Oxfam logo
The Future is Equal

Oxfam logo in green

Media Releases

World at a crossroads: Extra billion dollars required in time of unprecedented need – NZ aid agencies

A group of New Zealand’s leading international aid agencies have launched a joint campaign today, calling for New Zealand to dramatically increase its aid funding and climate finance for poorer countries.   

 

Oxfam, World Vision and Christian World Service, with the backing of ten other agencies, have organised a petition for the government to adopt a Collective Resilience Plan – a three-year roadmap to boost New Zealand aid and climate finance.

 

As the coronavirus pandemic threatens to undo decades of progress in the fight against poverty, the Collective Resilience Plan outlines critical steps to improve New Zealand’s action to solve global problems, including: 

 

  • A 20% boost to the overall aid budget, equating to approximately $500 million over three years, focused on healthcare, social protection and community resilience
  • A doubling of finance for overseas climate action for frontline countries from new and additional sources, equating to approximately $500 million
  • A timeline for increasing New Zealand’s aid spend to meet the global target of 0.7% of Gross National Income by 2030

Executive director of Oxfam New Zealand Rachael Le Mesurier said while New Zealand had so far successfully managed the coronavirus pandemic the rest of the world had been hit incredibly hard by the crisis.

 

“We are facing unprecedented global health and economic crises,” said Le Mesurier. “The stark reality is that, as we speak, decades of progress against poverty and inequality is being unravelled. We are at a crucial tipping point with millions more people being pushed into poverty, and countries already grappling with the threat of climate breakdown now facing the economic downturn of the century driven by the global pandemic,” she said.

 

“Kiwis worked together to keep each other safe,” she said. “Now it’s time to help our global neighbours, who have been standing strong in the fight against climate breakdown but now face compounding immediate dangers – hunger and a deadly virus.” 

 

National director of World Vision New Zealand, Grant Bayldon said: “Without decisive collective action, the poorest people will pay the highest price. People who have to work hard for their food every day, and do not have the same social welfare safety nets available that we do, now cannot go out to earn a living. Imagine facing that impossible dilemma – put food on the table for your family, or risk their health and your own, by being exposed to the virus?” 

 

The NGO group is also asking for a concrete timeline for New Zealand to meet global targets for aid spending as a proportion of GNI by 2030, saying although we as a country have already committed to the targets, successive governments have so far made slow progress towards implementing them.

 

“When it comes to overseas aid, countries like the UK, Germany and Denmark contribute more than double the share of their national income than we currently do,” said Bayldon. “Meanwhile we languish near the bottom of the pack of wealthy countries for our funding of overseas climate action. New Zealand can and should be doing more.”

 

Christian World Service national director Pauline McKay said containing the pandemic required a united, global approach to keep everyone safe, especially the most vulnerable. “As we saw with Ebola, dealing with global health challenges requires that countries work together by investing in the safety nets and services necessary to look after everyone through this time.”

 

“The admirable way Kiwis have looked after some of our most vulnerable here in New Zealand shows what we can achieve when communities work together,” said McKay. “This pandemic has highlighted just how connected we all are, and it’s crucial we stand together with our international neighbours, now when it’s most critically needed.”

 

A recent Oxfam briefing revealed how the social and economic fallout of the pandemic could kill more people from hunger than from the disease itself, as a result of mass unemployment, disruption to food production and supplies, and declining aid. 

 

“We are at a global crossroads,” Le Mesurier said. “Without countries pulling together to provide crucial aid, the world will endure many long, rolling years of hardship and disease that will have both direct and indirect impact on us all, wherever we live. 

 

“We urge New Zealanders to join our call for big hearts and a connected world, and sign the petition to build a stronger global community.” 

 

-ends- 

 

Notes to editors: 

 

· Oxfam, World Vision and Christian World Service are leading the year-long campaign at www.bighearts.org.nz, with CARE, Christian Blind Mission, Engineers Without Borders New Zealand, FairTrade Australia NZ, New Zealand Family Planning, Hagar New Zealand, Rotary New Zealand World Community Service, Tearfund, Trade Aid, and UnionAID

· New Zealand currently gives approximately 0.28% of Gross National Income to overseas aid. The internationally agreed target is 0.7% of GNI to overseas aid. 

·  New Zealand ranks 19th out of 23 Annex I countries in climate-specific finance per capita given to developing countries, based on the latest summary data from the UNFCCC.

· OECD data shows that rich countries only committed 0.30 percent of their combined gross national income (GNI) to development aid, down from 0.31 percent in 2018, and well below the 0.7 percent they promised back in 1970.  

· The campaign comes after the release of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World by the United Nations (UN), which estimates between 778 million and 828 million people globally may go hungry this year. 

· The recent Oxfam briefing ‘The Hunger Virus’ found that the social and economic fallout of the pandemic could kill more people from hunger than from the disease itself. 

· On 30 March 2020, the UN called for a US$2.5 trillion coronavirus crisis package for developing countries. This includes: US$1 trillion liquidity injections to be made available through the expanded use of special drawing rights; the cancellation of US$1 trillion of debts owed by developing countries this year; and US$500 billion in overseas aid to fund a Marshall Plan for health recovery and dispersed as grants.

 

 

For images, interviews or more information please contact: 
Kelsey-Rae Taylor | Kelsey-Rae.Taylor@oxfam.org.nz | 021 298 9854

Over 80 millionaires around the world call for higher taxes on the richest to help COVID-19 global recovery

Today, a group of 83 millionaires from seven countries, the “Millionaires for Humanity”, released an open letter to governments, calling for a permanent tax increase on the very wealthiest to help pay for the global recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The letter praises the essential workers who have been on the frontline of the crisis and highlights the role that the richest people in society can play in helping to rebalance the world economy. In it, the group urges governments to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires “immediately, substantially and permanently.”

The group released their call ahead of this weekend’s G20 Finance Ministers and Central Governors meeting, and the Special European Council meeting in Brussels, both of which are expected to discuss the global effort to rebuild economies in a post-COVID world. They hope politicians will address global inequality and acknowledge that tax increases on the wealthy and greater international tax transparency are essential for a viable long-term solution.

Prominent signatories include the founder of the Warehouse Group, New Zealander Sir Stephen Tindall, British screenwriter and director Richard Curtis, American film producer and heiress Abigail Disney, Danish-Iranian entrepreneur Djaffar Shalchi, American co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Jerry Greenfield, award winning German start-up investor and philanthropist Dr. Mariana Bozesan, and American former managing director at Blackrock Morris Pearl.

Morris Pearl, investor and the chairman of the Patriotic Millionaires said: “The COVID-19 crisis has revealed the fragility of our system and shown that no one ―rich or poor― is better off in a society with massive inequality and a failing social safety net. We must reset our tax structure to one that values the contribution of labor as much as the contribution of capital.”

Djaffar Shalchi, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Human Act said: “Together, we question the concentration of wealth, and demand hands on solutions to create more economically viable societies. Personally, I believe we need a global wealth tax of one percent on the world’s richest people. People like me can afford it, it will do us no harm, and it will have a huge impact.”

Dr. Mariana Bozesan, 2019’s European female investor of the year and philanthropist said: “Like the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic shows us that current systems, including economic, financial and political, are not well equipped to handle current grand global challenges; they are only exacerbating them. Because I grew up extremely poor in communist Romania, I feel a deep calling to do whatever I can to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and am especially focused on inequality, poverty, and job creation that can restore dignity and well-being at all levels of society.”

The letter was circulated by the Patriotic Millionaires, Oxfam, Human Act, Tax Justice UK, Club of Rome, Resource Justice, and Bridging Ventures, and warns that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could push half a billion more people into poverty.

Notes to editors

Download the full letter and list of signatories

For more information or to coordinate an interview, please contact:

  • Kelsey-Rae Taylor at Kelsey-Rae.Taylor@oxfam.org.nz or 021 298 5894 

Hunger could kill millions more than Covid-19, warns Oxfam

12,000 people per day could die from Covid-19 linked hunger by end of year, potentially more than the disease, warns Oxfam. 

Eight of the biggest food and beverage companies pay out $18 billion to shareholders as new epicentres of hunger emerge across the globe

As many as 12,000 people could die per day by the end of the year as a result of hunger linked to COVID-19, potentially more than could die from the disease, warned Oxfam in a new briefing published today. The global observed daily mortality rate for COVID-19 reached its highest recorded point in April 2020 at just over 10,000 deaths per day.

‘The Hunger Virus,’ reveals how 121 million more people could be pushed to the brink of starvation this year as a result of the social and economic fallout from the pandemic including through mass unemployment, disruption to food production and supplies, and declining aid.

Oxfam’s Interim Executive Director Chema Vera said:

“COVID-19 is the last straw for millions of people already struggling with the impacts of conflict, climate change, inequality and a broken food system that has impoverished millions of food producers and workers. Meanwhile, those at the top are continuing to make a profit: eight of the biggest food and drink companies paid out over $18 billion to shareholders since January even as the pandemic was spreading across the globe – ten times more than the UN says is needed to stop people going hungry.”  

The briefing reveals the world’s ten worst hunger hotspots, places such as Venezuela and South Sudan where the food crisis is most severe and getting worse as a result of the pandemic. It also highlights emerging epicentres of hunger – middle income countries such as India, South Africa, and Brazil – where millions of people who were barely managing have been tipped over the edge by the pandemic. For example:

 Kadidia Diallo, a female milk producer in Burkina Faso, told Oxfam: “COVID-19 is causing us a lot of harm. Giving my children something to eat in the morning has become difficult. We are totally dependent on the sale of milk, and with the closure of the market we can’t sell the milk anymore. If we don’t sell milk, we don’t eat.”

Women, and women-headed households, are more likely to go hungry despite the crucial role they play as food producers and workers. Women are already vulnerable because of systemic discrimination that sees them earn less and own fewer assets than men. They make up a large proportion of groups, such as informal workers, that have been hit hard by the economic fallout of the pandemic, and have also borne the brunt of a dramatic increase in unpaid care work as a result of school closures and family illness. 

““Governments must contain the spread of this deadly disease but it is equally vital they take action to stop the pandemic killing as many – if not more – people from hunger,” said Vera.

“Governments can save lives now by fully funding the UN’s COVID-19 appeal, making sure aid gets to those who need it most, and cancelling the debts of developing countries to free up funding for social protection and healthcare. To end this hunger crisis, governments must also build fairer, more robust, and more sustainable food systems, that put the interests of food producers and workers before the profits of big food and agribusiness,” added Vera.

Since the pandemic began, Oxfam has reached 4.5 million of the world’s most vulnerable people with food aid and clean water, working together with over 344 partners across 62 countries. We aim to reach a total of 14 million people by raising a further $113m to support our programmes.

Notes to editor

The Hunger Virus: How the coronavirus is fuelling hunger in a hungry world is available on request.

Stories, pictures, and video highlighting the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on hunger across the globe are available on request.

The WFP estimates that the number of people in crisis level hunger − defined as IPC level 3 or above – will increase by approximately 121 million this year as a result of the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. The estimated daily mortality rate for IPC level 3 and above is 0.5−0.99 per 10,000 people, equating to 6,000−12,000 deaths per day due to hunger as a result of the pandemic before the end of 2020.             The global observed daily mortality rate for COVID-19 reached its highest recorded point in April 2020 at just over 10,000 deaths per day and has ranged from approximately 5,000 to 7,000 deaths per day in the months since then according to data from John Hopkins University. While there can be no certainty about future projections, if there is no significant departure from these observed trends during the rest of the year, and if the WFP estimates for increasing numbers of people experiencing crisis level hunger hold, then it is likely that daily deaths from hunger as a result of the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic will be higher than those from the disease before the end of 2020. It is important to note that there is some overlap between these numbers given that some deaths due to COVID-19 could be linked to malnutrition.

Oxfam gathered information on dividend payments of eight of the world’s biggest food and beverage companies up to the beginning of July 2020, using a mixture of company, NASDAQ, and Bloomberg websites. Numbers are rounded to the nearest million: Coca-Cola ($3,522m), Danone ($1,348m), General Mills ($594m), Kellogg ($391m),  Mondelez ($408m), Nestlé ($8,248m for entire year), PepsiCo ($2,749m) and Unilever (estimated $1,180m). Many of these companies are pursuing efforts to address COVID-19 and/or global hunger.

The ten extreme hunger hotspots are: Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, Venezuela, the West African Sahel, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Haiti.

Gabriela Bucher appointed new Oxfam International Executive Director

Oxfam International is pleased to announce Gabriela Bucher as its new Executive Director. Ms Bucher is a leader in the field of gender equality and human rights. She joins Oxfam from Plan International where she had a global leadership role as its Chief Operating Officer.

Ms Bucher said she was excited for the new challenge in leading Oxfam, steering through its internal transformation and nurturing the energy and talent of its staff and partners to effect positive change around the world.

Ms Bucher was selected after a global search led by Oxfam International’s interim Chair Ricardo Acuña. “In an outstanding field of candidates, we were highly impressed by Gabriela’s strong feminist leadership and by the values she brings to inspire and convene our Oxfam confederation with our partners in our fight against inequality to end poverty and injustice. We value her deep and senior leadership experience within our sector which establishes her strength to lead Oxfam’s drive to be a leaner, more diverse and globally-balanced organization.”

Ms Bucher said: “I have long held the greatest respect for Oxfam as part of our global movement for a just and sustainable world. Oxfam is a global network that fights inequality in order to make the systemic change that is necessary for people to reach a fairer and better life not only for themselves today, but for their children tomorrow. 

“I believe there is bravery in genuinely listening to all, in order to really understand and drive change in the fight against inequality. Dialogue that is open and respectful can be truly transformative, no matter how profound the differences are between us.”

“I am deeply aware of the huge challenges facing civil society actors like Oxfam, including from the economic, political and social upheavals that are all worsened now by the coronavirus pandemic ―as I have seen first-hand in leading Plan International’s coronavirus response. The work of organizations like Oxfam is needed now more than ever. In these times we find strength from the values we hold, from the partnerships we treasure and from the strength of our facts, our convictions and our solidarity with people who are facing oppression and poverty,” she said.

Ms Bucher played a leading role in Plan International’s work reaching forty million girls and boys through its 8,000-strong staff. She previously led the growth of Fundacion Plan from a country office to a full Plan affiliate member, playing a role in Colombia’s peace process as a partner of the government on all issues concerning children’s rights. 

Ms Bucher will replace Oxfam International’s interim Executive Director Chema Vera and start her new role in November 2020. 

Rights in Crisis: Israel’s illegal annexation of parts of the West Bank

On the announcement of Israel’s illegal annexation of parts of the West Bank Oxfam’s Country Director in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel Shane Stevenson said:

“Today millions of Palestinians worldwide have been betrayed by the international community. This serious—and likely irreversible— plan to acquire occupied territory by force is a violation of the most basic principles of international law.

Whether annexation takes place today or tomorrow, incrementally or in swathes, it will throw Palestinian families into indefinite limbo. It will see Palestinians in areas under threat face an increase in discriminatory legal regimes, raids on their homes, separated families, limited access to basic services, more checkpoints, walls and fences, further limiting Palestinians’ already restricted freedom of movement and ultimately fall further into poverty. Shame on those world leaders who did so little to give Palestinians any hope of a life of freedom, prosperity and peace. It is nothing less than a reversal of decades and billions of dollars of development and humanitarian work.

Palestinian communities are at risk of becoming isolated enclaves. The annexation of the fertile land of  the Jordan Valley in particular, the food basket of the West Bank, would render a functioning Palestinian State impossible; depriving it of the land and natural resources necessary to sustain itself. Oxfam strongly condemns any annexation of West Bank territory and urges the international community to reject any further steps in this plan. Its
repercussions must be made crystal clear if Israel moves forward with this harmful, illegal act.”

Notes to Editors:

  • Supporting photography and quotes from impacted Palestinians are available upon request
  • Oxfam has been working in the region since the 1950s and established a country office in the 1980s. We work in the most vulnerable communities in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and Area C with more than 60 Palestinian and Israeli partner organizations to respond to humanitarian crises, to help communities to earn a living and access resources like food, water and education, and to build a strong civil society.
  • Spokespeople are available upon request.
  • Contact: Adeline Guerra in Jerusalem | adeline.guerra@oxfam.org | +972 (0)54 6395 002 | Skype: aguerra.oxfam

Gavi launches COVID vaccine initiative for developing countries

Responding to the launch of a new initiative to help developing countries access a coronavirus vaccine at the Global Vaccine Summit today, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager, Anna Marriott, said:

“Gavi, and the governments behind it, recognise that high prices could prevent millions of people across the developing world being vaccinated against the coronavirus. Their response to this problem must avoid repeating the costly mistakes of the past, where they sought to subsidise the price charged by the pharmaceutical industry rather than seeking to bring them down, and ignored the needs of middle-income countries.

“Governments must stand up to wealthy pharmaceutical companies and insist that taxpayer’s money is only invested in vaccines that are patent free and available for all.”

Copyright © 2024 Oxfam Aotearoa.

Oxfam is a worldwide development organisation that mobilises the power of people against injustice. Oxfam Aotearoa is a registered charity with the New Zealand Charities Register (registration CC24641). Donations are tax refundable.

Site by