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Rich and poor countries alike have exacerbated an explosion of economic inequality since the outbreak of the pandemic from 2020, reveals new research by Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI). 

The Covid-19 pandemic will not be defeated unless it’s defeated in all countries. In developing countries, where public health spending is often severely constrained, significant debt cancellation will be necessary to deal with the double whammy of health and economic crises.

In response to the selection today of Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning 2 June, Katie Malouf-Bous, interim Head of Oxfam International’s Washington DC Office, said: "The true test of Ajay Banga starts now: to reorient the World Bank to tackle the extreme inequality that robs billions of people of economic security and dignity. We need huge new investments in development but we need them to be publicly-led and purposed to lift people out of poverty —and we need guardrails around private finance that has run riot for too long."

World Economic Forum’s Human Capital Report demonstrates the need for a massive increase in funding for public education to close the growing gap between rich and poor and build a workforce that is fit for the future. 

Today marks an extraordinary gathering in New York of world leaders who have committed for the first time to take a stand together in the fight to promote inclusion and end extreme inequality.   An initiative led by Sweden alongside the 74th UN General Assembly, the gathering included heads of state and government from Sweden, Ethiopia, Spain, Sierra Leone, and Namibia; the Vice President of Indonesia, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, and the Foreign Minister of Timor-Leste; and representatives from Uruguay and Tunisia, with the support of the Republic of Korea.…

For every new billionaire created during the pandemic — one every 30 hours — nearly a million people could be pushed into extreme poverty in 2022 at nearly the same rate, reveals a new Oxfam brief today. “Profiting from Pain” is published as the World Economic Forum — the exclusive get-together of the global elite in Davos — takes place for the first time face-to-face since COVID-19, a period during which billionaires have enjoyed a huge boost to their fortunes. 

EU governments are losing out on a staggering 286.5 billion euros in revenue annually, equivalent to 33 million euros per hour, due to their failure to fairly tax Europe’s wealthiest. This amount, equivalent to Finland’s GDP, represents what a European wealth tax of up to 5 percent could raise every year, according to Oxfam’s analysis. 

"In lieu of global cooperation and solidarity, pharmaceutical companies are being empowered to act as kingmakers ―deciding who lives and who dies― and using this new-found power to extract subsidies and potentially high prices for new COVID-19 vaccines," said Oxfam today in response to reports that French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, will prioritize the US for any new COVID-19 vaccine.

Today the shape of the new European Parliament was revealed, with the results marred by weak turnout and a ri

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has yet again failed to profile his commitment to tackling climate change and inequality as central to his aim in eradicating poverty by 2030.