LEARNING: The Iraqi army’s planned and ongoing counter-offensive against ISIS is likely to lead to the displacement of between 500,000 and 1.5 million people from the city of Mosul and surrounding areas. They will need urgent humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food, and water. Oxfam with the IRC has conducted a Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA) to inform preparations, here Corrie Sissons, …
Extreme wealth is threatening women’s fight for equality
OPINION: Women are multiply disadvantaged in the global economy. Tackling gender injustices could lead to both women’s economic empowerment and wider economic growth, but as Francesca Rhodes explains this must be done carefully to ensure that it results in a more equal society overall. Worldwide, women are at an economic disadvantage compared to men. Whether this is women in India …
Why London needs an Inequality Commissioner
OPINION: The divide between the richest and the poorest in the UK is growing, and the gap is seen most starkly in London. That’s why Oxfam is calling for an Inequality Commissioner to work with the Mayor of London on tackling poverty and inequality in the Capital, as Vicky Taylor explains. In London the wealth of the richest 10 percent …
Regional influencing for gender justice: watch the webinar
NEWS: What’s the most effective way to influence regional organisations in order to advance women’s rights and gender justice? This was the topic of a recent webinar organised by Oxfam’s Regional Gender Justice Programme in the Middle East and North Africa. The regional influencing for gender justice webinar took place on March 3, 2016 and presented on-going work in three …
Social security cuts risk widening UK regional inequalities
OPINION: Graham Whitham, Senior Policy Advisor on UK Poverty, warns that the latest government budget decisions will have a negative impact on already high levels of poverty and inequality in the UK. Sheffield Hallam University recently published research showing how cuts to social security spending announced since the 2015 General Election fall geographically across Great Britain. The research, co-funded by …
Yemen: all we can do is help people survive
ON THE GROUND REFLECTION: The conflict which escalated one year ago in Yemen has created one of the world’s biggest humanitarian emergencies and risks pushing millions into famine. Simone Carter, Oxfam emergency responder in Yemen, describes the daily reality of civilian suffering and the challenges of delivering a programme in a conflict zone. As much as I may not like …
What is protection anyway?
LEARNING: If you work for a humanitarian agency then protection, helping people to stay safe in conflicts and disasters, is a core part of your duty of care. Our new materials will help you to understand how everything you do has the potential to reduce or increase the risks people face, as Rachel Hastie, Protection Adviser, explains. The question I …
9 things on Oxfam’s ‘bucket list’ for World Water Day
Meet our bucket. It’s a bucket known throughout humanitarian community as the ‘Oxfam bucket’, it was designed by Oxfam and has spent years saving lives around the world. On World Water Day, here are nine things on Oxfam’s ‘bucket list’ of facts about how this bucket saves lives. The tap stops people dipping (unclean) cups, hands, or other containers into …
850,000 success stories for World Water Day
NEWS: The Oxfam-led SWIFT Consortium has successfully completed the first phase of a programme to bring sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to communities in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. On World Water Day, SWIFT’s global programme manager Francesco Rigamonti considers whether implementing a Payment by Results WASH programme has to mean focusing on numbers rather than people. …
Tackling inequality and unsustainable consumption – together
OPINION: In many countries economic inequality is growing and the wealthiest are also those with the biggest carbon footprints. Dario Kenner, Independent Researcher, suggests that governments should act to reduce inequality and overconsumption in tandem. If governments are serious about meeting their commitments to tackle climate change they must ensure their policies in other areas such as inequality are compatible …