aid

International development cooperation has consistently been an integral component of the European Union's foreign policy. Like diplomacy, development cooperation is a means to foster stability, security and prosperity for all in an increasingly interconnected world. The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the ripple effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine have underscored our global interdependence and the imperative for international collaboration, investment, and partnerships that promote equitable development globally while safeguarding the long-term interests of the EU and its citizens. 

Yemen remains deeply divided, facing economic freefall and a devastating humanitarian crisis. Competing financial policies in the North and the South have caused economic collapse.

Preventable diseases are sweeping the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cholera cases increased by 326, Mpox by 269, and measles by 95 people in North Kivu alone, during the last week of February, according to Oxfam’s partners on the ground. 

Ahead of the special European Council meeting that you scheduled for 6 March, we write to urge you to resist a dangerous and false dichotomy: the idea that increasing defence spending must come at the expense of international development assistance (ODA). Cutting aid would be both a moral failure and a strategic mistake. At a time of growing instability, hunger, and global crises, when conflict, climate disasters and inequality are worsening, Europe must reaffirm its commitment to multilateralism and solidarity, and show global leadership. We know the only way to meet the daunting challenges of our time is together.  

Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians. For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours.  

Ahead of foreign affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, where discussions will include the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the wider region, Agnès Bertrand-Sanz, Oxfam humanitarian expert, said: 

“The discussions happening today behind closed doors have an impact on real people, people who are facing the unimaginable. Yet, Europe’s response is often lethargic – recently exemplified by their lack of response to Israel’s banning of UNRWA.

To commemorate World Humanitarian Day on 19 August, Oxfam and over 400  humanitarian organizations sent a joint letter to the Member States of the United Nations General Assembly asking the international community to end attacks on civilians, protect all aid workers, and hold perpetrators to account.

“Keeping already insufficient aid at stagnating levels costs lives and is a moral failure. Again, rich countries have betrayed their promise to the world’s poorest people —a promise to end hunger, invest in life-saving public health systems, and expand education opportunities so nobody is left behind."

Israeli authorities have rejected a warehouse full of international aid including oxygen, incubators and Oxfam water and sanitation gear all of which is now stockpiled at Al Arish just 40 km away from the border of 2.3 million desperate Palestinians in Gaza. In a new report today, Oxfam said this rejected aid was just one example of an overall humanitarian response that Israel has made so dangerous and dysfunctional as to be impossible for aid agencies to work at the speed and scale necessary to save lives, despite best efforts. 

The influx of over half a million people fleeing Sudan’s conflict meant that transit centers in Renk – a border town in neighboring South Sudan- are swelling with people three times their capacity, with more than 300 people sharing one water tap. The lack of clean water and sanitation is increasing the risk of cholera, warned Oxfam today.