G20 leaders must act boldly to overcome the Coronavirus: Oxfam comment

Publié: 25th mars 2020


Ahead of the virtual G20 Summit tomorrow, Chema Vera, Oxfam International’s Interim Executive Director, urged its leaders to act boldly and across borders to save millions of lives. 

“These are extraordinary times. Only bold and action by governments acting together can overcome this global crisis."

“G20 leaders must provide a massive injection of funds to help poor countries contain and respond to the virus.  They must also agree on a global economic rescue plan to help the poorest and most vulnerable across the world keep their heads above water in the difficult months ahead. 

“The G20 group, which includes some of the richest countries in the world, can unlock the resources to make this happen, starting with the immediate cancellation or postpone poor countries' debt repayments.

“We are all in this together. No one is safe until we are all safe. The global community has come together to bail out the banks in times of financial crisis. They must come together now to bail out humanity.”

Notes aux rédactions

Oxfam is already working closely with partners and communities to support the poorest and vulnerable communities around the globe to help prevent the spread of the virus, to keep people safe and to help them weather the economic storm. It has already ramped up its distribution of soap, clean water and hygiene kits in some of the largest refugees and IDPs camps such as the Syrian refugees Zaatari camp in Jordan, the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar, and shelters in Yemen, Iraq and Burkina Faso. Oxfam is also promoting good hygiene practices awareness and ensuring accurate health information is shared in local languages to help curb the spread of the virus.

Contact

Anna Ratcliff in Oxford, UK | anna.ratcliff@oxfam.org | +44 779 699 3288 | @ratcliff_anna
Annie Thériault in Lima, Peru | annie.theriault@oxfam.org | +51 936 307 990 | @annietheri

For updates, please follow @Oxfam

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