The men are gone – but the patriarchy remains: the struggles of women left behind in Syria’s ‘no-man land’

Dania Kareh Fragile contexts, Gender, Women's Economic Empowerment

Years of conflict have led to thousands of men dying or being pushed away. Now, says Dania Kareh, the women who remain face a huge challenge as stubborn social, economic and educational barriers frustrate their efforts to build decent lives for their families.

What does the UN Security Council Resolution on COVID-19 mean?

Pauline Chetcuti Conflict, Humanitarian

On July 1st, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously backed U.N. chief Antonio Guterres’ March 23rd call for a global ceasefire amid the coronavirus pandemic. Resolution 2532 (2020) was finally adopted after more than three months of deadlock. Oxfam and our partners have campaigned for this resolution as a first step towards silencing the guns. The resolution drafted by France …

Local partnerships and protecting human rights in conflict

Phil Vernon Fragile contexts, Governance

Phil Vernon from International Alert shares his views on working with partners on conflict contexts, as part of our release of a recent joint report on the subject.  A healthy and active civil society is both an essential indicator of a resilient society, and an essential vehicle for achieving one, through activism and service delivery. But civil society is under …

Podcast: Protecting civilians in conflict

Rachel Hastie Conflict, Humanitarian, Protection

[buzzsprout episode=’2559253′ player=’true’] As a result of conflict, the world today is faced with huge challenges in protecting civilians. In Yemen, Syria and South Sudan, infrastructures have been destroyed and thousands of people are forced to flea, or face the risks of disease, famine or harm. NGOs and relief agencies play a large role in the protection of civilians, from …

Three ways cash is king for asylum seekers in Greece

Stefania Imperia Aid, Emergency, Refugees and IDPs

Stefania Imperia asks what cash assistance means in practical terms for asylum seekers in Greece.  With tens of thousands of refugees and migrants stranded in Greece for an undefined period, providing cash grants to asylum seekers living in the Epirus region of north-west Greece may represent not only an efficient and dignified means to provide humanitarian assistance – but also an …

Cleaning up complexity: Making information useful for all

Grace Lyn Higdon ICT4D, Methodology

In 2015 Oxfam was awarded a Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) grant to support field staff to capture (currently undocumented) informal feedback which is received face-to-face by creatively using ICTs to enable responsive and accountable uses of information. Below Grace Higdon, Project assistance within Oxfam’s ICT in Programme team, takes us through some of the project’s outcomes. n June 2016, Oxfam …