poverty

G20 Leaders meeting in Brisbane, Australia this weekend (15 and 16 November) are being urged to tackle rising inequality head-on or risk leaving millions of people trapped in poverty, as new figures reveal the wealth disparity in a number of G20 countries.

The gap between the rich and the rest is extreme and growing. G20 nations are not immune.

Rising inequality could set the fight against poverty back by decades, Oxfam warned today as it published a new report showing that the number of billionaires worldwide has more than doubled since the financial crisis. 

Oxfam presents new evidence that the gap between rich and poor is growing ever wider and is undermining poverty eradication. This report delves into the causes of the inequality crisis and looks at the concrete solutions that can overcome it.

Extreme inequality is hurting us all. Its damages economic growth, threatens decades of progress toward ending poverty and contributes to the death of one person every four seconds. Such stark inequality is not inevitable – it is the consequence of political and economic choices. And it can be reversed.

South Africa is considered a ‘food-secure’ nation, producing enough calories to adequately feed every one of its 53 million people. However, the reality is that one in four people currently suffers hunger on a regular basis.

The governments of Latin America and the Caribbean must implement fiscal reforms that benefit all citizens and not only economic and political elites, according to Oxfam. 

After decades of underinvestment, governments in Africa are turning to partnerships with donor aid agencies and large companies or investors to develop the agriculture sector. But this so-called ‘mega’ public-private partnerships are unproven, risky and represent a dubious use of public funds to fight poverty and food insecurity. 

African governments are increasingly turning to partnerships with donors and multinational companies to stimulate investment in agriculture, after decades of neglect.

Women won’t be paid as much as men for another 75 years. That’s according to a report released by Oxfam today, which urges G20 leaders to tackle gender inequality when they meet in Australia later this year.