Press releases

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.

In response to billions of dollars being pledged by governments today to help Syrians engulfed in the country's conflict, Andy Baker, Regional Program Manager for Oxfam's Syria crisis response said: "The London conference is a potential turning point. But while money for aid is vital, it will not solve the crisis."

Rich countries meeting in London this week must commit to real changes that will improve the lives of millions of Syrians. The aid funding and resettlement places offered so far have often been so low as to be little more than token gestures. Syrians in need are waiting for actions not just kind words and promises.

Six months after the International Conference on Ebola Recovery in New York, at least $1.9 billion worth of promised funds have not been delivered and scant information is available about the remaining $3.9 billion.  Global leaders are failing to honor their promises to communities devastated by Ebola in West Africa as $5.8 billion of pledged recovery funds proving almost impossible to track.

The Ethiopian government estimates that 10.2 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year after more than 12 months of erratic or failed rains have caused the worst drought in Ethiopia since the mid 1980s. Ethiopia is one of a number of countries struggling to cope with the effects of one of the strongest El Niños on record. 

Yemen is on a slow downward road to starvation and the growing number of people going hungry shows its descent is gathering pace. All those fuelling Yemen's tragedy need to stop being arms brokers and start becoming peace brokers. 

South Africa is facing its smallest maize harvest since 2007 this year as record-high temperatures and drought continue to hit its agricultural sector. According the government’s Crop Estimates Committee, only 7.44 million tons of maize is likely to be harvested in 2016 - that’s 25 percent less than the 9.94 million tons reaped.

Despite EU intentions to crack down on tax avoidance, the European Commission’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Package does not do what it says on the tin, warns Oxfam, and developing countries will feel the EU’s failure most.

As the world’s rich and powerful gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum, an  alliance of top international charities, human rights campaigners, women’s rights groups, green groups, civil society organizations and trade unions has come together to fight the growing crisis of inequality.

Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population – a figure that has fallen from 388 just five years ago, according to an Oxfam report published today ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elites in Davos.

Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population combined, according to an Oxfam report published today ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elites in Davos.

Only a complete end to the siege in Madaya, and in other beseiged areas such as Fua’a and Kafraya, together with guarantees for sustained aid deliveries alongside humanitarian services will alleviate the crisis in these areas. Oxfam and other leading aid agencies warn that this one off permission to deliver will be insufficient given the current shocking reported levels of malnutrition.

An inadequate response to El Nino will put an already overstretched humanitarian system under intense strain and expose tens of millions more people to the extreme risk of hunger, homelessness and disease. Funding is urgently required to prevent millions more women, children and men around the world from going hungry, suffering water shortages, falling ill and seeing their livelihoods collapse.

The effects of a super El Niño are set to put the world’s humanitarian system under an unprecedented level of strain in 2016 as it already struggles to cope with the fallout from conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere.The El Niño weather system could leave tens of millions of people facing hunger, water shortages and disease next year if early action isn’t taken to prepare vulnerable people from its effects. 

The recent World Trade Organization deal made in Nairobi fails to deliver what is urgently needed, while the US and the EU continue to push for regional rather than international agreements, said Oxfam International's Campaigns and Advocacy Director, Celine Charveriat. 

As the number of people fleeing to Europe passes one million, Oxfam is calling on the international community to address what is a global crisis. The uncomfortable truth is that the conflicts and brutality fuelling refugee migration have grown in recent years to unprecedented levels.