Challenges in context According to an Oxfam report, half a billion people could be pushed into poverty by COVID-19. The International Labour Organisation (ILO), warned that the crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7% of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020. The situation has directly hit the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Export, travel, transportation …
We need new policies to deal with Coronavirus in the Middle East and North Africa
Coronavirus has crippled all aspects of normalcy in people’s lives and the economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), despite the region being relatively spared larger outbreaks as seen in other parts of the world. But the deficits in basic services and social protection shortfalls, or decent and dignified work, means we must be braced for things to …
I am not from Gaza
As part of our Influencing Series we will soon be sharing a number of blogs on the power of narratives and stories. Here we share a first hand experience from Laila Barhoum (Oxfam’s Policy Officer in Gaza), who asks ‘who’s telling our story?’ Laila Barhoum’s job is to advocate on humanitarian issues with and on behalf of the women, men …
6 lessons on building resilience for displaced people in the Middle East and North Africa
Jude Powell and Shekhar Anand share the lessons learnt from Oxfam in the Middle East and North Africa on building the resilience for displaced people in the region. By the end of 2017 over 68 million men, women and children had been forcibly displaced from their homes through conflict, violence and persecution. The protracted armed conflicts in the Middle East …
Tackling gender based violence in the digital age
In a world where the digital landscape is rapidly changing the way we access information, the extent to which technology can help or hinder those affected by gender based violence (GBV), is by no means black or white. Kirsten Bickford reports back from Lebanon where activists met last week to discuss the gendered dimensions of our digital age. The internet, …
Now is the time for women’s rights in the Middle East
The realization of women’s rights and gender justice in the Middle East and North Africa is inseparably entwined with conflict resolution and peace building efforts explains Farah Kobaissy. “No matter where you are, everyone says that now is not the time to talk about these issues. There is no such thing as women’s rights. We are in times of war, …