The majority of Rana Plaza survivors (56.5 per cent) reported worsening physical condition, nine years after the worst industrial accident, according to a latest survey.
The rate was 14 per cent last year.
Out of the 56.5 per cent survivors who reported that their physical health condition was deteriorating listed waist pain, headache, pain in hands and legs and back pain as some of the major problems.
ActionAid Bangladesh on Monday revealed the findings of the survey which was conducted among 200 survivors ahead of the ninth anniversary of Rana Plaza tragedy.
Its previous surveys, however, showed slow but improved health status while Covid-19 has worsened the situation.
According to the latest findings, some 33 per cent are more or less stable and 10.5 per cent are completely stable.
In terms of psychosocial health, 48.5 per cent are still in trauma in comparison to 12.5 per cent survivors last year.
Currently 31 per cent reported that they are more or less stable, and 20.5 per cent have recovered fully compared to 25.5 per cent last year.
The current unemployment rate of the survivors is 53 per cent while 47 per cent survivors are engaged in various types of wage and self-employment, according to the survey.
Among them, 67 per cent of survivors are unemployed due to bad physical condition and 10 per cent have mental trauma.
Survivors tend to change work frequently as their physical conditions do not allow them to work for long period at a time.
According to the survey, 14.5 per cent survivors have returned to garments with another 8.0 per cent involved in tailoring while many of the survivors shifted to other professions like domestic work, day labour, farming, and agriculture, sales and driving.
The survey found that income of most of the employed survivors have drastically decreased due the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some 63.5 per cent of survivors said they had difficulty in buying food for their family every day during the pandemic because they did not have money to buy food.
About 51.5 per cent said they couldn't pay their rent, and 22.5 per cent said they couldn't afford childcare.
The survey said 46.5 per cent of survivors had to take out a loan to manage their family's food and other belongings during the pandemic.
A total of 36 per cent said their household income is less than Tk 5,000 while 34 per cent have a household income between Tk 10,000 and Tk 15,000.
About 35 per cent of survivors reported that their expenditure is over Tk 10,000 and 30 per cent have above, according to the survey.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com
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