Oxfam Policy & Practice

Displacement in eastern DRC: a never ending story 

The number of refugees around the world is increasingly making headlines, but what of the plight of the 38 million displaced people who have fled to another part of their own country? Jose Barahona, Oxfam's Country Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), describes the suffering of displaced communities Oxfam works with in eastern DRC where conflict has been ongoing for the last 20 years.

I am in Pinga, between Walikali and Masisi counties, North Kivu, eastern DRC. Oxfam is running a humanitarian programme here providing water and sanitation to what we call 'IDPs' (Internally Displaced People).

IDP sounds fine, but what does it really mean? In eastern Congo IDPs are poor farmers who were living peacefully in remote small villages in the hills. They had few possessions: a small house which they built, some animals like goats and chickens, a piece of land where they grew their food and some tools and clothing. Their ancestors were buried nearby. 

What is a human worth? Bold commitments from business needed

Business has a key role to play in tackling inequality, but the evidence suggests this isn't happening. Erinch Sahan, Global Adviser on Business and Markets, proposes corporate targets that would ensure workers get a fairer proportion of profits.

Extreme inequality is rising and business is key to tackling it. We need companies that are geared to channel much more of their profits to workers rather than to investors, but as the figures below demonstrate the world economy is currently increasingly channeling its fruits to capital rather than wages.

An Economy for the 1%

Our latest research shows that the richest 1% now have more wealth than the rest of the world combined. A global network of tax havens further enables the richest individuals to hide $7.6 trillion, and 62 individuals equal the wealth of the bottom 50%, 3.6 billion people. 

This video blog from Deborah Hardoon, Deputy Head of Research at Oxfam, takes us through the key findings from the report: “An Economy for the 1%” 

Oxfam’s humanitarian year 2015

2015 has been a challenging year for ‪‎humanitarian response. Our latest blog takes us through the highs and lows of Oxfam's work. From war and conflict in Syria to the devastating Nepal earthquake, and all while we begin to the see the effects of a particularly strong El Niño. Here's how we responded.

Why extreme wealth is not merited

As inequality grows and the rich get richer, what are the implications of extreme wealth and is it in any way merited? Didier Jacobs, Senior Economist at Oxfam America, introduces his latest discussion paper which argues that extreme wealth is not justified, and gives us an insight into some of his key findings.

The world's 85 (now 80) richest people own as much wealth as half of humanity according to research conducted by Oxfam which has made waves around the world. But why is it a problem? Not everyone shares the gut feeling that it can't be right for 85 people to have the same net "worth" as 3.5 billion people. Rich people create wealth and jobs for others, they argue. Redistributing that wealth would destroy it and harm the poor.

Local governance in South Sudan and Afghanistan

Annabel Morrisey, Programme Coordinator for the Within and Without the State programme which aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of civil society programming in fragile and conflict-affected settings, reflects on a recent visit to South Sudan and compares the issues faced by civil society there as opposed to Afghanistan.

I recently came back from a two week visit to South Sudan where I spent time with the Within and Without the State (WWS) project team in Juba. It was my first visit to South Sudan, and first country visit in my new role as Programme Coordinator for WWS. Having spent the last two years focusing on development programming in Afghanistan working with local governance projects (one of which is also a WWS project), the comparison between the two countries and contexts was fascinating.

South Sudan is the world's newest country having declared independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 and as such it is still experiencing the early stages of 'state building' in terms of local government's ability to respond to needs such as healthcare or education. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has dominated the international agenda for almost fifteen years and has seen heavy and vested investment since the international invasion in 2001. Both countries, however previously operated under predominantly tribal forms of local governance. This has formed strong community based systems on which we have attempted to build.

Public perceptions of UK foodbanks

Last year, more than a million people in the UK had to rely on foodbanks to help feed themselves and their families. Between August and September Oxfam commissioned Research Now to survey 1,890 people across Great Britain to find out the British public's view of food insecurity and foodbanks. Bethany Farr, Team Coordinator for our UK Policy, Programmes and Campaigns Team, reflects on the key findings.

The key objectives of this study were to better understand public opinions around food poverty in the UK. Specifically, we wanted to understand attitudes to food banks and their potential institutionalisation. We also wanted to know if people recognise food banks as a key issue and if they believe policy makers need to help reduce food bank use.

Key findings

Out of the 1,890 people surveyed:

74% think it is 'important' or 'extremely important' that the government tackles within the next 12 months, the number of people finding it difficult to afford to eat in the UK.

64% said they were 'concerned' or 'extremely concerned' about food bank usage.

73% thought that there must be something fundamentally wrong with society if people had to use foodbanks in this country.

Our favourite uses of technology for social good

The Nominet Trust, the UK's leading social tech funder announces a shortlist of 100 best uses of technology for social good. Here Amy O'Donnell, ICT in Programme Lead, explains what it has been like for Oxfam to be involved and shares her favourite, development and humanitarian relevant, uses of tech.

This year Oxfam was part of the judging panel which involved getting together a group of us representing different specialism areas from monitoring and evaluation, technology, innovation, gender and livelihoods. Looking at different uses of technology for good took us out of our comfort zones, challenged our understanding of successful uses of technology and opened our eyes to the potential of some really cutting edge applications.

We couldn't vote for ourselves, but we're delighted to announce that an Oxfam project from Somalia, delivered in partnership with UNICEF and local partner Hijra was recognised in the top 100. This mobile phone based health promotion project in Somalia set out to improve awareness of polio prevention and control, as well as provide items to support safe hygiene practice.

Are some people consuming too much?

The issues of economic inequality and climate change are intrinsically linked. Katherine Trebeck, Policy and Research Advisor, suggests it's time we started talking about the elephant in the room. In order for everyone to attain a basic decent standard of living some people need to consume less.

The richest 10% of people on the planet are responsible for 45% of global emissions, according to new research from Thomas Piketty and Lucas Chancel. Oxfam's own analysis reveals strikingly similar figures. As the world focuses its attention on climate change during the COP21 conference this week and next these stats provide a stark picture of the relationship between economic inequality and climate change, and the way in which the world's resources are currently being so inequitably shared.

Why pleasure and sex matter in ending violence against women

As we mark 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Oxfam's Women's Rights Director, Laurie Adams, explains why any effort to end violence and tackle gender inequality must involve addressing social norms, including around pleasure and sex. 

As the UN General Assembly met in New York in September, ratifying the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), I was in South Africa learning more about how to prevent violence against women and girls. Ending violence against women is one of the targets under SDG Goal 5 and one of the central pillars of Oxfam's work with women...

Grand designs for low-cost latrines - World Toilet Day 2015

“Build your own bog” project in Kenya has had some unusual and encouraging results!

Communities in Turkana, northern Kenya have created a variety of structures using everything from branches and metal sheets to recycled sacks and tin cans.

The care invested in constructing the latrines show the community’s high level of engagement with the process. There is a clear sense of ownership on display here, suggesting that these families which now have access to sanitation for the first time will ensure the latrines are maintained well into the future. Not just grand designs then, but sustainable and potentially life-saving constructions.

Postcard from Nepal for World Humanitarian Day by Abdullah (Duoi) Ampilan – Public Health Promoter, Nepal

Role: Public health promotion capacity building and training

Location: Kathmandu, Nepal for the Earthquake Response. 

Challenge: Difficult terrain because of the monsoon season

Success: We have reached more than 400,000 people

Message: We thank you to all the supporters, volunteers and donors for your support. We are reaching more people because of your generosity.

Postcard from Sierra Leone for World Humanitarian Day

from Michelle Farrington – Public Health Promotion Coordinator

Role: Supporting internal and external coordination for Oxfam's public health promotion work, and giving technical support to our field teams

Challenges: The spotlight is fading from Ebola, both in Sierra Leone and within the world at large. The people of Sierra Leone, our dedicated staff and so many others responding to the epidemic have done incredible work to bring the number of cases down, however, the country still has ongoing transmission. People are becoming tired and complacent, which is making our job of mobilising people to take action to prevent Ebola extremely difficult, and the levels of poverty in some areas like Magazine Wharf (picture attached) mean people struggle for the basic resources they need to keep themselves healthy.

Successes: Oxfam has been successful in working with communities to enable them to take the lead on prevention and preparedness measures from the start of our work here. Although we have now started to scale back some work, our former Social Mobilisers in a community called John Thorpe have decided to continue their work and form their own community based organisation. They recently became registered as 'New Phase for Development, Sierra Leone' focusing on social mobilisation and community cleaning campaigns. It has been amazing to work with communities engaged to tackle Ebola and now looking to address the wider issues in their communities.

Message to the world: Ebola is not over! Don't forget about Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia who all need ongoing support to build back what they have lost during this epidemic.

Photo: Magazine Wharf Sierra Leone. Credit: Michelle Farrington/Oxfam 

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