More than half a billion more people could be pushed into poverty unless urgent action is taken to bail out poor countries affected by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, Oxfam has warned. The research – conducted by King’s College London and the Australian National University – said that a 20% drop in income as a result of a recession caused by Covid-19 would push an additional 548 million people below $5.50 a day – one of the World Bank’s definitions of poverty.
The Oxfam report said by the time the pandemic was over half of the world’s population of 7.8 billion people could be living in poverty.
José María Vera, Oxfam’s international interim executive director, said: “The devastating economic fallout of the pandemic is being felt across the globe. But for poor people in poor countries who are already struggling to survive, there are almost no safety nets to stop them falling into poverty."
Oxfam called for an emergency rescue package that would enable poor countries to provide cash grants to those who have lost their income and to bail out vulnerable small businesses. The charity said the money would come from a variety of measures, including the immediate cancellation of $1tn worth of developing country debt payments and the creation of at least $1tn of special drawing rights (SDRs), a form of international currency that can be used to help struggling countries. A proposal to create $500bn of SDRs is being blocked by the US on the grounds that some of the money would go to Iran.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/coronavirus-could-push-half-a-billion-people-into-poverty-oxfam-warns
The Oxfam report said by the time the pandemic was over half of the world’s population of 7.8 billion people could be living in poverty.
José María Vera, Oxfam’s international interim executive director, said: “The devastating economic fallout of the pandemic is being felt across the globe. But for poor people in poor countries who are already struggling to survive, there are almost no safety nets to stop them falling into poverty."
Oxfam called for an emergency rescue package that would enable poor countries to provide cash grants to those who have lost their income and to bail out vulnerable small businesses. The charity said the money would come from a variety of measures, including the immediate cancellation of $1tn worth of developing country debt payments and the creation of at least $1tn of special drawing rights (SDRs), a form of international currency that can be used to help struggling countries. A proposal to create $500bn of SDRs is being blocked by the US on the grounds that some of the money would go to Iran.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/coronavirus-could-push-half-a-billion-people-into-poverty-oxfam-warns
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