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No poverty reduction without equality: Oxfam
International humanitarian aid organization Oxfam spokesperson Nicolas Mombrial has said there might be no significant progress in poverty-alleviation programs unless there is significant progress in addressing inequalities
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nternational humanitarian aid organization Oxfam spokesperson Nicolas Mombrial has said there might be no significant progress in poverty-alleviation programs unless there is significant progress in addressing inequalities.
He made the comments in response to World Bank president Jim Yong Kim's speech at Howard University entitled 'Boosting Shared Prosperity'.
'In a world where 85 people alone possess as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion, Jim Kim is correct to put reducing inequality as the goal for his institution. We won't be able to end poverty if we do not reduce inequality,' Mombrial said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said Kim's policy of moving the WB away from an over-emphasis on growth toward focusing more on the poorest people and their access to essential services like health, education, and water was the kind of leadership Oxfam had expected from the bank's top leader.
'While we welcome WB's focus on the poorest 40 percent, tackling extreme income inequality means addressing issues related to both the have nots and the haves, including the top 10 percent,' said Mombrial.
'The disparity between the two groups is a large part of the problem that cannot be overlooked. The WB will miss a big part of the problem if it ignores that.'
In his statement, Mombrial also praised Kim's assertion that Ebola was a problem of inequality.
'If Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea had the health systems of rich countries, the epidemic would have been contained. Beyond its promising emergency solutions, the WB must also play a role in addressing the structural realities that make it more difficult for those living in developing countries to access basic health care,' he said. (ebf)(++++)
