water and sanitation

A new Oxfam report reveals how Israel has been systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians in Gaza, showing disregard for human life and international law.  

Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by some of the poorest communities around the world, more often now only to find dry, depleted or polluted reservoirs. 

In rich countries, clean water is so plentiful and easily available that we simply take it for granted. Yet around the world, diseases from unsafe water kill more people each year than any other cause, making this one of the world’s most urgent health issues. Water is central to almost every aspect of Oxfam’s work.

The destruction of critical water and sanitation infrastructure by the Israeli forces along with severe over-crowding, malnutrition and heat is pushing Gaza to the brink of a deadly epidemic outbreak, Oxfam warned today. 

Only 28 percent of the world’s most influential food and agriculture corporations report they are reducing their water withdrawals and just 23 percent say they are taking action to reduce water pollution. Oxfam’s new analysis of 350 corporations using World Benchmarking Alliance data comes ahead of World Water Day (March 22). 

Renewed violent clashes involving non-state armed groups have exacerbated the hunger and
protection crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving 10 million people in urgent
need of humanitarian assistance, warned Oxfam, CARE International and the Danish Refugee
Council today.

Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism, people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of 13 years of the Israeli blockade. The water, sanitation and health sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing the complete collapse of its wastewater treatment system.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic. A year on. The disease affected us all in different and unpredictable ways, and hit Oxfam too. But because of the belief and goodwill of our amazing supporters and partners we emerge having helped 14 million people around the world. Here's a snapshot of the past year of our work.

Coronavirus is threatening us all. With each day, in every family, community and country, more of us are being personally affected by it. To beat the pandemic and avert harm to the lives of billions we must work together. We need to act across all countries and for every person. Fighting for some but not others is not an option. It only fuels risk for us all.

Droughts, storms, floods, disease and war — 2019 saw its fair share of disaster and conflict, but at the same time millions of us stood up and stood together to call for climate change action, an end to injustice, an end to poverty, and to raise the voices of the vulnerable. With your help, we continued to work hard to save lives and build a better future for all.