‘Almost 2bn going hungry’: Oxfam adviser slams gaping inequality amid shocking report
It’s “disgusting” and “grotesque” that almost 2 billion people go hungry every night while eight men possess the same wealth as half the planet, Oxfam policy adviser Ana Arendar told RT, calling for action.
Arendar’s interview with RT comes a day after the latest Oxfam report was published and presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"It's disgusting, let's be honest, it's absolutely grotesque. That's eight people, eight men, who own the same amount of wealth as 3.6 billion people. That's huge. At the same time, we have 1.9 billion people going hungry very night, we have close to a billion people who are living on less than $2 a day. It's completely unacceptable,” Arendar said to RT.
The timing of the report isn’t accidental, either: the elites are scared of the events of 2016, and are seeking to prevent them from happening again, she said.
“Voices across the world, across the political and economic spectrum, have voiced that concern, for example, Obama, the pope, but also billionaires like Nick Hanauer, and even the World Economic Forum itself, for the third year in a row, has named inequality as the biggest threat to our security,” Arendar noted.
READ MORE: Facebook philanthropy? Social media giant to invest $20mn in affordable housing projects
She added that many experts indicated that skyrocketing inequality is “one of the causes of the political events we've seen in the last year which many in Davos are afraid of and don't know how to deal with."
Another issue intrinsically linked with inequality is how it hinders the battle against poverty, Arendar said.
“Don't just take our word for it: the World Bank, the IMF have also sounded the alarm that this growing and extreme inequality is holding back the fight against poverty.“
The solutions are simple, Arendar emphasized, saying: “When people talk about this, they really need to be listening to voices in poor countries, listening to aid organizations about solutions."
"We would absolutely like concrete action from those gathered in Davos, and Oxfam is calling on them this week to be part of the solution to the extreme inequality problem by, for example, ensuring that the corporations that they represent, that they themselves are paying their fair share of tax, to ensure that their employees are earning a fair living wage, to pressure their governments to invest in public health and education services or in policies that we know go a long way to reduce inequality and poverty."
When asked what's in it for the rich and powerful, Arendar says: "A more stable, secure world. A healthy, educated workforce, greater global stability. The dangers of not dealing with this are massive."
