In 2020, inflation climbed to 6.4% for the calendar year, this impacted the cost of living; mainly driven by upticks in the cost of food, housing, utilities, and transport. The increasing expense of basic commodities has been compounded by a rise in unemployment, as a result of the economic downturn associated with the pandemic.

We ask how Jamaicans are able to withstand the rising cost of living and what can be done about it?

Peter Townsend, Attorney-at-Law and President of National Democratic Movement (NDM), and Helene Davis Whyte, political commentator and General Secretary of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers, joined the CVM Live Panel Discussion to analyse the topic.