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The threat of “COVID famines” and widespread extreme hunger are setting off every alarm bell within the international community, but so far sluggish funding of the UN's appeal is hampering humanitarian agencies’ efforts to deliver urgent assistance to people in need.

At the close of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings in Washington, Chris Stalker, Acting Head of Oxfam International’s Washington office, commented on the week's developments.

Ministers must deliver on their climate finance promises and support a second wave of attack on corporate tax cheats if their Lima meeting is to succeed, said Oxfam today. 

In a puzzling move, inequality was not on the agenda at the International Monetary Fund’s Press Briefing in the Peruvian capital today, while World Bank President Jim Kim said TPP could boost growth.

Responding to the World Bank's proposal of a $12 billion initiative to help poor countries purchase COVID-19 vaccines, Anna Marriott, Health Policy Advisor at Oxfam, said: "The World Bank is right to be concerned about whether poorer countries will be able to afford COVID-19 vaccines and treatments and they should use their influence accordingly."

"The failure to cancel debt payments will only delay the tsunami of debt that will engulf many of the world’s poorest countries, leaving them unable to afford the investment in healthcare and social safety nets so desperately needed", said Jaime Atienza, Oxfam International's Debt Policy Lead, in reaction to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting.

This current draft of the 2019 World Development Report has interesting ideas, but also contains some dangerous proposals and assumptions which Oxfam believes might compromise the World Bank’s mission of eradicating poverty and achieving shared prosperity.

"We can't settle for what the World Bank has committed to so far ―now is the time to build momentum and raise ambition of all members, proving the bank's value as a leader on such urgent global issues," said Nadia Daar, Oxfam International's Head of Washington DC Office, in reaction to new World Bank president David Malpass’ press conference.

An Oxfam resolution before Moderna shareholders received 24 percent of the nominal vote or 29 percent of the independent vote factoring in the 17 percent of the vote share owned by the company's directors and senior executives. A similar resolution before Pfizer shareholders garnered 27 percent of the vote.  

In response to the announcement that AstraZeneca is to move away from the non-profit model for COVID vaccines, Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager and spokesperson for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said: “AstraZeneca is breaking its repeated and celebrated public promises of a non-profit vaccine for all countries for the duration of this pandemic and to never to make a profit in any low- and middle-income country from this publicly funded vaccine."