All over the world, poverty rates continue to rise for the first time since 1988, due to the #COVID19 pandemic. In the Philippines, a sobering fact indicates that several households have joined the ranks of the poor, thus reversing the gains made in the past decade in significantly reducing poverty.

In the past nine (9) months of the pandemic, the Zero Extreme Poverty Philippines 2030 (ZEP 2030)— a coalition of non-government entities (NGEs) and networks—and the United Nations Development Programme Philippines (UNDP PH) have been working hard to take a pulse on how the urban poor in the Philippines has been affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

COVID PULSE PH: Urban Poor in the Time of the Pandemic - is a summary off findings from the second phase of the a survey, conducted from August 21 to October 11, that aimed to tell a more detailed story of how the pandemic has affected the lives of low-income households.