Press releases

Responding to the G20 Heads of State Summit, Rebecca Gowland, Head of Inequality, Campaigns and Policy, said: “In 2020 the richest economies bolstered their resilience to Covid-19 with a $10 trillion injection while providing 2,000 times less than that – $5 billion – in debt relief to the poorest countries. In the direst global health and socio-economic crises for 100 years the G20 has failed to adequately support the poorest people in the world.

The European Union risks fuelling conflict and human rights abuses around the world if it adopts the European Peace Facility (EPF) in its current form, warned Oxfam and 39 other civil society organisations with expertise on peace, human rights and the protection of civilians.

Other members of the G20 have exported more than US$17bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since it became involved in the conflict in Yemen in 2015 but have given only a third of that amount in aid to people caught in the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, Oxfam said today.

Millions of people in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, already hit by damage from last month’s monster hurricane Eta, are now facing an even bigger crisis from Iota, a category five hurricane that made landfall overnight on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast.

“Moderna’s discovery could be a real game-changer in the fight against COVID-19. However, on its own, Moderna can only produce enough vaccine for less than seven percent of the global population by the end of 2021, almost all of whom will be in rich countries," said Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager, in response to the announcement today from the National Institutes of Health that early data shows Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is nearly 95 percent effective.

Over 1,000 health professionals from 66 countries have signed a letter urging the G20 to cancel the debt of developing countries, ahead of tomorrow’s extraordinary G20 Finance Ministers meeting.

With its new long-term budget, the EU missed a chance to put itself at the forefront of a fair and green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Oxfam said today.

In response to the 21st tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, Oxfam Philippines Country Director said:Oxfam together with our local partners are closely monitoring Typhoon Ulysses, known internationally as Typhoon Vamco.

Unfair, incoherent and duplicit EU trade policies in North Africa have contributed to job losses, brain drains and overwhelmingly negative impacts on those who can least afford it, an Oxfam analysis released today has found.

Oxfam began delivery of humanitarian aid in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala to help those most affected by flooding and strong winds caused by Hurricane Eta, the most devastating weather phenomenon to hit Central America since 1998. Thousands of people are still stranded on the roofs of their homes or in elevated areas as rescue operations are very slow.