Sometimes all we can offer in an emergency response is a listening ear and a compassionate heart, says Tarek Al Ali of Oxfam in Lebanon, as he reflects on the aftermath of the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion.
The world cannot stand by as starvation is used as a weapon of war in Gaza
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
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.
How can we manage toilets better in large emergencies? Cox’s Bazar shows us the way
In a blog for World Toilet Day, Oxfam’s Safwatul Haque Niloy looks at a pioneering project with engineering firm Arup that is pinpointing the best ways to deal with the huge challenge posed by waste from thousands of latrines
How trust between partners in Nepal made our pandemic response fast and effective
Bureaucracy or lack of understanding of communities can slow down crisis response. Our project, backed by the Grundfos Foundation, shows how solidarity between local and international partners can get round the obstacles, say Oxfam’s Sherrell Perkin and Sarah Marioni
My journey as a female logistician at Oxfam
Yasmin is a Humanitarian Support Personnel (HSP) Logistician for the Global Humanitarian Team (GHT) since 2016. She is from Bangladesh and has worked in the major humanitarian emergency responses and development programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Nepal, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somaliland, Jordan, and Yemen. Logistics and women Logistics is at the heart of lifesaving work in the humanitarian sector. In …
The UK is fuelling the war in Yemen, this can’t go on
In July, the UK Government announced the resumption of new arms licences to Saudi Arabia for weapons to be used in the Yemen war. This is despite Oxfam colleagues in Yemen reporting an increasing number of civilians, including women and children, being killed in the conflict. We are asking the British public to call on the UK government to respect the International Humanitarian Law …
12 tips to sustain hygiene practices now and post coronavirus in emergencies
Over 20 years ago when I stopped seeking medicinal remedies to prevent and treat diarrhoea and other infectious diseases and moved to population enabling solutions, I have not had cause to look back. Today the coronavirus is having a huge impact, so now more than ever we have better hygiene practices in emergency that not only tackle it now but …
How to build community trust to fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The world’s second-biggest Ebola outbreak is still raging in DRC, with more than 1,400 cases and 900 deaths. Research has shown that distrust is one of the biggest obstacles in this Ebola fight. Oxfam’s Andrea Vera Nava outlines three ways to work with local communities to build their trust and increase the success of an Ebola response in a conflict …
How small and regular design tweaks can make a big difference to latrine use
Communications Advisor, Tanya Glanville-Wallis, talks us through the process of developing Sani Tweaks—a series of communications tools for technical staff, promoting best practices in sanitation. Visiting the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, I reflected on just how few women use emergency latrines. Having worked in the humanitarian sector for years, using camp latrines is nothing new to me. Yet …