health

“We needed the World Health Assembly to unite behind a People’s Vaccine, not a Trump Administration seeking scapegoats for a pandemic it has mis-handled from the start", said Anna Marriott, Health Policy Manager at Oxfam, commenting at the closure of the World Health Assembly today.

 

Coronavirus is threatening us all. With each day, in every family, community and country, more of us are being personally affected by it. To beat the pandemic and avert harm to the lives of billions we must work together. We need to act across all countries and for every person. Fighting for some but not others is not an option. It only fuels risk for us all.

"The unprecedented global health crisis must be met with a vaccine plan that puts people ahead of the profits of big pharmaceutical companies," said Oxfam ahead of the Coronavirus Global Response Summit on Monday 4 May, which aims to raise $8 billion to develop vaccines, treatments and tests to help end the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus crisis could result in a catastrophic loss of life in poorer countries and push half a billion more people into poverty. This week, the G20 finance ministers, the IMF and the World Bank can offer an instant lifeline – by cancelling all external debt payments for 2020. This could save $40 billion immediately and support almost 500 million of the world’s poorest to survive this crisis.

Faced with the coronavirus pandemic, Oxfam has geared up its entire humanitarian aid delivery system to help the most vulnerable communities. Despite access restrictions, we are working around the clock with our local partners to deliver vital assistance to curb to spread of the virus and help protect people from its economic impact. You can help.

The first fatality has been confirmed and the number of cases is soaring, now over 1,000.

Billionaire fortunes increased by 12 percent last year – or $2.5 billion a day - while the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity saw their wealth decline by 11 percent, reveals a new report from Oxfam today.

This second edition of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index is based on a new database of indicators, now covering 157 countries, which measures government action on social spending, tax and labour rights – three areas found to be critical to reducing the inequality gap.

The coronavirus pandemic has swept across a world that was already profoundly unequal.The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2020 shows that no country in the world was doing enough to tackle inequality prior to the pandemic. This is helping to fuel the crisis and has increased the vulnerability of people living in poverty, especially women.

New Oxfam research shows that four pharmaceutical corporations – Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co (MSD), and Pfizer – systematically hide their profits in overseas tax havens. This activity could deprive developing countries of more than $100 million every year – money that is urgently needed to meet the health needs of people in these countries.