Press releases

The US Defense Secretary’s call for international donors to fight corruption in Afghanistan is likely to have the support of the Afghan people, Oxfam said today.

Ordinary Afghans blame government weakness and corruption as the second most important factor behind the fighting, with the Taliban coming third, followed by interference by neighboring countries.

We ranked the Summit against five key criteria and found that not one was fully achieved, as delegates left Rome without tackling many of the biggest challenges of food security and agriculture.

Recent attempts by rich countries to postpone a binding climate agreement hit the rocks at a meeting of Environment Ministers in Copenhagen today, as vulnerable developing countries made clear that delay was not an option.

The UN could drastically reduce the 24,000 deaths occurring daily around the world from hunger-related causes, provided countries agree that it coordinates all the different initiatives to fight hunger.

Environment Ministers from 45 countries will be gathering on 16 and 17 November to map out what the climate deal will look like. The meeting is an opportunity for rich countries to get the Climate Summit off on the right track and show poor countries that there is still a deal worth fighting for.

Torrential rains and a slow-moving Hurricane Ida caused severe flooding in several regions of El Salvador over the weekend, resulting in more than 140 confirmed deaths, 60 people missing, and more than 12,900 people in shelters

Monday’s UN World Food Summit in Rome (16-18th) could be a waste of time and money unless world leaders intervene now to salvage it. International agencies ActionAid and Oxfam say governments are at risk of throwing away a great chance to stop more than one billion people going hungry.

The Security Council has today reaffirmed its readiness and willingness to respond to situations where civilians are being targeted or humanitarian assistance is being obstructed.

G20 finance ministers met in St. Andrews, Scotland, on 7 November 2009. Oxfam reacts to their communiqué.