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The coronavirus pandemic is fast pushing developing countries toward a debt crisis that would be catastrophic for their fight against poverty, with the likelihood of multi-billion-dollar defaults that will hurt the entire global economy, warned Oxfam ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting this weekend (July 18-19).  

Global dividend payments to shareholders grew on average 14 times faster than worker pay in 31 countries, which together account for 81 percent of global GDP, between 2020 and 2023, reveals Oxfam’s new analysis ahead of International Workers’ Day (May 1). 

The World Bank is forecasting that, for the first time ever, the number of people living in extreme poverty will fall under 10% of the world's population, to around 702 million people.

Rich countries must open the way to cheaper mass-produced COVID-19 vaccines in order to protect every person in the world and avert a $9 trillion “worst case” global economic catastrophe, said Oxfam today. They should also agree this week to inject $650 billion more into the global economy to help developing countries cope with the pandemic’s already devasting effects.

The real possibility of eradicating global hunger and poverty in our lifetime is dependent upon the international community getting more serious in supporting smallholder agriculture – a sector that supports nearly 2 billion people and produces most of the world’s food. Tomorrow Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima will address the 38th annual Governing Council meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the invitation of IFAD President Kanayo F Nwanze. The Governing Council is IFAD’s highest decision-…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board will meet this week [6 April] to discuss how to use the extra $2.8 billion windfall it made from selling 403.3 tons of gold late last year. The windfall profits should be used to cancel the debts of poor countries facing crises outside their control.

In July 2014, a new multilateral and southern-led development bank is expected to be launched by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – better known as the BRICS.

In response to today’s open letter from global CEOs to World Leaders urging concrete climate action, Tim Gore, Oxfam International’s Climate Advisor, said:“We welcome engagement by a broad group of companies across sectors calling on governments to agree an ambitious deal at the UN climate talks in Paris later this year. But companies themselves need to go further in addressing their own climate change footprints by…

Responding to the IMF Board of Governors’ approval of a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation of $650 billion, Nadia Daar, Head of Oxfam International’s Washington DC Office, said: “New SDRs will bring much-needed liquidity to struggling developing countries without adding to their unsustainable debt burdens. Now that this historic SDR issuance has been approved, governments must work transparently and together with civil society to ensure these resources are used to rescue collapsing health services and bolster social protection, and to deliver a fair and climate just recovery.  

The World Bank’s report shows clearly that billions of people were more vulnerable to the economic impacts of COVID-19 because of decades of economic policies which have kept them living one paycheck away from poverty, while the richest in society accumulate ever more wealth.