The nearly $8.5 trillion promised by governments in bailout funds could end global poverty for 50 years, according to a new analysis from Oxfam International. The organization called on G-20 leaders to earmark a fraction of the sum – $580 billion per year and $24 billion in immediate funding to make up for short-term drops in aid – for the world's poor.
According to Oxfam, the money is made up of capital injections, toxic asset purchases, subsidized loans and debt guarantees. It equates to about $1,250 per person on Earth.
"When you look at the amount of money that has been found for banks it seems inconceivable that G20 leaders will stand aside and allow the economic crisis to destroy poor people' lives," Oxfam Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said March 31."Developing countries are reeling from dramatic declines in trade, remittances and foreign investment. Rich governments whose policies contributed to the crisis have a responsibility to help those who cannot afford their own bailouts."
She added: "We cannot return to the situation where the greed of the richest was allowed to take precedence over the needs of millions. G20 leaders have a real opportunity to take a significant step towards a fairer, more sustainable world."
Oxfam's call came on the eve of the G-20 summit, which, by all indications, will focus more on how to climb out of the global recession as opposed to past meetings where aid was – if not the focus – one of the main topics addressed by world leaders.
However, news out of London has centered on President Barack Obama, who is making his first visit to Great Britain as U.S. commander in chief. It remains to be seen what, if any progress, the leaders make toward crafting a strategy to assist developing nations during the downturn.
