Responding to the commitments made by the G20 today to combat the Coronavirus, Chema Vera, Oxfam International’s Interim Executive Director, said:
“On the day that Imperial College London has warned that close to 40 million lives could be lost without urgent action, the world’s richest governments are still only warming up to the scale of the task.
“The wheels of global cooperation are moving and the commitment to do whatever it takes is welcome. But it’s not enough. G20 leaders must set a truly ambitious plan with concrete actions for how they will work together to save lives, including a massive injection of funds into public health around the globe. They must back free testing and treatment of all, cancel developing countries’ debt repayments, ensure any eventual vaccine is freely and rapidly available for all, and that the world’s most vulnerable people – the people living in refugee camps, and war zones - get the help they need. They must also agree the world’s boldest economic rescue plan to save hundreds of millions of people from falling into poverty.
“More than ever we need our governments to look beyond their borders and work together – in every country and for every person – to beat this virus.”