Oxfam praises World Bank report on inequality, but says it must go further to challenge the status quo

In response to the release of the World Bank’s 2016 Poverty and Shared Prosperity report, “Taking on Inequality," ahead of their Annual Meetings, the head of Oxfam International’s Washington office, Nadia Daar, said:  “We’re very pleased to see the World Bank focus its flagship report on inequality and underscore the threat that inequality poses to fighting poverty.  “We want to see the Bank put more resources into gathering data to develop a report like this every year, though it has to devote much more attention to comparing the poorest to the richest to present a more complete picture of inequality and what governments and institutions need to do to address it. “Unfortunately, the report falls short of proposing how to change the status quo and truly combat inequality. While much of what the Bank is doing helps reduce inequality, it continues to support policies and programs that achieve the opposite. For example, Oxfam has called on the Bank to stop supporting schools that charge fees and limit access to poor children, and rein in investments in companies using tax havens.”