depression. Many have lost their regular income, opportunities have dried out, and travel restrictions have reduced social interactions, thus increasing the possibility of depression and other similar health issues, which will in turn directly impact the creativity and productivity of the workforce while they are at work. Approximately 65% of the workforce in Sri Lanka is informal, and thus, has no protection from the employer as during the lockdowns, no compensation was considered and they were at risk of the loss of income. Low family income invariably reduces the expenditure on nutrition, health, and education.
The loss of opportunity for local businesses has impacted, among others, leisure and entertainment. This will further hinder the growth opportunities, innovations, and investments in research and development, which will in turn result in a vicious cycle arising between human development and poverty.
“The need has therefore arisen to think seriously in order to identify what socio, economic, political and cultural changes the Sri Lankan society has experienced over the past 70 years. Therefore, the existing interventions and policies across sectors, especially health and education, must be analysed, and how they can be harnessed to generate a healthy nation must be looked into in order to overcome the constraints with regard to higher levels of productivity,” Abeysinghe opined.
Loss in societal productivity will be worsened if Covid-19 situation is not resolved: Community physicians
23 Feb 2022
Loss in societal productivity will be worsened if Covid-19 situation is not resolved: Community physicians
23 Feb 2022