Press releases

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could push half a billion more people into poverty unless urgent action is taken to bail out developing countries, said Oxfam today.

Public aid money should not be used to fund corporate-backed private school chains that fuel inequality. Other donor agencies and governments now need to follow suit, said Oxfam today in response to the US House Financial Services Committee’s (HFSC) announcement that the World Bank and its private sector arm have approved a package of reforms.

The only way to avoid the pandemic devastating lives and livelihoods at an untold scale is for rich countries to mobilise all available resources, said Oxfam in response to a new European Commission plan outlining how the EU will support developing countries in the face of COVID-19.

Oxfam and its partners are preparing to respond to category 5 Tropical Cyclone Harold which made landfall on the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, affecting more than 200,000 people.

Refugees living in camps are sharing one tap between up to 250 people and many have less than3.5 square meters of living space per person which will make it extremely difficult to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Oxfam said today.

In reaction to the coronavirus pandemic reaching 1 million confirmed cases, Oxfam interim Executive Director Chema Vera, said today: "This is a grim milestone that must spur the international community to take immediate action. We must tackle this pandemic with single-minded determination, and as one."

Reaction to the announcement that the UN Climate Summit, due to take place in the UK in November 2020, has been postponed as a result of the Coronavirus.

Oxfam today called for a package of nearly $160 billion in immediate debt cancellation and aid to fund a Global Public Health Plan and Emergency Response, to help prevent millions of deaths as a result of the Coronavirus. The five-point plan would enable poor countries to take action to prevent the spread of the disease and build the capacity of health systems to care for those affected.

Responding to the commitments made by the G20 today to combat the Coronavirus, Chema Vera, Oxfam International’s Interim Executive Director, said: “On the day that Imperial College London has warned that close to 40 million lives could be lost without urgent action, the world’s richest governments are still only warming up to the scale of the task.

Rather than protecting vulnerable people from the spread of the coronavirus, the Greek government is using the crisis to absolve itself from its obligations under international and EU law, said Oxfam.