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Hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees will face a humanitarian emergency this year, unless urgent steps are taken to deal with a serious public health crisis unfolding in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya, international agency Oxfam warned in a new report issued today.

At least 23 million Muslims caught up in conflicts and disasters have been fasting this Ramadan in one of the hardest periods in recent years, with many having little more to eat than bread and water during the 30 days of this holy month and others having nothing to eat at all after sunset.

Oxfam, along with partner organizations, will engage by hosting one official side event and 12 parallel events under the NGO CSW Forum. This year the CSW priority theme addresses challenges to women’s rights and equity related to education in the digital age and the review theme looks at the empowerment of rural women and girls. 

People in South Sudan’s Pibor county are forced to survive on wild vegetables, and desert dates as the number of people dying from starvation rises. With torrential rains halting aid flights, the situation could get much worse quickly, warned Oxfam today.  

Public aid money should not be used to fund corporate-backed private school chains that fuel inequality. Other donor agencies and governments now need to follow suit, said Oxfam today in response to the US House Financial Services Committee’s (HFSC) announcement that the World Bank and its private sector arm have approved a package of reforms.

Despite millions of people being pushed into hunger and poverty, 143 countries — including 94 developing nations — are implementing policy measures that undermine governments’ capacity to provide healthcare, education and social protection.   

 The UN Security Council (UNSC) is failing people living in conflict, with Russia and the United States particularly responsible for abusing their veto power which is blocking progress toward peace in Ukraine, Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. Ahead of the UN Summit for the Future, Oxfam calls for reform of the UN Security Council to stop the “Permanent Five” from being their own “judge and jury”.

Over 50 leading financiers have expressed their support for a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) ahead of a meeting of Finance Ministers in Brussels next week. In an open letter to European leaders, the financiers argue the FTT will reduce financial instability and raise significant additional government revenue.

Development NGOs Oxfam, ONE and Plan international welcomed a European Parliament vote to reject proposed cuts and to increase of the EU's external spending, supporting for the fight to end extreme poverty.

A major diplomatic negotiation aiming to regulate the trade in weapons and ammunition is at risk of failing due to member states’ insistence to give every state the right to veto a future treaty, according to the Control Arms coalition.