Extreme inequality has to stop. You have the power to change it

Inequality Kills, Oxfam’s latest report, shows how Covid-19 has turbocharged inequalities around the world.

The fortunes of the world's top ten billionaires has doubled. While the incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off.

More than 160 million people have been pushed into poverty. And it's estimated 17 million people have died, a figure not seen since the second world war.

Gender, race, economic and health inequalities have all been exacerbated by Covid-19. Impacting on lives all over the world.

Accumulating such vast amounts of wealth during a pandemic shouldn’t be possible. But in a world that prioritises profits over people and planet, even a pandemic can’t stop the powerful from benefiting and increasing their wealth.

The lack of vaccines available to people around the world has shown another problem caused by unfair rules. People in low-income countries are needlessly waiting for the life-saving protection they need because pharmaceuticals are refusing to share vaccine recipes. They are preventing more manufacturers around the world from producing more vaccines which would increase supplies to countries that need them. Governments are allowing pharmaceuticals to monopolise markets and make vast profits from a public health emergency that continues to affect us all. The UK Government is blocking a proposal that would temporarily remove intellectual property rights and push pharmaceuticals to share vaccine recipes.

The wealthy profiting, while millions more are pushed into poverty, paints a picture of doom and gloom as we make our way into 2022.  But hope and optimism shines through when the possibility of creating a fairer world is a reality.  And it starts with each and every one of us understanding our own power and using it to speak up and act to hold people in power accountable for the decisions they make.

Pandemic times have also led to growing movements for social change.  More people are coming together to unite against the social injustices that keep people trapped and hold people back. History has taught us that real social change happens when people come together and demand change (we only have to look at the civil rights and women's rights movements to see progress). We have the power to call for the measures needed to reduce all forms of inequality and create a fairer world.

Poverty and injustice affect all of us in one way or another.  Poverty isn’t defined by geographical location but by the direct impact it has on people's lives and in communities.  That’s why we campaign to tackle the root causes of poverty.  We are determined to improve lives and create a fairer world.

The pandemic has shown that we need people and communities everywhere to survive as well as thrive.  So this year, find your power and use it.  Stand up for yourself and with people around the world to fight for the fairness and justice we all deserve.