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Stories of complete devastation are beginning to come out of Vanuatu in the aftermath of the severe tropical cyclone Pam.Oxfam staff on the ground in Port Vila have reported complete destruction of homes, three story high trees completely uprooted and small communities with barely any houses left standing. Oxfam's Vanuatu Country Director Colin Collett van Rooyen said people in Vanuatu had told him they had never seen a…

Two rapid assessment teams have arrived in the two small southern Vanuatu islands hit hardest by Cyclone Pam to rapidly assess exactly what survivors of the disaster need.

One month after Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, water remains a high priority, with small islands dependent on rainwater most in need, Oxfam said today.

Aid should today begin to reach the hard hit southern Vanuatu islands of Tanna and Erromango, which both took the full force of the 250kmh Cyclone Pam, after rapid assessments of the islands showed absolute devastation with entire villages destroyed.

Up to 90 per cent of housing in Vanuatu's capital reported to have been seriously damaged by Cyclone Pam, with still no information from the extremely vulnerable outer islands which are home to 33,000 people. 

Vanuatu could face a second emergency with waterborne disease a real risk if the need for clean water, sanitation and hygiene is not met, Oxfam said today. 

Oxfam is warning that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will not be contained unless more is done to prevent new infections. 

Almost one-third of the Senegalese population is between 10 and 24 – the age in which most people become sexually active. However, sexuality education is very limited, which makes young people vulnerable to unwanted pregnancies or HIV. Implemented by Oxfam, the Connecting 4 Life program has been conceived to fill this gap through an innovative approach.