Oxfam says another 263 million are living in extreme poverty

According to the charity group Oxfam International, the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), growing global inequality and rising food prices caused by the war in Ukraine are poised to push another quarter-billion people into poverty this year.

As a result of the combined injuries, a total of 860 million people could live below 90 1.90 a day by the end of 2022, or 263 million more than projected before the epidemic, the group said in a report on Tuesday. This is equivalent to the total population of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain.

The Oxfam report was released ahead of next week’s spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, where the global economic challenge and the onslaught of Russia are the two main focus.

Oxfam quoted the IMF report as saying that the poorest people would suffer the most, with food consumption accounting for 40% of consumer spending in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 17% in developed economies.

Oxfam warns that the return of inflation is a recipe for financial instability in low-income countries that need dollars to import energy, medicine and food and whose debts are mainly in US currency.

To address the situation, Oxfam proposed several ideas. They include annual wealth tax on millionaires starting at 2% and 5% on billionaires, which the company estimates will earn $ 2.52 trillion a year. That would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, create adequate vaccines for the world, and provide universal health care and social protection for everyone living in low- and middle-income countries.

“We reject the notion that the government has no means or means to lift all people out of poverty and hunger and to ensure their health and well-being,” said Gabriella Butcher, Oxfam International Executive Director. “We see the lack of economic imagination and political will to do that in practice.”

In the United States, President Joseph R. Biden last month proposed a 20% minimum tax on households worth more than $ 100 million While it could generate hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenue and have strong support from many Democrats, it is unlikely to pass soon in Congress, where the party has a narrow margin, as many moderate lawmakers are angry about such a large tax. Overhaul

Oxfam is urging the Group of 20 largest countries to cancel all debt repayments for all low- and middle-income countries this year and beyond. The group estimates that debt services for all the world’s poorest countries will reach $ 43 billion this year – about half of their food-import bills and public spending on healthcare. – Bloomberg