Conflict; Humanitarian assistance

Oxfam - as part of a global coalition of 223 civil society organizations - urgently calls upon UN member states to step in and request an Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly to demand an end to all unlawful attacks in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.

Oxfam has moved a huge generator across conflict lines to East Aleppo to help improve the water supply, but all other aid to the besieged area remains cut off. 

Many families in Central African Republic struggle to obtain the basic essentials such as water and food. In Bria, Oxfam is supporting vulnerable households that have lost their means of production by helping them to relaunch their economic activities.

Two years of extended fighting has forced thousands of people to seek refuge in Nyal and the islands surrounding it. Many must regularly walk long distances alone in search of aid and food. We are assisting them to access free and safe travel by training canoe operators and distributing vouchers for transport.

“The G20 reiterated previous commitments to reduce inequality, boost the participation of women in work and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The G20 said they would draw up a proper response to the refugee and migrant challenge next year, which is too late. The world needs urgent action now, not more words.”

This year’s G20 Summit will raise the stakes for the group to prove itself against growing doubts about its effectiveness – not least for people living in poverty, says Oxfam.

In response to the proposed 48 hour ceasefire in Aleppo, Andy Baker, Oxfam's Syria Crisis Response manager said: “While the proposed ceasefire is welcome it must not be a one-off.  Regular, sustained pauses in the conflict are necessary to deal with the scale of the suffering, devastation and destruction in the city.”

International agency Oxfam today called on governments meeting at today's Iraq donor conference to generously fund both urgent efforts to help victims of ongoing violence and longer-term support. 

With at least 40,000 civlians displaced by two major Boko Haram attacks in the last 6 weeks, this situation in the Diffa region of Niger is becoming a growing humanitarian crisis - a total of 280,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict began two years ago.

From Syria to South Sudan, the lives of more than 125 million people around the world have been devastated by conflict or disaster. It is time for the international community to change how it provides humanitarian aid to these vulnerable populations.