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The 1,000 richest people on the planet recouped their COVID-19 losses within just nine months, but it could take more than a decade for the world’s poorest to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic, reveals a new Oxfam report today. ‘The Inequality Virus’ is being published on the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Davos Agenda’. 

The IMF has already said that the coronavirus pandemic will trigger the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression —if ever there was a time to expand SDR allocations in a major way, it is now, said Oxfam today in response to the communiqué of the International Monetary and Financial Committee.

Oxfam’s Nicolas Mombrial said:

When the G20 meets in Seoul in November 2010, it has a big choice to make.

The world’s leading economies must act now to stop the price of basic foods from surging further out of the reach of poor people. They must also commit to a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) to help millions of people hit by the economic crisis and climate change.

Suspending debt owed to rich countries is only one piece of the puzzle. Rich private banks and investors should be pushed to cancel debts by enforcement and not left to voluntary action, said Oxfam today in response to the announcement that the G20 has agreed to suspend debt repayment of the poorest countries.

The G7 have made a stuttering start on climate but have largely neglected the plight of people living in poverty, said Oxfam at the close of the annual leaders’ summit in Germany today.

Extreme wealth evokes images of both deserving entrepreneurs and fat cats. This paper explores whether the meritocracy argument stands up as a defence of extreme wealth. 

Despite millions of people being pushed into hunger and poverty, 143 countries — including 94 developing nations — are implementing policy measures that undermine governments’ capacity to provide healthcare, education and social protection.   

At the end of the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy, Oxfam panned the lack of bold and effective action from the world leaders at such an important moment in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.