LONDON: The fallout from the coronavirus spread that has killed more than 83,000 people and wreaked havoc on economies around the world could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said on Thursday .
"The estimates show that, regardless of the scenario, global poverty could increase for the first time since 1990," it said, adding that this could throw some countries back to poverty levels last seen about three decades ago.The report authors played through a number of scenarios, taking into account the World Bank's various poverty lines - from extreme poverty, defined as living on US$1.90 a day or less, to higher poverty lines of living on less than US$5.50 a day.
"Living day to day, the poorest people do not have the ability to take time off work, or to stockpile provisions," the report warned, adding that more than 2 billion informal sector workers worldwide had no access to sick pay. Calls for debt relief have increased in recent weeks as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has roiled developing nations around the world.In total, governments around the world would need to mobilise at least $2.5 trillion to support developing nations.
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