Mental well-being of Microfinance Beneficiaries in the Post-Covid Scenario

The world was brought to a sudden standstill with the rise of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the severity of the disease led to loss of lives and livelihood of the masses. The poor were heavily impacted by the disease as the pandemic forced them to be confined within the walls of their homes with no income. The financial, economic and social loss was already irreparable but the impact on mental well-being was also immense. The microfinance beneficiaries generally belong to the rural poor class of the society, who were massively impacted by the pandemic. The study was conducted on 450 microfinance beneficiaries from two districts which recorded highest Covid positive cases in the state of Assam in India. Two scales of WHO-5 and PANAS was used to assess their mental well-being in the post-Covid times. The pandemic also had its toll on the mental health of the microfinance beneficiaries. Mental well-being is below average as per WHO-5. As per PANAS the positive and negative affect scores are slightly above average. Post-pandemic the microfinance beneficiaries are trying to cope up with their losses with a below average mental health along with the burden of repayment of the loans. Anxiety, stress, fear and depression are persistent among the respondents in the post-Covid scenario.