It’s the first month of a new year and while it feels like a fresh start in many ways, we know that we are facing urgent challenges both old and new.

The effects of COVID-19 are dire. Families all over the world are suffering with illness and the loss of loved ones, along with unemployment and the specter of hunger and poverty. The pandemic has made most of the world poorer – with women, Black people, Indigenous peoples, and historically marginalized and oppressed communities being pushed the deepest into despair. In the US, the economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, nearly all of which were held by women of color.

Meanwhile, billionaires have profited off of the pandemic, continuing to amass wealth amidst global suffering. This is an inequality crisis coupled with the COVID crisis. We need to act now to make sure that those who are hardest hit get relief NOW.

According to The Inequality Virus, a new report by Oxfam, the 1,000 richest people on the planet regained their COVID-19 losses within just nine months, but it could take more than a decade for the world’s poorest to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic.

The pandemic is a tipping point, and the way governments respond to it can make us stronger and more resilient, or further widen inequality. That is why we need President Biden and Congress to work quickly to enact a transformational COVID-19 recovery plan that helps families cope with the economic impacts of the pandemic.

, Sign your name and demand that Congress commit to more investment and do more to ensure those hit hardest by this crisis can recover.

At Oxfam, we are committed to holding the powerful accountable. We must fight for those of us who are struggling the most.

The new Biden administration and Congress must act urgently to help those impacted by the pandemic both here in the US and around the world. In the battle against COVID-19, we must always remember that COVID anywhere is COVID everywhere. Now is not the time for half-measures or tinkering around the edges. People need support NOW.

We can’t do this crucial work without you. Join us as we fight for struggling families all over the globe.

Sincerely,

Gina Cummings
Vice President of Alliances, Advocacy, and Policy
Oxfam America Action Fund