Oxfam accuses IMF of double standards as malnutrition crisis escalates

20 Apr 2022 --- British-founded charity Oxfam is calling on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to abandon austerity demands, as the crisis surrounding the cost of living fuels hunger and poverty worldwide.

The call comes as the latest UNICEF report on the nutrition situation in the West and Central Africa region estimates that 6.3 million children aged between six to 59 months in the Sahel region will suffer from wasting.

“The situation is deteriorating in a complex environment and urgent actions are required to mitigate a plausible fast and serious degradation of the nutritional situation during the 2022 lean season,” the report underscores.

“When compared to previous years, the number of expected global acute malnutrition cases has never been so high, showing an increase of 27% as compared to 2021 estimates and a 62% increase as compared to 2018, reaching for the fifth year in a row a record high level.” 

Unicef highlights the importance of ensuring access to a nutritious and affordable diet for pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants and young children.IMF’s double standards?
An analysis by Oxfam reveals 13 out of the 15 IMF loan programs negotiated during the second year of the pandemic require new austerity measures such as taxes on food and fuel or spending cuts that could put vital public services at risk. 

“This epitomizes the IMF’s double standard: it is warning rich countries against austerity while forcing poorer ones into it,” says Nabil Abdo, Oxfam International’s senior policy advisor. 

“The pandemic is not over for most of the world. Rising energy bills and food prices are hurting poor countries most. They need help boosting access to basic services and social protection, not harsh conditions that kick people when they are down.” 

According to Oxfam, in 2020, the IMF deployed billions in emergency loans to help developing countries cope with COVID-19, often with “few conditions or none at all”. The charity adds that recently, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva urged Europe not to endanger its economic recovery with “the suffocating force of austerity.” 

“Yet, over the past year, the IMF has gone back to imposing austerity measures on lower-income countries,” Oxfam underscores.

Austerity in the face of poverty
The analysis underscores that Sudan, where nearly half of the population is living in poverty, has been required to scrap fuel subsidies which will hit the poorest populations the hardest. 

“Sudan was already reeling from international aid cuts, economic turmoil and rising prices for everyday basics such as food and medicine before the war in Ukraine started. Over 14 million people need humanitarian assistance (almost one in every three people) and 9.8 million are food insecure in Sudan, which imports 87% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine.” 

International organizations have been warning of a global food system “meltdown” exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict. The Middle East and North Africa region currently has millions of people one step away from hunger. 

At the same time, Unicef observes the situation is “even more worrying as the high prevalence of wasting in the region also coincides with a high prevalence of stunting in children under five. This further inhibits their physical and cognitive development, while the concurrent manifestation of wasting and stunting in the same child also increases the risk of mortality.” 

Facing “terrifying prospects”
Oxfam underscores that over a quarter of a billion more people could crash into extreme poverty levels in 2022 due to a combination of COVID-19, rising global inequality and the shock of food price rises fueled by the war in Ukraine. 

Already, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition is calling for double overseas funding to stop hunger in Ukraine, north Africa and regions south of the Sahara. 

Nutrition deficits are becoming apparent across the board, particularly with young children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. 

By Andria Kades