Press releases

After completing a fact-finding mission in Cuba to identify those most in need, Oxfam is working with partners and Cuban officials to respond to the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Irma. 

One year on from the historic United Nations summit for refugees and migrants, the international community has failed to make meaningful progress towards meeting the goals of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

Oxfam is now providing clean water, sanitation and tarpaulins for shelter to Rohingya people who have fled to Bangladesh. Nearly 370,000 people crossed into Bangladesh in the last four weeks, doubling the number of people seeking refuge in the south east of the country.

Oxfam and its Caribbean partner organizations are helping people most affected by flooding and strong winds following Hurricane Irma, which hit housing, infrastructure and destroyed agricultural production. 

The people of eastern Cuba face devastation from Hurricane Irma, the first category 5 hurricane to hit Cuban territory since 1932. Oxfam has been working with the Cuban authorities to develop one of the most effective disaster prevention and response systems in the Caribbean. 

People in the Dominican Republic and Haiti are facing “the day after” Hurricane Irma, which caused widespread damage overnight. Oxfam teams will immediately asses the needs of the most vulnerable people in the heaviest-hit areas, mainly in the north of both countries. 

Oxfam is deeply concerned about the plight of more than 160,000 civilians who have crossed the border into Bangladesh, and countless others caught up in the conflict in Rakhine State, Myanmar resulting in a large-scale humanitarian crisis.

Many supermarket shelves in northern Haiti are now empty and many people in coastal areas are being evacuated inland to schools and public buildings in preparation for the worst of Hurricane Irma today and tomorrow. Oxfam’s Tania Escamilla is in Cap Haitien with a 27-person team that is assisting the evacuation. 

Industry giants have committed to deforestation-free supply chains, but not doing enough to protect forest defenders, according to new Oxfam report.