But What About The, Ummmmmm, Poor?

by Michael Bear · 2009-04-02 04:07:00 UTC
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A few things seen and heard so far at the G20 summit in London:

- According to Douglas Alexander, the British Secretary of State for International Development, the economic crisis threatens to push an additional 90 million people into extreme poverty over the next two years.

- In response, Oxfam is calling for a number of measures, including a rescue package for poor countries of around $580 billion a year, which includes a one-time fiscal stimulus, debt relief, and a commitment by major donors to allocate 0.7% of their annual gross national income to foreign aid.

- To put these figures in perspective - according to Oxfam, rich nations have so far spent around $8 trillion bailing out their banks, and an additional $2 trillion in stimulus packages for their own economies. Given these figures, the amount necessary to mitigate the impacts of the global economic crisis on the most vulnerable is small indeed.

- As fellow G20 Voice blogger Daniel Kaufman of the Kaufman Governance Post pointed out, a one-time stimulus or relief package for vulnerable countries shouldn't come at the cost of major donors backing away from the goal of spending 0.7% of GNI on foreign aid.

- In addition, Oxfam is also advocating for action against tax havens, a reform of global governance to give developing countries more of a say in global decision-making bodies like the World Bank and the IMF, and continued action on climate change.

And, equally exciting - was just interviewed by Bangladeshi TV.  Just one further step in my master plan to capture the Dhaka humanitarian blogging market.

[British Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander - Photo from the BBC]

Michael Bear
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