livelihoods

In 2011, Somalia experienced a devastating famine that killed over a quarter of a million people – half of them children under the age of five. The international community failed to act in time, despite repeated warnings of an impending crisis. Yet, just over a decade later, and despite various alarms over the past two years, world leaders are once again responding too late and with too little to avert catastrophic hunger in East Africa.

Over a decade since Somalia experienced a devastating famine that killed over a quarter of a million people, another famine is looming in East Africa. Despite various warnings and alarms over the past two years, we are once again responding too late and with too little to avert the crisis. The humanitarian system must evolve in order to enable and fully fund anticipatory action.

The human and economic cost of COVID-19 has been staggering, in terms of lives lost, human suffering, and economic damage. As we mark two years since the official pandemic was declared, we still have a chance to gain the upper hand on the virus, but only if everyone, everywhere has access to vaccines and treatments.

From 2013 to 2016, Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign called on the world’s 10 biggest food and beverage companies to adopt stronger social and environmental sourcing policies. Now we assess whether the companies have taken meaningful steps to implement the commitments they made in response to the campaign. 

As 2020 draws to a close, the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Our analysis shows that none of the social protection support to those who are unemployed, elderly people, children and families provided in low- and middle-income countries has been adequate to meet basic needs.

New Oxfam research shows that over a third of the world’s population has had no public money to cope with the effects of the pandemic. A new report “Shelter from the Storm” reviewed government programs used to inject additional money to help people and found none of them were adequate to meet everyone’s needs.

Pre-pandemic, EU policies towards North Africa focused on two main paradigms: trade liberalization and the minimization of both regular and irregular migration. These agendas were incoherent and had overwhelmingly negative implications for the livelihoods and employment opportunities within the EU for the most vulnerable people in the Maghreb.

This report evaluates the Oxfam confederation's strategic plan for the years 2013–2019. It examines the key outcomes that Oxfam achieved across its change goals and analyzes the success of its approaches, using case studies from programs around the world and interviews with staff.

The food price crisis of 2007–08 had devastating impacts for the world’s poorest people, especially for smallholder farmers and in particular for women. Ten years on, new policies are needed to rebalance the system to meet the needs of smallholder communities, with a renewed focus on meeting the needs and aspirations of women.

Despite its development potential, the Sahel faces an unprecedented crisis. Today, there is a multifaceted predicament on top of the pre-existing development challenges that the region has been tackling. The governments of the Sahelian countries and the international community must respond to these urgent problems, making the fight against inequality a top priority.