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Donor pledges must end hunger in Syria

In reaction to the pledges made today at the Brussels conference on Syria, Oxfam in Syria Country Director, Moutaz Adham, said:  

“The pledges made today are welcomed and show that the international community has not forgotten Syrians.

“However, donor’s priorities do not reflect the situation in Syria. For over a decade, there has been too much focus on emergency aid with limited focus on long term solutions to problems like lack of food and water. What the Syrian people need is schools and hospitals, homes that can stand and are cleared of rubble and old bombs, and jobs, so they can feed their families and stop relying on aid. Humanitarian agencies haven’t been able to provide for the long term needs of Syrians due to political considerations. These politics are denying Syrians a future and causing more Syrians to mire in poverty.

“Syrians have never been so hungry – 3 in 5 people do not know where their next meal will come from. One month’s living costs equals two months’ salary. The war in Ukraine will only increase hunger and poverty.

“Last year, donors only gave half the money needed to help people in Syria. Syrians cannot afford for this to happen yet again this year. Donors need to think long-term. Short-term solutions are not good enough.”

Notes to the editors 

Response to global hunger catastrophically inadequate

Today’s “Global Report on Food Crises” – led by the UN along with 16 partner organisations including Oxfam – says that more than 193 million people across 53 countries are experiencing acute hunger and require urgent food, nutrition and livelihoods assistance. 

Oxfam Global Food Security and Livelihoods expert, Emily Farr, said: 

“It is deeply concerning to find extreme hunger increasing to a magnitude never seen before. 40 million more people have been pushed to extreme hunger, nearly a 25 percent surge since last year, and 80 percent since 2016. But tragically, this comes as no surprise. Even as the alarm bells have been sounding, governments across the globe collectively failed to tackle this mass suffering and deprivation.

“There are no more excuses. All the warnings are there for countries facing famine-like conditions such as Ethiopia, South Sudan and Yemen. The world has the tools that have anticipated this worsening hunger, and yet continues to choose not to act fast or adequately enough.   

“G7 governments and the EU have pledged US$2.6 billion into the UN’s humanitarian appeals to date but these pale in comparison to the promises they made last year to commit $8.5 billion to end famine. To make matters even worse, some rich countries have effectively cut some of their humanitarian aid to countries facing mass hunger, malnutrition and starvation such as Mali and Syria, as they diverted aid to other crises.  

“Global crises, worsened by the economic turmoil of COVID-19 and more recently by the Ukraine conflict, have pushed food prices to an all-time high in March 2022 – up by 12.6 percent over February – which is putting food ever more out of reach for millions of people. 

“Mariam, a Somali girl suffering severe malnutrition, has done nothing to cause a global pandemic, the Ukraine war or the climate crisis. Yet governments responsible for these crises have largely chosen to forget Mariam and millions of children like her.  

“Hunger, in a world of plenty, is an avoidable tragedy. Rich countries can save millions of people if they immediately fund the UN global appeals. They can save lives now. Warring parties can help avert hunger by allowing aid to reach those at risk of dying from food insecurity and malnutrition. 

“G7 nations also must meet their responsibilities to cut their CO2 emissions. They are most responsible for the climate crisis which is causing chaos for farming and agricultural systems, and driving hunger and displacement. They should pay low-income countries for the loss and damage they are suffering, and to help smallholder farmers – especially female farmers – to adapt to climate change. This is not a matter of charity, but rather a question of justice.” 

Notes to the editors 

  • The Global Report for Food Crises is an annual report published by The Global Network for Food Crises which is an international alliance of the United Nations, the European Union, governmental and non-governmental agencies working to tackle food crises together. 
  • New OECD data shows that overall aid spending from 30 OECD members summed 179 billion dollars in 2021. Rich countries only committed 0.33 percent of their gross national income (GNI) to development aid, the same as 2020, and well below the 0.7 percent they promised back in 1970. In 2021, just 5 countries – Luxembourg, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Denmark – have lived up to this promise. 
  • Recently, Oxfam has expressed concern that some donor governments are already shifting aid budgets to pay for Ukrainian assistance and the costs of hosting more than 4.5 million people who have fled the country recently. Compared to 2020, aid for hosting refugees has not changed and is stabilising at 5.2 percent since its peak in 2016 when it amounted to 11 percent of aid. The current statistics do not take into account 2022 aid which has seen this shift towards aid diversion. 

Big pharma urged to address vaccine inequity

In separate virtual addresses to the shareholders of Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Oxfam called on the pharmaceutical corporations to improve COVID-19 vaccine equity and access so that everyone, everywhere has access to these life-saving shots.
 
Oxfam’s resolutions to Moderna and Pfizer call on the companies to study the feasibility of transferring vaccine technology and know-how to urgently ramp up production and improve sustainable access around the world. In a separate resolution before Johnson & Johnson shareholders, Oxfam seeks transparency on how the company determines pricing for its COVID vaccines in light of the billions of dollars of public funding from US taxpayers the company received.
 
Oxfam has urged all three vaccine manufacturers to share their technical know-how with the World Health Organization (WHO) to leverage the world’s full manufacturing capacity and support regionally based production as a means to increase the overall supply, reduce on-the-ground distributional challenges, and respond to the desire of low-and middle-income countries to produce doses for their own citizens.
 
“If Moderna worked with us, we could submit the WHO’s COVID-19 Vaccine mRNA Technology Transfer hub’s vaccine for approval at least one year sooner, which would save lives, decrease the risk of variants, and reduce the pandemic’s economic toll,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in his unprecedented presentation of the Oxfam resolution to Moderna shareholders via a pre-recorded statement. “We urge Moderna to share technology and know-how with the WHO hub and commit to not enforcing patents for COVID-19 and other essential vaccines in countries hosting the WHO hub and spokes. We also urge them to offer training to scientists working on those efforts through the Moderna mRNA access program.”
 
“We are in the midst of the greatest public health crisis in 100 years. Despite safe and effective vaccines like Pfizer’s, thousands of people are still dying every day because protections against the coronavirus have not been made accessible to all,” said Ady Barkan, Founder and Co-Executive Director of Be A Hero, presenting the Oxfam resolution to Pfizer shareholders via recording. “Billions of people remain unvaccinated in part because Pfizer cannot produce enough doses on its own. And yet, Pfizer refuses to share its technology to boost global manufacturing.”
 
JNJ’s COVID-19 vaccine has protected people against severe illness and saved lives—yet the company has not done enough to ensure equitable access and transparency about its pricing strategy, despite the massive investment of 1.5 billion dollars in public funds that JNJ received,” said Maaza Seyoum, Global South Convener, People’s Vaccine Alliance, presenting the Oxfam resolution to Johnson & Johnson shareholders via recording. “This injustice has heartbreaking consequences. Millions of grandparents and healthcare workers across Africa are not protected from this virus. In India alone, over two million children have lost a parent to the pandemic. These lives matter.”
 
Oxfam filed the shareholder resolutions because more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and a year after the introduction of highly effective life-saving vaccines, 74 percent of people in high-income countries are fully vaccinated, while just 12 percent of people in low-income countries are.
 
The failure of major pharmaceutical companies to do more to ensure vaccine equity and access threatens the companies’ reputations and the interests of corporate investors who are impacted by the pandemic’s continued impact on the global economy, in addition to the devastating toll in illness and death.
 
“Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson have prioritized short-term profit-making over long-term sustainability and reputational risks, as well as public health needs. The flawed donation-based model has produced vast vaccine inequity, despite the desire, willingness, and ability for countries around the world to produce their own doses for their own citizens,” said Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America. “We are proud to partner with Dr. Tedros, Ady Barkan, and Maaza Seyoum to urge shareholders to realize that a model based on tech sharing and local production will not only help end the current pandemic but also make the world more resilient for the future.”

Significant number of Moderna and Pfizer shareholders support vaccine technology transfer

An Oxfam resolution before Moderna shareholders received 24% of the nominal vote, or 29% of the independent vote factoring in the 17% of the vote share owned by the company’s directors and senior executives. A similar resolution before Pfizer shareholders garnered 27% of the vote.

The unprecedented Oxfam resolutions, introduced at the Moderna Annual General Meeting today by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization and by Ady Barkan, Founder and Co-Executive Director of Be A Hero at the Pfizer Annual General Meeting, urged the companies to study the feasibility of transferring vaccine technology and know-how to urgently ramp up production and improve sustainable access around the world.

In reaction to the votes, Robbie Silverman, Oxfam America’s Senior Manager of Private Sector Advocacy, made the following statement:

“We are pleased to see that nearly 30% of Moderna and Pfizer’s investors agree that the companies should explore the feasibility of transferring its technology to spur manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries.  This is the first time that shareholders have voted for a resolution like this on any company proxy ballot.

“Unprecedented risks posed by an unprecedented global pandemic call for novel solutions – and a significant number of Moderna shareholders agree with the bold action we proposed.

“Only 12% of people in low-income countries are vaccinated today– as Dr. Tedros said, this is a “failure of humanity” and threatens the health of all of us, as new variants continue to emerge. 

“The countries most impacted are clear on what they believe is the best and most effective way to vaccinate their own citizens – transferring the technology and investing in locally-based manufacturing. 

“By every metric, the current donations-based model has failed – it leaves countries at the mercy of rich countries and profit-driven countries; exacerbates on-the-ground distributional challenges; and leaves the world with the same inequities and vulnerabilities that have plagued the global response since the start of the pandemic. 

“We believe this strong vote share demonstrates that a significant number of Moderna and Pfizer’s shareholders recognize that the only sustainable way to end the pandemic is to leverage the world’s full manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible. We call on these companies to actively collaborate with the WHO to use every possible tool to combat the scourge of COVID-19, save lives, and restore public health and the global economy.”

At its Annual General Meeting, Johnson & Johnson did not announce vote totals for the resolutions it faced, including Oxfam’s resolution, introduced by Maaza Seyoum, Global South Convener, People’s Vaccine Alliance, calling on the company to be more transparent about its pricing for its COVID vaccines in light of the billions of dollars of public funding from US taxpayers. The company has four days to file that information with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Demands for austerity and spiralling debt are ‘sabotaging’ Africa’s Covid-19 recovery

43 African governments are facing expenditure cuts totalling $183 billion (equivalent to 5.4 percent of GDP) over the next five years, reveals new analysis from Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI) today. If these cuts are implemented, their chances of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will likely disappear.

The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index: Africa Briefing Paper shows that Africa’s debt burden is stifling post-COVID economic recovery and stagnating the public services necessary to reduce poverty and inequality. Africa’s debt burden has been climbing steadily, averaging 67 percent of GDP in 2021. Debt repayments are equivalent to 51 percent of African countries’ budget revenue and 22 times more than their spending on social protection. Debt servicing exceeds spending on healthcare in all but six African countries, rising to 77 times more in South Sudan. The G20 countries have so far offered little relief: debt cancellation or suspension amounts to just $9.3 billion.

‘‘Majority of African governments know and want to lift their citizens from poverty but their coffers are empty, so they need support instead of more pressure,’’ said Peter Kamalingin, Oxfam’s Pan Africa Program director. ‘‘At a time when poor countries are faced with increasing costs of living and with poor people unable to afford food, it cannot be the time to suffocate them with more austerity. That is the surest way to undermine recovery, widen inequality and destroy livelihoods.’’

The index ranks 47 African countries on their policies on public services, tax and workers’ rights. South Africa ranks first, followed by Seychelles, Tunisia, Namibia and Lesotho. At the bottom are South Sudan, Nigeria, Chad, Liberia and the Central African Republic. North Africa outperforms Africa’s other subregions, with Central Africa ranking last.

The analysis shows that African governments’ failure to tackle inequality ― through support for public healthcare and education, workers’ rights and a fair tax system ― left them woefully ill-equipped to tackle the  COVID-19  pandemic.  The IMF has contributed to these failures by consistently pushing a policy agenda that seeks to balance national budgets through cuts to public services, increases in taxes paid by the poorest,  and moves to undermine labour rights and protections. As a result, when COVID-19 struck, 52 percent of Africans lacked access to healthcare and 83 percent had no safety nets to fall back on if they lost their job or became sick.

Quality public services are proven to reduce inequality. For example, they have reduced inequality by 34 percent in Namibia, 22 percent in South Africa and 19 percent in Benin. However, Africa’s unfair tax system is increasing inequality by 1 percent. In Tanzania and Tunisia, fair tax policies have slashed inequality by 10 percent.

Oxfam and DFI are urging the G20 to reallocate and waive off unnecessary conditionalities so that lower-income countries can access most of the $100 billion worth of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with ease. They are calling for increased aid flows to Africa to increase access to inequality-busting public services and COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccination rate in Africa needs to increase significantly if the continent is to meet the 70 percent vaccine coverage target set for June 2022.

‘‘That some governments have fared better than others at tackling inequality confirms we can end inequality if we make the right policy decisions. This must include taxing the wealthiest, curbing illicit financial flows, restructuring debt held by poor countries and ending the pandemic through equitable access to COVID-19 Vaccines and therapeutics.’’ ― Peter Kamalingin.

 

Notes to editors

Download Oxfam’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index: Africa.

Our analysis of the IMF’s COVID-19 loans during the first year of the pandemic is also available for download.

IMF must abandon demands for austerity as cost-of-living crisis drives up hunger and poverty worldwide

87 percent of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) COVID-19 loans are requiring developing countries that have been denied equal access to vaccines and are facing some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises to adopt tough, new austerity measures that will further exacerbate poverty and inequality.

New analysis by Oxfam finds that 13 out of the 15 IMF loan programs negotiated during the second year of the pandemic require new austerity measures such as taxes on food and fuel or spending cuts that could put vital public services at risk. The IMF is also encouraging six additional countries to adopt similar measures.

In 2020, the IMF deployed billions in emergency loans to help developing countries cope with COVID-19, often with few conditions or none at all. Recently, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva urged Europe not to endanger its economic recovery with “the suffocating force of austerity”. Yet, over the past year, the IMF has gone back to imposing austerity measures on lower-income countries.

“This epitomizes the IMF’s double standard: it is warning rich countries against austerity while forcing poorer ones into it. The pandemic is not over for most of the world. Rising energy bills and food prices are hurting poor countries most. They need help boosting access to basic services and social protection, not harsh conditions that kick people when they are down”, said Nabil Abdo, Oxfam International’s Senior Policy Advisor.

  • Kenya and the IMF agreed a US$2.3 billion loan program in 2021, which includes a three-year public sector pay freeze and increased taxes on cooking gas and food. More than 3 million Kenyans are facing acute hunger as the driest conditions in decades spread a devastating drought across the country. Nearly half of all households in Kenya are having to borrow food or buy it on credit.
  • 9 countries including Cameroon, Senegal and Surinam are being required to introduce or increase the collection of value-added taxes (VAT), which often apply to everyday products like food and clothing, and fall disproportionately on people living in poverty.
  • Sudan, where nearly half of the population is living in poverty, has been required to scrap fuel subsidies which will hit the poorest hardest. The country was already reeling from international aid cuts, economic turmoil and rising prices for everyday basics such as food and medicine before the war in Ukraine started. Over 14 million people need humanitarian assistance (almost one in every three people) and 9.8 million are food insecure in Sudan, which imports 87 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine.
  • 10 countries including Kenya and Namibia are likely to freeze or cut public sector wages and jobs, which could mean lower quality of education and fewer nurses and doctors in countries already short of healthcare staff. Namibia had fewer than six doctors per 10,000 people when COVID-19 struck.

New analysis by Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI) also published today reveals that 43 out of 55 African Union member states face public expenditure cuts totaling US$183 billion over the next five years. If these cuts are implemented, their chances of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will likely disappear. In 2021, an Oxfam review of IMF COVID-19 loans showed that the Fund encouraged 33 African countries to pursue austerity policies in the aftermath of the health crisis. The pandemic has not ended but these policies are already taking shape across Africa.

The analysis also shows that African governments’ failure to tackle inequality ― through support for public healthcare and education, workers’ rights and a fair tax system ― left them woefully ill-equipped to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF has contributed to these failures by consistently pushing a policy agenda that seeks to balance national budgets through cuts to public services, increases in taxes paid by the poorest, and moves to undermine labor rights and protections. As a result, when COVID-19 struck, 52 percent of Africans lacked access to healthcare and 83 percent had no safety nets to fall back on if they lost their job or became sick.

“The IMF must suspend austerity conditions on existing loans and increase access to emergency financing. It should encourage countries to increase taxes on the wealthiest and corporations to replenish depleted coffers and shrink widening inequality. That would actually be good advice”, said Abdo.

 

Notes to editors

Download Oxfam and DFI’s “Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index: Africa”. Our analysis of the IMF’s COVID-19 loans during the first year of the pandemic is also available for download.

Oxfam estimates that over a quarter of a billion more people could crash into extreme levels of poverty in 2022 because of COVID-19, rising global inequality and the shock of food price rises supercharged by the war in Ukraine. For more information, download Oxfam’s brief “First Crisis, Then Catastrophe”.

The IMF negotiated 22 COVID-19 loans with 23 countries between 15 March 2021 and 15 March 2022. 15 are loan programs that came with a full suite of conditionality or policy requirements, six are conditionality-free emergency financing and one is a Flexible Credit Line that does not usually include conditionalities. The IMF’s USUS$1.4 billion (SDR 1,005.9 million) disbursement to Ukraine was not included in Oxfam’s analysis, as it intended to help meet urgent financing needs and mitigate the economic impact of the war.

In December 2021, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told Euronews that the European Union should not put economic recovery in danger with “the suffocating force of austerity”.  The IMF’s own research shows austerity worsens poverty and inequality.

Photographs and video from East Africa are available. As many as 28 million people across East Africa at risk of extreme hunger. West Africa is facing its worst food crisis in ten years, with over 27 million people suffering from hunger.

According to Sudan’s latest household survey (2014), 44 percent of the population lives in poverty. However, this data does not reflect the impacts of the recent economic decline, high inflation and recent flooding. The IMF estimates that the ongoing economic crisis, exacerbated by COVID-19, will likely have significantly negative effects on living conditions and poverty.

According to the World Food Program, 9.8 million people in Sudan are food insecure. 14.3 million are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2022 — the highest in the past decade.

According to the World Bank, Namibia had 0.59 doctors per 1,000 people before the pandemic began.

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