Press releases

Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima says she is “honored” at her appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to the first-ever High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Access to clean water and sanitation will be one of the greatest needs in Fiji’s Tropical Cyclone Winston response, and must be prioritised, Oxfam said today. Clean water for drinking and hand washing is essential for the prevention of waterborne diseases after a disaster.

The Fijian Government is still trying to contact areas that haven’t been heard from since being struck by Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston on the weekend. Oxfam in the Pacific Regional Director Raijeli Nicole said communication blackspots were making it very hard to assess damage and determine the scale of the response required.

As the scale of devastation wrought by Cyclone Winston in Fiji becomes apparent today, Oxfam is preparing to deploy staff to assist if needed.

The governments of rich states today cleared the way for the diversion of development aid away from the poorest.

Governments across Europe are planning to divert scarce development aid budgets to cover security and defense costs, anti-poverty campaigners understand.

Voters in Central African Republic will this Sunday vote in a new president whose first task must be to end the violence which continues to devastate the country, and to provide better protection for its exhausted population. 

In response to the publication of the UN Secretary General's report ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit, Oxfam deems the focus on political solutions correct as the humanitarian system is overwhelmed.  

Zimbabwe has declared a 'state of disaster' regarding drought in the country that has been triggered by El Nino. With one in five Zimbabweans facing food struggles, Oxfam says this could shock the international community into action.

Oxfam and more than 30 non-governmental organizations have welcomed the ambition demonstrated at the ‘Supporting Syria And the Region' donor conference in London to increase the scale and scope of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, but said that overall pledges for 2016 fell more than $3 billion short of what was urgently needed.