Press releases

As COVID-19 exposes vulnerabilities in the global food system, a new Oxfam report highlights the power of the world’s top ten food and beverage companies to create more equitable and sustainable supply chains that can help lift millions of food producers out of poverty and fuel economies. The comprehensive report, “Shining a Spotlight” assesses how companies have delivered on commitments made during Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign to implement stronger sourcing policies that impact climate change, land rights and women’s empowerment. 

In reaction to the newly announced $10.3 billion UN Humanitarian Response Plan (UNHRP) appeal, Oxfam’s Head of Humanitarian Campaigns and Advocacy, Fionna Smyth, said: “We welcome this boost to the UN Covid-19 humanitarian appeal. Millions of people around the world already struggling to cope with crises brought about by conflict, poverty and climate change, have been hit even harder now by the coronavirus pandemic which has also fuelled a hunger crisis. This funding is lifesaving and urgently needed, yet less than a quarter of the previous appeal had been met." 

 

 

Responding to the IMF Board of Governors’ approval of a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation of $650 billion, Nadia Daar, Head of Oxfam International’s Washington DC Office, said: “New SDRs will bring much-needed liquidity to struggling developing countries without adding to their unsustainable debt burdens. Now that this historic SDR issuance has been approved, governments must work transparently and together with civil society to ensure these resources are used to rescue collapsing health services and bolster social protection, and to deliver a fair and climate just recovery.
 

Oxfam together with nearly 50 NGOs from the Somalia NGO Consortium, warns of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Somalia and calls upon donors to urgently fund Somalia's drought crisis response.

The Philippines is struggling to recover from last month’s massive Typhoon Rai that caused losses worth 11.1 billion Php ($215m) to agricultural crops and farmland and another 17.5 billion Php ($330m) damages to homes, roads, electricity and water lines.

Cyclone Yasa landfall in Fiji yesterday, carrying destructive winds of up to 345km/h, heavy rain and storm swells, has flattened homes and left major devastation to roads, and vegetation. More than 600,000 people in the South Pacific island nation are now affected, thousands of which are already in evacuation centers as the tropical storm disrupted access to essential utilities including water supply and sanitation facilities, as well as food.

Indigenous people must first be protected from those who want them out of their lands and that have been killing them for generations.

In November 2018, a Honduran court convicted seven people for the murder of indigenous leader and human rights defender Berta Cáceres. 38 months after the unfortunate event, her family and members from the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH, for its acronym in Spanish), still demand that the Honduran authorities also investigate, prosecute and convict the masterminds of this crime.

Responding to the official launch today of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty proposed by Brazil’s G20 presidency, Oxfam Brazil’s Director of Programs, Advocacy and Campaigns Maitê Gauto said: “The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty could be a turning point in the battle against hunger and extreme poverty. Sharing proven policy solutions like cash transfers and school meals is crucial, but the Alliance must go further still by prioritizing transformative agriculture, racial and gender equity, land rights, and small-scale farming. It must also urgently address the devastating impacts of climate change on food systems in the Global South and confront the weaponization of hunger. Only by embracing these deeper, structural changes can we hope to tackle the root causes of hunger and poverty effectively."

The risk of waterborne disease outbreak is rising as the water and sanitation system across 11 districts in Bangladesh have been submerged or disrupted by recent floods, said Oxfam today.