Behind the official statistics, farmers, manufacturing workers, migrant workers, waste-pickers, and women working unpaid in the home all over the world are asking the same question: ‘What hit us in 2009?’. Oxfam’s research on the global economic crisis in 12 countries, involving some 2,500 individuals, is combined in this report with the findings of studies by universities, think tanks, and international organizations. Oxfam’s report reveals the depth and complexity of the impacts of the global economic crisis, and the vulnerabilities and resilience of poor people and countries worldwide. The crisis has highlighted social protection as a development issue, and the importance of managing risk and volatility at all levels. This crisis will not be the last, but if one of its lessons is that reducing vulnerability and building resilience are the central tasks of development, then future crises may bring less suffering in their wake.
The Future is Equal
