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The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the extreme inequality in Southern African Development Community countries, and pushed millions into poverty. Recovering from the pandemic, however, offers SADC governments a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do reduce inequality drastically and eliminate extreme poverty by 2030. 

Dominant narratives promoting economic growth at the expense of state institutions and basic social services have long underpinned a neoliberal model of spiralling debt and austerity in the MENA region. This exacerbates political capture and inequality and takes shape in an environment of media concentration and shrinking civic space.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread suffering in rich countries, overwhelming some of the best healthcare systems in the world. But with the disease now spreading to many countries with high levels of poverty and inequality, its impact could be catastrophic and disproportionally affect women. Urgent action is needed now.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) gold holdings have increased in value by $19.3 billion since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, said Oxfam today. 

Every country in the world is experiencing an economic shock as a result of the Coronavirus crisis, and all governments must act now to protect their people from destitution. Unless dramatic action is taken to shore up the economies of developing countries, the crisis could push as many as half a billion people into poverty.

A new survey of more than 1500 people has given one of the clearest pictures yet of the harsh economic struggle facing refugees who have fled from Syria to Lebanon.

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.

Three months after floods devastated Pakistan, cases of disease are increasing and in the worst-hit region, the southern province of Sindh, large areas remain underwater. At the same time, funds for the UN flood appeal are drying up and threatening the aid and reconstruction effort.

The international aid agency Oxfam today called for Pakistan’s $55bn debt to be dropped. Oxfam said that the debt must be cancelled because of the level of destruction caused by the recent unprecedented flooding and the massive costs of immediate relief and longer term reconstruction.

Poor countries are being forced to cut back on their economic crisis-response spending too soon. Education and social protection budgets are particularly badly affected. Oxfam is calling on the IMF to take steps to reverse this trend.