Policy Papers

According to the World Health Organization, cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world, with 8.2 million deaths in 2012. In low- and middle-income countries, expensive treatments for cancer are not widely available.

Rising inequality poses a dire threat to continued prosperity in Asia, where an estimated 500 million people remain trapped in extreme poverty, most of them women and girls.

Secure and equitable land rights, particularly for those living in poverty and using and managing ecosystems, are an essential element of a Post-2015 Agenda

Global wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small wealthy elite. This briefing explains Oxfam’s methodology and data sources and updates key inequality statistics.

Active citizenship is a means to achieve development, because it enables women and men living in poverty to raise their voice in defence of their rights. This page pulls together 10 case studies and an overview report to illustrate that effort.

On 12 January 2010, a massive earthquake hit Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, killing 220,000 people, injuring 300,000 and severely damaging great swaths of the city. This progress report highlights Oxfam’s work in Haiti in 2014 in water, sanitation and public health; in disaster risk reduction, economic development and reconstruction. It also summarizes the funding and spending for Oxfam’s response to the Haiti earthquake.

Scholarships for study in the former Soviet Union were offered to students in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and across the developing world. The Russian program, previously reduced, is now expanding again. This report aims to establish just what impact these programs have had on healthcare systems and how they can be improved.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was a pivotal moment for the humanitarian sector; many lessons were learned and the humanitarian system was strengthened as a result. However, ten years on, significant challenges remain.

Sierra Leone has declared a public health state of emergency in a bid to contain the spread of Ebola, including imposing quarantines. An effective quarantine strategy provides a means of mitigating the spread of Ebola and saving lives, but only when implemented correctly

What are the barriers to ensuring that a living wage is paid, and what are the root causes of low wages?