Policy Papers

In most of sub-Saharan Africa, maize is a staple food crop. This paper explores some of the reasons why maize markets fail and argues that a major reason is because there is so little trust or cooperation between governments and private traders.

The latest data estimates that more than 10 million people – around half of all the refugees worldwide – are “minors” (that is children under 18-years-old). At the same time, nearly 100,000 children who lodged an asylum request were unaccompanied. 

The ‘Supporting Syria and the Region’ conference, held in London on 4 February 2016, has failed to deliver on the core issues of the protection of civilians inside Syria and of refugees in neighboring countries. This joint agency report sets out what needs to be done to make the commitments a reality.

This paper focuses on concerns related to the EU’s growing bioenergy use, which is being driven by EU climate and energy policies. It focuses on the practicalities of implementing sustainability safeguards in all energy uses of biomass, including electricity, heating and transport.

‘My Rights, My Voice’ (MRMV) is a program that has been implemented in eight countries. This evaluation aims to systematically analyze the actual outcomes of the program and its underlying working mechanisms against the proposed outcomes and MRMV’s theory of change.

Since 2009, millions of people in the Lake Chad Basin have been affected by a conflict originating in Nigeria. Over 2.6 million people have been displaced by the violence of Boko Haram, and subsequent military operations. This paper aims to give voice to them and calls for help.

Young women and men today must grapple with serious social, political and environmental problems inherited from their elders. By marshaling the energy, creativity and talents of youth to address the multiple inequalities they face, we will all reap a ‘demographic dividend’ and build a fairer world.

This briefing argues that the recovery effort is an opportunity to create much needed improved conditions for single women in Nepal. It provides practical suggestions for better disaster preparedness and enabling single women to be more resilient.

The devastating impacts of the 2015–16 El Niño will be felt well into 2017. There is an urgent need for humanitarian action where the situation is already dire, to prepare for La Niña later this year, to commit to new measures to build communities’ resilience, and to mobilize global action to address climate change

In this report, Oxfam identifies three key issues that need to be tackled for Unilever to move to the next level of social impact and responsible sourcing and for the good intentions of their policies to translate into real impact for the lives of workers.