Oxfam Strategic Plan, 2013-2019 : The Power of People Against Poverty

Girl writing letters with chalk on blackboard Burkina Faso

Our vision is a just world without poverty

We envision a world in which:

  • people can influence the decisions that affect their lives
  • everyone can enjoy their rights and assume their responsibilities as active citizens
  • all human beings are valued and treated equally.

In our fourth strategic plan, we set out an integrated approach to tackle poverty by addressing its complex and interrelated causes. By combining our hands-on experience in helping people in emergencies with our grass-roots development work and innovative campaigning, we offer a bold new approach to reducing poverty, hunger and inequality.


People at the heart

We know that the most effective solutions to poverty are found when people are able to exercise their rights to livelihoods and decent work, and when they can work together to increase living standards and reduce vulnerability. That is why people are at the heart of our strategy. In the act of joining people together, we are at our most effective.

Whether working with local communities, campaigning for change, or providing humanitarian relief, we’re always going to be supporting people to claim their basic rights to life and security, and to a sustainable livelihood, and to essential services such as health and education. The rights to be heard and recognized are a fundamental part of human well-being that are grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. We’ve made them fundamental to our work too.

Empowering women

When women have power, they can thwart the violence and exploitation that oppresses them. Human development is driven by empowered women. We will continue to place the highest priority on supporting women and girls to become leaders and to ensure that their roles in society and the economy are properly valued and recognized.

Campaigning for change

We will campaign to change the policies and practices that are shackling people from achieving their potential.

We’ll tackle climate change by helping poor countries to resist having to pay the price for the rich world’s history of dirty development. We’ll help poor people adapt to shifting environmental conditions and ensure they are getting their fair share of scarce natural resources. We will work toward a sustainable global food system that provides enough for all.

Stronger together

This strategic plan governs the work of Oxfam’s entire global confederation. We believe that we can help to achieve change by unlocking the great potential in this world to overcome new threats and achieve sustainable human development.

Together and only together can we do it.