Social norms which restrict men’s participation in unpaid care work need to change in order to achieve gender equality. But, how do these norms change? Lucia Rost shares insight from research in northern Uganda. Domestic work and caring for people is crucial to society and the economy. Across the world, women undertake more than three-quarters of unpaid care. This perpetuates …
Low costs, high risks, and empty promises? The price of oil in East Africa
If constructed, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) would become the world’s longest heated pipeline. Communities that will be impacted are worried about their land, money, environment, and future. Oxfam is urging project developers and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania to listen to these communities and take immediate action.
Why refugees must be equally represented in decision-making
Susan Grace Duku, is a refugee and head of our partner agency, Refugee Women and Youth Aid in Uganda. This World Refugee Day, she focuses on why refugees must be equally represented in decision-making. My name is Susan Grace Duku. I am 33 years old and I have spent 21 of those years as refugee. This week, we learned that …
Standing up for women’s rights and local leadership in Uganda
Elizabeth Stevens describes how a small, local NGO has had an outsized impact on Uganda’s refugee response. Heart, guts, big ideas, and an investor. If you are launching a tiny women’s organization into the rough-and-tumble world of humanitarian response, you had better have all four. That’s what I concluded from my time with African Women and Youth Action for Development …
From waste to value: using solid waste for good sanitation in Uganda’s refugee settlements
WASH Advisor Parvin Ngala explains how Oxfam is working with others to turn solid waste into valuable energy in some of Uganda’s refugee settlements. In any densely populated area, good sanitation is bound to be a challenge. More so in a refugee settlement where essential facilities are often inadequate considering a rapid influx of people and massive populations. In 2016, …
Critical junctures and the redistribution of care work
Women’s heavy and unequal contributions to care work are a challenge to their participation in social, economic and political life and overall wellbeing. How can project interventions change this? Senior researcher Martin Walsh reflects on the findings of two in-depth studies in Uganda and Ethiopia. One of the aims of Oxfam’s WE-Care (Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care) initiative is the …
Influencing for systemic transformative change: The ACCRA model
In this blog, Margaret Barihaihi tells Africa Climate Change Resilience Alliance’s (ACCRA) story to inspire development practitioners and partners in making long term impact in the lives of men and women affected by climate change and disasters. ransformative change takes time. Before it can be called transformative, real change in people’s lives has to result from shifts in systems, attitudes, …