My experience in Yemen shows progress is possible on water, sanitation and livelihoods – but all of this could be undone if violence returns

Fayad Al-Derwish Conflict, Fragile contexts, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Nine years since the conflict in Yemen began, Oxfam Water and Sanitation Lead Fayad Al-Derwish reflects on positive changes he has seen in his two years in the job, calls for urgent action to meet the needs of displaced people returning to devastated homes, and shares his worries for the future if conflict re-ignites.

The world cannot stand by as starvation is used as a weapon of war in Gaza

Bushra Khalidi Conflict, Emergencies, Food security

Starved and under siege, Gaza is both a humanitarian catastrophe and a crisis for our humanity, say Bushra Khalidi, Lawrence Robinson and Awssan Kamal. Ahead of this week’s global food security summit in London, they set out how international law forbids cutting off food to civilians – and why only a ceasefire will allow the massive response Gaza needs to end hunger, both now and in the longer term.

The unfolding water catastrophe in Gaza

Bushra Khalidi Conflict, Emergencies, Water

The current crisis comes on top of a long-standing struggle for water in Gaza – and demonstrates again how access to clean water is often one of the first casualties of conflict. Bushra Khalidi and Awssan Kamal set out six ways the destruction and obstruction of water supplies is having devastating short- and long-term impacts on civilians.

Why a “humanitarian pause” or “humanitarian corridors” are simply not the answer in Gaza

Richard Stanforth Conflict, Emergency, Humanitarian

Why are Oxfam and other humanitarian organisations not welcoming calls for corridors, pauses and so-called “safe zones” to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza? Richard Stanforth and Magnus Corfixen explain – and set out why a ceasefire is the only credible solution.

The rush for clean-energy minerals risks fuelling conflict in the Sahel – and that has to be on the climate agenda

Mohamadou Fadel Diop Climate Change, Conflict, Events

Mohamadou Fadel Diop on why climate negotiations such as the upcoming COP28 must pay attention to how the energy transition may drive further conflict and instability in West and Central Africa.

Amid the hostility to Roma refugees, an act of compassion

Padmini Iyer Conflict, Refugees and IDPs, Research

When Nadia went into labour just two weeks after fleeing Ukraine for Poland, local people rushed to her help. But Oxfam’s research shows that such acts of kindness are still too rare in a refugee response often blighted by anti-Roma discrimination, says Padmini Iyer in a blog for World Refugee Day.

How clean water can flow from peace in Yemen

Fayad Al-Derwish Conflict, Water, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Last year’s truce in Yemen opened a window for Oxfam to establish a water supply to thousands in a conflict-hit border area. Now, says Fayad Al-Derwish, we desperately need that truce renewed to change the lives of many more people living without basic services

‘The last food crisis was a wake-up call in Somalia: it’s clear pure humanitarian doesn’t work any more’

Jessica Fullwood-Thomas Conflict, Drought, Food security

As East Africa faces drought and famine, Jessica Fullwood-Thomas talks to Oxfam in Somalia’s Muktar Hassen about a crucial lesson from the 2017 food crisis: that the region needs a “triple nexus” approach across humanitarian response, development and peace work to deliver sustained change

The messy realities of governance in conflict-affected areas: six dilemmas for development practice

Katrina Barnes Conflict, Governance, Research

Development projects too often assume there is a simple structure of local governance. But innovative research based on people in Mozambique, Myanmar, and Pakistan writing diaries reveals how in fact their lives are governed by many competing informal and formal actors. Katrina Barnes of Oxfam and Colin Anderson of the Institute of Development Studies on key dilemmas this complexity raises for practitioners