Policy Papers

Economic inequality in Brazil has reached extreme levels, despite being one of largest economies in the world. The country has been able to take millions of people out of poverty but the current Brazilian context reveals that the achievements in this field are fragile and under threat.

One year after the release of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines landmark report, this paper assesses the level of implementation by countries and institutions and recommends ways to use the report to improve both innovation and access to medicines.

Since the turn of the century, the poorest half of the world’s population has received just 1% of the total increase in global wealth. Meanwhile, half the new wealth has gone to the richest 1%. To help reverse this trend, we need rapid growth of equitable business structures with purpose, fairness and sustainability embedded into their model.

What can we learn about resilience by examining completed resilience, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation projects? Oxfam conducted three such case studies in Bolivia, Colombia, and Fiji, looking at the conditions required for successful resilient development as well as issues around timing and duration.

Transparency in international aid is not just about fulfilling a requirement based on people’s right to access information, but also about making aid more effective. Based on interviews conducted in Sierra Leone and Liberia, this research looks at the information needed by in-country development stakeholders with an emphasis on accountability actors.

Several food and beverage companies have made commitments over the last few years to tackle deforestation in their supply chains. This paper analyses how the world’s ten biggest food and beverage companies are implementing their commitments.

This paper highlights an innovative approach to solid waste management and income generation, and aims to promote further dialogue on the role that Syrians can play in the Jordanian economy.

Iraq faces severe pressures on its water resources following years of conflict and under-investment in infrastructure. This research focuses on the state of water resources in Kirkuk governorate in the north of the country and identifies the main challenges that need to be addressed.

Since the end of April 2017, Yemen has been experiencing its worst recorded outbreak of suspected cholera in a single year. By mid-August, more than 500,000 cases were recorded. Significant and urgent scale up in all areas of intervention is needed.

Oxfam has spoken to men and women who have spent months being beaten, tied up like animals and sold as cheap labour in Libya’s shocking slave trade. EU member states should ensure that migrants arrive safely in Europe where they can have access to a fair and transparent process for claiming asylum.