Media Releases

Oxfam’s international response to Covid-19

March 13, 2020

Oxfam has a comprehensive Covid-19 Staff Health protocol and has socialised best practice procedures for all our staff to follow in hygiene and infection management.

We are following authorities’ advice in every country we’re based. We’re posting time-sensitive updates on our internal channels for all of our staff, including on travel restrictions, self-isolation advice and contingency planning in the event of office closures. We’ve had to cancel various meetings, including for support, training and some staff deployments to avoid the risk of transmission and from staff being blocked on return from assignments. We’ve had some delay and cost increases of essential life-saving equipment as exports tighten from Asia especially. Given that our programs are predominately led, managed and staffed by national staff, and because we hold reserves and procure our goods and services locally where possible, we are hoping to minimise disruptions. However, we are certainly expecting that our operations will be increasingly affected.

Oxfam has substantial expertise in public health work and our preparedness planning for CV-19 is informed by lessons from past disease outbreaks including Zika and Ebola. We are developing guidance for contingency stocks and budget planning. We are working now to support our program teams across more than 65 countries on how best to respond operationally to CV-19 among the millions of people we support. We’ll work under the coordination of national Ministries of Health, key UN agencies and civil society health clusters, via our own local partnerships. We’re already focusing our operational work now on community engagement, i.e. helping people to minimise the risk of infection by providing them with accurate information and advice in local languages. Many of our teams are now increasing the delivery of soap, sanitation services including handwashing facilities, and clean water especially to people in higher-risk environments such as refugee camps or crowded urban areas.

Oxfam is very concerned should CV-19 establish itself in poorer countries with weaker public health systems and whose populations are already facing multiple threats to their health and livelihoods, such as from malnourishment and HIV. If the disease hits refugee camps and where people are already struggling to access adequate or affordable health care, CV-19 could become devastating. Women especially are likely to be hardest hit – 70% of the world’s health workers are women who’ll be on the frontline of infection risk – and women shoulder the vast burden of unpaid care which is bound to increase dramatically, whether caring for sick relatives or looking after children at home because schools are closed. We are also very concerned that the economic effects of CV-19 will likely hit the poorest, most heavily-indebted countries and the poorest, most vulnerable people most heavily because of entrenched issues of inequality. It is crucial that the international community support these poorer countries now in making the strongest-possible preparations.

Rosa Sala
Oxfam International Program Operations Director

Tens of thousands of people are still suffering one year on from Cyclone Idai

March 10, 2020

A family sheltering by the road — Maria, 31, with her six children with their only belongings sheltering from the rain by the side of the road. 24 hours before this photo was taken the rain came and the river banks burst causing their home to flood. Fearing another cyclone was coming they gathered all their life belongings and came to higher ground. Photo: Elena Heatherwick / Oxfam

Tens of thousands of people across Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique are still suffering 12 months after Cyclone Idai battered Southern Africa, warned Oxfam today. Cyclone Idai, one of the worst cyclones to hit Africa, made landfall on 14^th March 2019.

A new Oxfam briefing, ‘After the Storm,’ highlights that over 100,000 people in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are still living in destroyed or damaged homes and makeshift shelters, while critical infrastructure including roads, water supplies, and schools have yet to be repaired making it difficult for people to access vital services or get back to work. It also shows that 9.7 million people across the three countries remain in desperate need of food aid as a result of cyclones, floods, drought and localised conflict.

The briefing explains how a toxic combination of factors – including an intensifying cycle of floods, drought and storms, deep rooted poverty and inequality, a patchy humanitarian response, and a lack of support for poor communities to adapt to, and recover, from climate shocks – have increased people’s vulnerability and made it harder for them to recover.

Nellie Nyang’wa, Oxfam’s Regional Director for Southern Africa, said:

“Cyclone Idai was anything but a natural disaster. This tragedy was fuelled by the climate crisis and super charged by poverty, inequality and the failures of national governments and the international community. The people of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi are trying to piece their lives back together in the face of huge challenges. Politicians in the region, and across the globe, need to match their commitment.”

Cyclone Idai is just one in of a number of extreme weather events to have hit Southern Africa in recent years. Idai landed five months into a drought that left millions in need of food aid – and the third severe drought to hit the region in the space of five years. Less than six weeks later, Cyclone Kenneth battered northern Mozambique. Torrential rain and flash floods then hit northern and central Mozambique, between December 2019 and February 2020.

Despite the escalating climate crisis, poor communities are not getting enough help to adapt, and there is no dedicated fund to help poor countries recover from the loss and damage caused by climate-fuelled disasters. Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries, was forced to take on an additional debt of $118 million from the International Monetary Fund to begin rebuilding. The cyclone caused an estimated US$3.2 billion worth of damage – roughly half of Mozambique’s national budget and equivalent to the impact of 23 Hurricane Katrina’s hitting the United States.

Virginia Defunho, a farmer and a mother from Josina Machel village in Mozambique lost everything in the cyclone. The crops she planted in the aftermath of the cyclone were damaged by severe floods in January. She said:

“Idai has destroyed my mind. It makes me feel angry sometimes. My child is crying because he wants food and there is nothing to give. My child has succeeded to grade ten, but I don’t have the money to pay for him to enrol back at school. We are worried about the future because we don’t know if the weather is going to be like this or if it will change back to normal. If [the cyclone] comes a second time, what will our lives be?

A slow and patchy international humanitarian response has also hampered recovery. Less than half of the US$450.2 million humanitarian funding requested by the UN in the wake of the cyclones has been committed to date. The flow of funds is also slowing with just $42,000 pledged since the beginning of the year.

Poverty and inequality also exacerbated the destructive power of the cyclone and are acting as a major barrier to recovery. While the richest live on the highest ground in the strongest houses and can rely on savings and insurance to help them recover, the poorest communities struggle to rebuild their lives. Women in Malawi own just 17 percent of the land in the country, even though they produce 80 percent of household food. As a result, women who were displaced from their land are less able to protect their property for their return – and are left at the back of the queue when it comes to accessing alternative plots of land.

“Rich polluting governments must ensure the humanitarian appeal is fully funded and deliver the climate finance that communities need to adapt to and rebuild from climate shocks. National governments must help climate-proof our communities – for example by helping small-holder farmers to adapt their farming techniques – and tackle the poverty and inequality that make people more vulnerable to disaster,” added Nyang’wa.

Notes to Editor

The briefing “After the Storm: barriers to recovery one year on from Cyclone Idai” is available here

Globally, Oxfam raised over NZ$28 million to help 788,168 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in the aftermath of the cyclones – including communities in some of the most remote and difficult to reach areas. Oxfam and our partners provided emergency assistance such as food aid, blankets and hygiene kits; installed latrines and water pumps in temporary camps; and helped raise awareness of issues such as gender-based violence, which often spikes after a disaster. Oxfam is also working with communities over the long term to help them adapt to changing the climate – for example by helping smallholder farmers diversify their crops and adapt their farming techniques.

Passing of Jeanette Fitzsimons

March 6, 2020

Photo: Jeanette visiting Oxfam New Zealand 2019 – Jeanette Fitzsimons left, Kate Raworth centre, Jo Spratt Oxfam’s Advocacy and Campaigns Director right.

Oxfam New Zealand staff are deeply saddened at the passing of Jeanette Fitzsimons.

Our country has lost an exceptional woman. Oxfam has lost a most treasured supporter and ally in fighting injustice in all its forms.

We wish Jeanette’s family, friends and colleagues our deepest condolence. Her example inspires us all to continue the work on behalf of injustice and climate action. We will miss her warmth, her patient perseverance and sharp mind.

He toa taumata rau – bravery has many resting places.

May she rest in peace.

Two Oxfam workers killed in attack in Syria

February 20, 2020

Oxfam condemns killing two of its workers in attack in Syria

Two Oxfam aid workers were today killed in an attack at 2pm local time in Dar’a governorate in Southern Syria, between Nawa and Al-Yadudah.

Wissam Hazim, Southern Hub Staff Safety Officer and Adel Al-Halabi, a driver, were both killed when their vehicle was attacked by a so-far unidentified armed group. An Oxfam volunteer was also injured.

Oxfam paid tribute to the workers, condemned the attack and called on all sides to ensure the safety of staff delivering lifesaving aid to civilians caught in the conflict.

Moutaz Adham, Oxfam Syria Country Director, said: “We are devastated by the loss of two valued colleagues who were killed as they worked to deliver aid to civilians caught in the Syrian conflict. Our love and thoughts are with their families.

“We condemn the attack in the strongest possible terms. It is essential that aid workers are able to get lifesaving assistance to civilians without being attacked themselves.”

Notes to editors:

Wissam Hazim had worked for Oxfam since May 2017. Adel Al-Halabi joined Oxfam in January 2017. Both were Syrian nationals.
Last year Oxfam in Syria helped over 1.2million people with aid including clean water, cash, essential clothing items, and support to help make a living and grow nutritious food.

Locusts swarm into northern Uganda as Oxfam looks toward a $5m humanitarian response across region

February 12, 2020

Locust infestations have just hit two new districts in northern Uganda as they continue to plague Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, and threaten Sudan and South Sudan. There are also reports of the swarms now in Tanzania.

“Everyone is in panic and trying to make noise to drive the locusts away, says Oxfam’s Ethiopia Country Director Gezahegn Gebrehana.

This is the worst locust crisis in 70 years for Kenya alone. Locust breeding is continuing with more juvenile insects developing now, so the swarms could still get bigger, more widespread and last until June if not brought more quickly under control. There are already 22.8m people living in acute to severe food insecurity in those six countries following consecutive failed rainy seasons, unusual floods and storms.

The fast-moving locust swarms have been made worse by climate change because they have been encouraged to feed on newly “greened” vegetation, the result of unusual weather patterns. They are devastating pastures and grasslands and could ruin new food crops from the March-to-July growing season.

“We depend on livestock and if there is no fodder for our livestock, life will be difficult for us, we ask for help urgently,” said Mohammed Hassan Abdille, a farmer from Bura Dhima in Tana River, Kenya.

Oxfam is gearing up its humanitarian operations and will work closely with local partners and communities. It will aim to reach over 190,000 of the most vulnerable people with cash assistance, livestock feed, seeds and health services.

In Somalia, together with our partners, it aims to reach 11,670 households of the most vulnerable people. In Kenya, Oxfam will work inside the Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) Humanitarian Platform that has members in seven of the 13 affected counties and aims to assist 3000 households in the first phase of operations, and another 5,000 in the second. In Ethiopia, Oxfam aims to reach another 5,000 households with similar aid.

Oxfam will need to secure more than $5m to mount this response. Oxfam teams in South Sudan and Sudan are also preparing against the likelihood of new infestations there.

Oxfam says that lessons from the last local plague in the Sahel in 2003-5 showed that a two-pronged attack was vital, to control the pests as well as work to do everything possible to protect local people’s livelihoods and restore them as quickly as possible.

Oxfam continues to urge international donors to fully fund the FAO’s $76m appeal as soon as possible. The current total stands at around $18m. “This is the time for decisive action,” said Gebrehana.

Notes to editors:

Nearly 22.8 million people are severely food insecure (IPC 3 and above) as follows : in Ethiopia (6.7 million people), Kenya (3.1 million), Somalia (2.1 million), South Sudan (4.5 million), Sudan (5.8 million) and Uganda (600,000).
Given the scale of the current swarms, aerial control is the only effective means to reduce the locust numbers. In Ethiopia, ground teams and four aircraft are conducting control operations against swarms – nearly 8,000 hectares were treated in the first two weeks of January 2020. In Kenya, four aircraft are currently spraying, but operations have been limited due to available capacity or collective experience – Kenya last faced a Desert Locust invasion in 2007”
The outbreak, which has primarily been driven by the recent climatic shocks in the region, comes after Oxfam warned of a potential outbreak in Uganda end of last month.
The swarms which could grow 500 times bigger by June are devastating pasture and food supplies across parts of Ethiopia and Kenya and could also put South Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti at risk, making it the worst of such situation in 25 years.
In Kenya, the locust swarms have increased significantly over the past month in across 13 counties including Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Laikipia, Mandera, Kitui, Baringo, Meru, Embu and Turkana

Millions of swarming locusts devastate crops

January 29, 2020

Swarms of locusts that are sweeping across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia could grow 500 times bigger by June and invade Uganda and South Sudan unless they are immediately brought under control, says Oxfam.

The plagues have hit the region at a time when it is already facing very high levels of food insecurity after countries there had been hit by huge droughts and in some areas flash floods.

“Currently, 25.5 million people in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda are already suffering from hunger and severe malnutrition. These infestations of hundreds of millions of locusts need to be quickly contained before the next main cropping season of March to July,” said Lydia Zigomo, the Regional Director of Oxfam in Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA).

A large desert locust plague can contain up to 150 million individuals per square kilometre, with half a million locusts weighing approximately one tonne. One tonne of locusts eats as much food in one day as about 10 elephants, 25 camels or 2,500 people. The insects can destroy at least 200 tonnes of vegetation per day.

“Ethiopia has been in continuous drought since 2015 and then recently hit with floods that have all but destroyed the harvest. This locust infestation has now destroyed hundreds of square kilometres of vegetation in the Amhara and Tigray regions since November 2019. The cyclone in early December 2019 made the presence of locusts stronger. Local authorities are addressing the situation, but they need more help,” Zigomo said.

The locust swarms have increased significantly over the past month in across 13 Kenyan counties including Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Laikipia, Mandera, Kitui, Baringo, Meru, Embu and Turkana. These same counties have experienced devastating droughts and floods in recent years and over 3 million people there have been facing extreme levels of food insecurity. The swarms are destroying pasture for livestock and which will likely devastate the upcoming planting season.

In Somalia, tens of thousands of hectares of land have been affected in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug (Mudug), as mature swarms hit the Garbahare area near the Kenyan border. Locusts are also reported to be travelling south to Somalia’s Gedo region leaving a trail of destroyed farms. Operations are underway in the northeast (Puntland) to control the swarms that continue to move towards the central and southern areas. Insecurity in some of these parts is hampering efforts to survey and control the infestations.

Oxfam is part of a network of local partner organisations that is monitoring how much further damage the locusts will cause to local food crops. “We are making plans that include providing cash assistance to people most-in-need, particularly small-holder farmers and pastoralists, so they are able to buy food and fodder for their livestock,” said Zigomo.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimates that Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia need $70m between them to tackle the plague. Oxfam is calling on donors to fund this response immediately, in order to avoid more people falling hungry and using up whatever assets they have to buy food.