Oxfam: Coronavirus Crisis Could Push Half a Billion People into Poverty
2020-04-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The economic effects of the coronavirus could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said this week.
2The report was released by the Nairobi-based charity ahead of next week's International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank yearly meeting.
3"The economic crisis...is deeper than the 2008 global financial crisis," the report said.
4"The estimates show that... global poverty could increase for the first time since 1990," it said, adding that some countries could return to poverty levels last seen thirty years ago.
5The report examined several possible economic outcomes based on the World Bank's measure of poverty.
6People under extreme poverty live on $1.90 a day or less.
7 And those at a lesser poverty level live on less than $5.50 a day.
8The most serious outcome would be a 20 percent decrease in earnings.
9It would cause 1.2 billion people to live in extreme poverty worldwide.
10It would also raise the number of people living in poverty to nearly 4 billion.
11Women are at more risk than men because they are more likely to work in jobs that have little or no protection.
12Poor people cannot take time off from work or buy food in large amounts, the report warned.
13It also said more than 2 billion people did not get earnings while they are sick.
14To lessen the effects on poverty, Oxfam suggested a plan that would give money to people and businesses in need.
15It also called for debt cancellation, more IMF support and increased aid to poor countries.
16Oxfam added that additional taxes on wealth, high profits and some financial tools favored by the wealthy would help raise the money needed.
17Calls for debt cancellation have increased recently as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy of developing countries around the world.
18Wealthier countries around the world would need to give at least $2.5 trillion to help developing nations, the report said, adding that wealthier countries have shown they can raise that amount to help their own economies.
19The United States, for example, recently released a $2.2 trillion spending plan to rescue the country's economy.
20China, Japan and some European nations have also passed their own spending measures.
21The report said, "Unless developing countries are also able to fight... the crisis will continue and it will inflict even greater harm on all countries, rich and poor."
22I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The economic effects of the coronavirus could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said this week. 2The report was released by the Nairobi-based charity ahead of next week's International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank yearly meeting. 3"The economic crisis...is deeper than the 2008 global financial crisis," the report said. 4"The estimates show that... global poverty could increase for the first time since 1990," it said, adding that some countries could return to poverty levels last seen thirty years ago. 5The report examined several possible economic outcomes based on the World Bank's measure of poverty. People under extreme poverty live on $1.90 a day or less. And those at a lesser poverty level live on less than $5.50 a day. 6The most serious outcome would be a 20 percent decrease in earnings. It would cause 1.2 billion people to live in extreme poverty worldwide. It would also raise the number of people living in poverty to nearly 4 billion. 7Women are at more risk than men because they are more likely to work in jobs that have little or no protection. 8Poor people cannot take time off from work or buy food in large amounts, the report warned. It also said more than 2 billion people did not get earnings while they are sick. 9To lessen the effects on poverty, Oxfam suggested a plan that would give money to people and businesses in need. It also called for debt cancellation, more IMF support and increased aid to poor countries. 10Oxfam added that additional taxes on wealth, high profits and some financial tools favored by the wealthy would help raise the money needed. 11Calls for debt cancellation have increased recently as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy of developing countries around the world. 12Wealthier countries around the world would need to give at least $2.5 trillion to help developing nations, the report said, adding that wealthier countries have shown they can raise that amount to help their own economies. 13The United States, for example, recently released a $2.2 trillion spending plan to rescue the country's economy. China, Japan and some European nations have also passed their own spending measures. 14The report said, "Unless developing countries are also able to fight... the crisis will continue and it will inflict even greater harm on all countries, rich and poor." 15I'm Jonathan Evans. 16The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 17_______________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19charity - n. an organization that helps the sick and poor 20global - adj. worldwide 21outcome - n. the results of an event 22inflict - v. to cause someone to be affected by something unpleasant