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The World Bank has been forced to backtrack on a controversial investment in Corporación Dinant, a palm oil company implicated in serious human rights abuses in Honduras. The Bank’s private-sector lending arm the International Finance Corporation (IFC) today admitted errors and promised to ‘refine’ its action plan and ‘reflect on’ internal problems that led to mistakes.

The human cost of the war in Yemen is rising sharply as the conflict enters its eighth year, with the number of civilian deaths increasing sharply, hunger on the rise and three quarters of the population in urgent need of humanitarian support, Oxfam warned today. 

Contrary to the positive picture painted by the International Monetary Fund in its 2010 World Economic Outlook, poor countries are being forced to cut back on their economic crisis-response spending too soon.

On 13 June 2018, The Saudi- and UAE-led coalition launched an attack on Hodeida, Yemen’s lifeline port. One week on, the Coalition has ignored all warnings and combined forces have pressed ahead to take Hodeida airport. The advance must now stop and efforts be refocused on peace. Taking the battle to a densely-populated city will have a much higher humanitarian toll.

Thousands of people are at risk this winter as the EU-Turkey deal keeps migrants, including refugees, stuck in dangerous and degrading conditions in Greece, a coalition of more than 20 humanitarian agencies and human rights organisations warned in a joint statement. EU leaders need to take urgent action to improve the situation on the ground and save lives.

Oxfam spokesperson Pamela Gomez said: "Governance reform at the International Monetary Fund is long overdue.

Today, EU member states have proposed a spending increase of 10 percent in 2019 for the EU’s external policies compared to this year’s budget. However, governments are focusing on the wrong issues, Oxfam, Save the Children, DSW and IPPF EN say. The organizations argue a strong focus on human development is needed to counter increasing inequalities and make sure no one is left behind.

The announcement of $9.2 billion in pledges to the Green Climate Fund ahead of the Lima climate summit is welcome but only a bare minimum, says Oxfam.

Oxfam's Nadia Daar commented on the Bank and the IMF's progress on climate change, inequality, education, and more.

The European Parliament has voted today to increase the EU’s overall spending for development aid in the EU budget for 2020. Reacting to the news, Marissa Ryan, head of Oxfam’s EU office and Oxfam International Deputy Director for Advocacy and Campaigns, said: “It’s good to see that the European Parliament has suggested an increase to the EU’s proposed spending on development and humanitarian action in 2020. However,the EU will nonetheless fail to meet its own spending commitments on education, public health and gender equality in developing countries…