global development

Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth, according to a new Oxfam report released today.

Rich countries are exaggerating how much they are spending to tackle poverty and inequality in poor countries.

“This is great and sorely needed news at a time when the world faces a sobering set of challenges," said Nick Galasso, interim head of Oxfam International's Washington office.

The highly successful fight against global poverty is being lost badly in one critical area – people’s minds. A new global survey reveals that 87% of people around the world believe that global poverty has either stayed the same or gotten worse over the past 20 years, when the exact opposite is true.

The package of measures announced by governments attending the anti-corruption summit in London today will not stop tax cheats, said Oxfam. Politicians from over 40 countries, along with World Bank and IMF representatives, attended the conference.

Oxfam International Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, will use the WEF Africa meeting in Kigali, Rwanda this week to call for a radical overhaul in the way African countries manage the income from natural resources, an end to tax havens and the use of progressive taxation to fight inequality.

G20 Finance Ministers must support more fundamental reforms to the global tax system as part of their plans to deliver sustainable economic growth said Oxfam today.

Oxfam said it is vital that governments return to the negotiating table before the new agreement takes effect from 2020 to strengthen pledges of emissions cuts and agree to new finance levels. 

The G20 leaders’ summit has made welcome progress in tackling the refugee crisis while also taking tentative steps towards addressing the gap between rich and poor. However, the G20 has done little to build momentum toward an ambitious climate deal.