Bangladesh is facing a deepening economic crisis that extends beyond traditional measures of poverty, with increasing numbers of households experiencing fragile livelihoods and extreme vulnerability. A recent discussion at the launch of a new book by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) highlighted that economic insecurity now affects not only those below the poverty line but also those who were previously considered relatively secure.

According to a World Bank assessment released in October 2026, approximately 2.1 million more people were pushed into poverty during the fiscal year 2025-26. Many households above the poverty threshold continue to struggle with basic needs such as food, safe water, electricity, transportation, and healthcare. Panelists emphasized that a single illness, job loss, or price increase can swiftly destabilize these families, illustrating that poverty should be understood as a dynamic risk rather than a fixed state.

Central to this discussion was the concept of “hoirani,” a Bengali term describing the relentless difficulties and exhaustion involved in daily survival. This burden disproportionately falls on women, who often undertake the majority of unpaid domestic and care work. Estimates suggest that unpaid care activities contributed nearly one-fifth of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product in 2021, with women responsible for 85 percent of this labor. While resilience is frequently celebrated, participants warned against equating it with self-exploitation, given the toll that extended work hours, reduced consumption, borrowing, delayed healthcare, and increased unpaid care work take on vulnerable populations.

Healthcare expenses were identified as a critical factor worsening economic fragility. Many families are burdened by ongoing costs associated with chronic illnesses, which can absorb resources otherwise allocated for essential goods and services. Climate change also exacerbates these challenges, with extreme heat limiting work capacity and water scarcity increasing labor and expenses related to securing safe water. Women, particularly those in informal employment, are often the primary absorbers of these additional burdens.

The informal sector remains a dominant component of Bangladesh’s labor market, accounting for 84.9 percent of employment in 2022, with an even higher proportion—96.6 percent—among women workers. These jobs, common in agriculture, transport, domestic work, and local markets, frequently lack stable earnings, social protections, and paid leave. For many, missing a day’s work means losing essential income to cover rent, food, and medical bills. The garment industry, a key export sector staffed primarily by women, faces challenges from low wages, unequal care responsibilities, and limited upward mobility, compounded by technological shifts such as automation.

Experts at the event called for systemic economic reforms to reduce these pressures. Recommendations included instituting living wages reflective of actual living costs across both formal and informal sectors; expanding public infrastructure for care, including affordable childcare, healthcare, water, sanitation, and transportation; and enhancing women’s access to and control over economic resources through better property rights, productive asset ownership, and gender-responsive financing.

Furthermore, reforming institutions to improve transparency, regulation, and worker representation was seen as essential to creating a fairer and more productive economy. Participants stressed that economic recovery must not rely on people exhausting themselves to survive but should aim to restore dignity and reduce inequality through comprehensive policy changes rather than temporary measures.

The events underscored that Bangladesh’s path to prosperity depends on addressing the structural vulnerabilities that underpin household insecurity and on empowering those most affected by economic fragility.