Policy Papers

As famine takes hold in South Sudan and threatens to spread to northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen, world leaders must immediately step up to fully fund the United Nations’ appeal for $6.3 billion.

This report provides a picture of the current state of poverty and economic inequality in Nigeria, identifies the main drivers of this situation and presents some policy solutions.

High levels of inequality across Africa have prevented much of the benefits of recent growth from reaching the continent’s poorest people. To combat inequality in Africa, political and business leaders have to shape a profoundly different type of economy.

There is growing scientific analysis suggesting that the impacts of current and recent droughts in East Africa are likely to have been aggravated by climate change. Without global efforts to reduce emissions and to help the world’s poorest people cope with the effects of climate change, this crisis will continue to repeat itself.

Internally displaced people in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are struggling to find long-term solutions to improve their resilience to shocks in a region that has been beset by armed conflict for more than 20 years.

The number of people in need as a result of Yemen’s conflict continues to rise, but the international aid response has failed to keep up. Aid alone, however, cannot solve Yemen’s crisis. All sides and their international backers should stop the de-facto blockade and the conflict that are pushing Yemen towards famine.

This briefing note presents a preview of key findings from Oxfam-commissioned research in Lebanon and Jordan and concludes that for assistance to succeed in its aim of helping both refugees and poor host communities there is a need for increased democratic ownership, transparency and accountability in donor and government aid policies. 

Supporting countries to achieve universal, equitable high-quality public education must be a core priority for the World Bank Group if it is to achieve its twin goals of ending poverty and promoting shared prosperity.

People who are trying to access the EU are being routinely abused by law enforcement officials in countries in the Western Balkans. Governments in the region must immediately end these violations and ensure safety and dignity for people on the move in their territories.

This update provides an overview of the current situation in Greece, one year on since the introduction of Europe’s flawed migration policies to close borders along the Western Balkan route and return migrants and refugees to Turkey.