Oxfam in Zambia has been working on fiscal justice and fighting inequality within the country. These themes have become even more important in the context of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Zambia team is involved in the Corona National Response Meetings and took part in a closed door meeting with the Ministry of Finance. The team reached out to the FAIR-EIU Support Mechanism (FESM) to get support thinking about which perspective, linking inequality & fiscal justice to COVID-19 they could best bring in.

It was important to know what the right narrative, facts and analysis needed to be presented to the government, along with clear propositions for a course of action. The Zambia team was put in touch with FESM advisors, who provided input from a regional debt perspective and a South African perspective. The advisors were also able to share how other middle-income countries, operating in a similar context of debt, are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.