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Oxfam reaction to the Global Report on Food Crises 2024

Today’s “Global Report on Food Crises” (GRFC), led by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), says that 281.6 million people across 59 countries are now experiencing acute hunger – 24 million additional people over last year.

Reacting to the report, Oxfam Global Food and Economic Security Lead, Emily Farr, said:

“The global hunger crisis is fundamentally a moral crisis. It is unforgivable that over 281 million people are suffering acute hunger while the world’s richest continue to make extraordinary profits, including the same aerospace and defence corporations helping to fuel conflict, the main-driver of hunger.

“The top 100 arms companies have hoarded nearly $600 billion in revenues just in 2022 – enough to cover the UN global humanitarian appeal almost 13 times.

“The number of people on the brink of famine has almost doubled since last year, the majority of whom are in Gaza where children are already dying of malnutrition and disease as a result of the Israeli government’s policy of using starvation as a weapon of war.

“We cannot drastically change course without a global awakening. States must prioritise justice and peace over politics, and radically reform global peace and security bodies to protect international law rather than perpetuate impunity.

“Governments must also rehaul our global food system, tax the rich to invest in the public majority – the small farmers, workers and vulnerable communities – and support green economies.”

 

Notes to the Editors

  • Read The Global Report for Food Crises (GRFC) 2024
  • The increase of 23.8 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC3+) is partly due to greater analysis coverage and country inclusion (1.1 billion population in 2022 to 1.3 billion population in 2023). The net increase is 17.5 million people in IPC3 (see Technical Notes for comparability issues). Source: GRFC 2024.
  • Over 705 000 people in five countries were projected to be in Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5) in 2023 – the highest number in GRFC reporting and almost double that of 2022. Source: GRFC 2024.
  • The Global Report on Food Crises is an annual report published by The Food Security Information Network and the 16 partner agencies of the Global Network Against Food Crises.
  • The top 100 arms-producing and military services companies have made a total revenue of $597 billion in 2022. Source: SPIRI 2023 The Global Appeal for Humanitarian Response in 2024 was $46 billion. Source: UNOCHA
  • The escalation of hostilities in Palestine (Gaza Strip) in late 2023 has created the most severe food crisis in IPC and GRFC history with the entire population of 2.2 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, and half of the population (about 1.1 million people) estimated to be experiencing catastrophic acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) Source: IPC report in December 2023 and March 2024.

 

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz | rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz | +64 27 959 5555

People in northern Gaza forced to survive on 245 calories a day, less than a can of beans

People in northern Gaza have been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories a day – less than a can of fava beans – since January, as Israeli forces continue their military onslaught. Over 300,000 people are believed to still be trapped there, unable to leave.

The miniscule amount of food represents less than 12 per cent of the recommended daily 2,100 calorie intake needed per person, calculated using demographic data considering variations by age and gender. Last week, the Israeli government told UNRWA, by far the largest aid provider in Gaza, that its convoys would no longer be allowed into the north. 

Oxfam’s analysis is  based on the latest available data used in the recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for the Gaza Strip. Oxfam  also found that the total food deliveries allowed into Gaza for the entire 2.2 million population – since last October – amounted to an average of just 41 per cent of the daily calories needed per person.

The Israeli government has known for nearly two decades exactly how many daily calories are needed to prevent malnutrition in Gaza, calculating this according to both age and gender within its  Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – Red Line document. Not only did it use a higher calculation of 2,279 calories per person, it also took into account domestic food production in Gaza, which the Israeli military has now virtually obliterated.

A mother trapped in northern Gaza said:  “Before the war, we were in good health and had strong bodies. Now, looking at my children and myself, we have lost so much weight since we do not eat any proper food, we are trying to eat whatever we find – edible wild plants or herbs daily just to survive.”

Oxfam also found that less than half the number of food trucks needed to reach the daily 2,100 calories intake for everyone are currently entering Gaza. Using IPC and UNRWA data, Oxfam’s analysis found that an absolute minimum of 221 trucks of food alone are needed every day, not accounting for wastage or unequal distribution. Currently just 105 trucks of food are entering Gaza daily on average.

The IPC report found that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and that almost all the population is now experiencing extreme hunger; with 1.1 million people experiencing catastrophic food insecurity. Horrifyingly, children are already dying from starvation and malnutrition, often worsened by disease. 

Hunger and its impacts are exacerbated by the near-complete destruction of civilian infrastructure including hospitals, water and sanitation services and community health support by Israel, leaving people even more vulnerable to disease. In addition to the limited availability of food, the ability to find or buy a nutritious, varied diet is not feasible across Gaza.  For the little fruit and vegetables still available, extreme price rises due to scarcity have put them out of reach for most people. Specialised nutrition products and centres to treat malnourished children are also difficult or impossible to find.

Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director said: “Israel is making deliberate choices to starve civilians. Imagine what it is like, not only to be trying to survive on 245 calories day in, day out, but also having to watch your children or elderly relatives do the same. All whilst displaced, with little to no access to clean water or a toilet, knowing most medical support has gone and under the constant threat of drones and bombs.

“Israel is ignoring both the International Court of Justice order to prevent genocide and UN Security Council resolutions. Only last week the ICJ ordered new provisional measures, stating famine is no longer looming, but ‘setting in’ in Gaza.  All countries need to immediately stop supplying arms to Israel and do all they can to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire; only then can we stop this horrifying carnage for the 2.2 million people who have endured six months of suffering. Israel cannot weaponize starvation any longer.” 

Oxfam is calling for a permanent ceasefire, the return of all hostages and the release of unlawfully detained Palestinian prisoners, for countries to immediately stop supplying arms to Israel and for full humanitarian aid access. The global response for Gaza must include both adequate and nutritious food for everyone, the full restoration of hospitals and health services, water, and sanitation infrastructure and for all reconstruction materials to be allowed across the border.

 

Notes to editor

Oxfam’s calculations are available upon request

2,100 kilocalories per person is the average daily energy requirement used in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report (18 March). It was calculated using demographic data considering variations by age and gender. The population of Gaza stated is 2.23 million people.

The average daily calories per person in northern Gaza was calculated using IPC data from 7 January to 20 February inclusive. The average daily calories per person for the entire population of Gaza, is from IPC data between 26 October to 20 February inclusive. IPC used an in-depth analysis of all food truck manifests allowed into Gaza from 26 October to 20 February, to generate approximate kilocalorie values per truck and per unit of analysis then distributed per area.

Oxfam calculated the average kilocalories per food truck using the IPC data of all food truck manifests allowed into Gaza from 26 October to 20 February.

UNRWA data shows that 3,781 food trucks were allowed to enter Gaza from 21 February to 27 March inclusive – an average of 105 food trucks per day. This excludes the 301 mixed items trucks over this period – 8 trucks a day – which may have included food as part of the consignment. Based on the 2,100 kilocalories per person daily energy requirement, across the 2.2 million population, Oxfam calculated that 221 food trucks per day minimum are needed each day.

The Israeli government was forced to release Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – Red Lines in October 2012, following a long legal battle by Israeli human rights organisation Gisha. The document included information about the policy of restricting the entrance of food to the Gaza Strip, which was in effect between 2007 and 2010, calculating the exact number of calories and the weight of various basic food items Gaza residents require, according to age and gender, to avoid malnutrition.

A 400g can of fava beans contains between 250 and 340 calories.

The UN and other agencies have reported children are dying of starvation in Gaza.

Oxfam reaction to the UN Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

In response to the UN Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Oxfam’s UN Representative and Head of New York Office Brenda Mofya said:

“We welcome the Security Council’s adoption of a ceasefire resolution so Palestinians in Gaza can have much-needed respite from the relentless and devastating Israeli violence and critical aid can reach them. However, this resolution, while a step in the right direction, falls short of the permanent ceasefire which is truly required and comes too late for the over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza that have been killed, and thousands more unaccounted for, while the Security Council wrung its hands over semantics.  
“For nearly six months, the rest of the international community has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the provision of unrestricted aid into Gaza. It is long overdue for UN Security Council Member States to finally heed these calls with the moral leadership that is rightfully expected of them and to stop the killing and suffering in Gaza.  

“Now this resolution has passed, it is imperative for Member States to fulfil their obligations to ensure that it is implemented so that Palestinians never endure violence such as this again. This includes immediately halting the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups.  

“A mere two-week pause is not enough. This initial cessation in violence must lead to a permanent ceasefire that lasts and a sustainable peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike, so people in Gaza can mourn their loved ones and begin the long road of recovery and reconstruction.”

 

CONTACT DETAILS

oxfam@oxfam.org.nz

Global water crisis looms yet only one in four of the biggest food and agriculture corporations say they’re reducing water use and pollution

Only 28 percent of the world’s most influential food and agriculture corporations report they are reducing their water withdrawals and just 23 percent say they are taking action to reduce water pollution. Oxfam’s new analysis of 350 corporations using World Benchmarking Alliance data comes ahead of World Water Day (March 22).

The 350 corporations analyzed together account for more than half of the world’s food and agriculture revenue. 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture, which is by far the largest water-using sector worldwide. Industrial farming plays a major role in water pollution.

Oxfam’s analysis also found that only 108 of these 350 corporations are disclosing the proportion of withdrawals from water-stressed areas.

“The UN estimates that 2 billion people do not have safe drinking water. To add to this gross injustice, the majority of these people will be living in poverty. All this while corporate giants are commodifying and exploiting water for profits. It is time for governments to recognise water as a human right and hold corporations accountable for their actions” said Oxfam Aotearoa Kaiwhakahaere Executive Director Jason Myers.

Water and wealth are inextricably linked. Rich people have better access to safe public drinking water —and money to buy expensive private water— while people living in poverty, who often don’t have access to a government-backed water source, spend significant portions of their income to purchase water. This is true across the Pacific

“In the Pacific, increasingly unstable climate patterns can lead to saltwater infiltrating freshwater sources. As the few groundwater sources become undrinkable, Pacific communities are forced to rely on rainwater, which has also become more unreliable with climate change” explained Carlos Calderon, Oxfam Aotearoa’s Head of Partnerships and Humanitarian.

Rises in global temperatures will further reduce water availability in many water-scarce countries, including across East Africa and the Middle East, because of the increased frequency of droughts, and changes in rainfall patterns and run-off.

Oxfam has seen first-hand how people are facing the daily challenge of accessing safe water sources, spending countless hours queuing or trekking long distances, and suffering the health impacts of using contaminated water. For example in Renk, a transit camp in South Sudan, more than 300 people are now sharing a single water tap, increasing the risk of cholera and other diseases. Oxfam warned last year that up to 90 percent of water boreholes in parts of Somalia, Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia had entirely dried up.

“In conflicts and other humanitarian crises, lack of access to water can lead to tensions and violence. When safe drinking water is scarce due to climate events, water infrastructure destruction or denied access, families get sick or are forced to move. Water becomes a commodity used as an instrument of conflict. Today, almost 27 million people in Africa are at risk due to a vicious circle between climate, violence and access to safe water” said Carlos Calderon.

Oxfam is calling on governments to:

  • Recognize water as a human right and a public good. Profits should not be the priority when it comes to providing water services to people.
  • Hold corporations accountable for abusing and violating human and environmental rights and laws, including water pollution.
  • Invest in water security, subsidized public water provision, sustainable water management and climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. National planning and policy around WASH must commit to women’s leadership, participation, and decision-making at all stages.

Notes to editors

Data analyzed by Oxfam on 350 of the most influential food and agriculture corporations is from the World Benchmarking Alliance. The Nature Benchmark Methodology is available for download.

According to the UN, 2 billion people (26 percent of the population) do not have safe drinking water, and between two and three billion people worldwide experience water shortages fort at least one month per year.

According to the World Bank, agriculture accounts, on average, for 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawals globally.

Last month, Oxfam reported that more than 300 people were sharing a single water tap in Renk, South Sudan. Together with partners, Oxfam has provided clean water and sanitation to over 70,000 people in transit camps but urgently needs $7 million to ramp up its operations and provide 400,000 people with life-saving food, clean water, and sanitation. 

Last year, Oxfam warned that up to 90 percent of water boreholes in parts of Somalia, Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia had entirely dried up.

Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by some of the poorest communities around the world, more often now only to find dry, depleted or polluted reservoirs.

Download Oxfam’s “Water Dilemmas” report for more information about the impacts of climate change on water.

 

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz | rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz | +64 27 959 5555

Final Oxfam Trailwalker event in New Zealand to take place this weekend

Since 2006, over 20,000 New Zealanders have taken part in this incredible endurance team event while fundraising for Oxfam Aotearoa.

After 17 events, raising more than $16 million to fund lifesaving work around the world, Oxfam Trailwalker has become a Kiwi rite of passage and this final event will be attended by veterans walking their 5th or 10th or 15th event, by multi-generational families, and by first-timers who are taking this last chance to crush a Trailwalker.

The event raises vital funds to support Oxfam’s work throughout the Pacific, including water projects in Papua New Guinea that help make sure girls can stay in school, and climate change adaptation projects in Solomon Islands that help support families whose homes and livelihoods are being destroyed by rising seas. This year’s goal is to raise $500,000 overall.

Ange Janse van Rensburg, Oxfam Aotearoa’s Head of Public Fundraising completed the 100km walk in 2015 and again in 2018. She said, “All of us in the events fundraising team are excited to welcome our Trailwalker participants and support crew over the weekend. We have some surprises planned along the way to mark this incredible event one last time.”

Oxfam Aotearoa’s Executive Director, Jason Myers, added “We encourage everyone in the Taranaki area to come out and cheer for these incredible teams this weekend. They’ve trained hard and raised thousands of dollars to support Oxfam’s work and now it’s our turn to support them.”

The Finish Line will be at TSB Stadium and whānau, friends, and everyone else are encouraged to stop by and cheer for the more than 500 people who will be crossing the finish line after walking either 25, 50 or an incredible 100 kilometres over the course of the weekend. Visitors and well-wishers are welcome on Saturday from 11.00am to 8.00pm and on Sunday from 8.00am to 2.00pm to show their support.

Janse van Rensburg said, “It has been such a privilege to hold Trailwalker in New Plymouth and we can’t wait to get started!”

 

Notes to editors: More event info can be found at  https://www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz/

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact:

Rachel Schaevitz, Oxfam Aotearoa

Rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Israel government continues to block Gaza aid response

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.

The aid originates from many humanitarian organisations around the world and has been rejected over weeks and months as result of an unpredictable and chaotic regime of approval, scanning and inspection, ultimately controlled by Israeli authorities. The reasons for rejection are not clear, says Oxfam.

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.

Oxfam says that Israel’s government ultimately bears accountability for the breakdown of the international response to the crisis in Gaza. It is failing in its legal responsibilities to the people whose land it occupies and breaking one of the key provisions demanded by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – to boost humanitarian aid in light of the risk of genocide in Gaza.

Oxfam believes that people living in Gaza will suffer mass death from disease and starvation far beyond the current 31,000 Palestinian war casualties unless Israel takes immediate steps to end its violations.

Oxfam Middle East and North Africa Director, Sally Abi Khalil said, “the fact that other governments have not challenged Israel hard enough, but instead turned to less effective methods like airdrops and maritime corridors is a huge red flag, signalling that Israel continues to deny the full potential of better ways to deliver more aid”.

“Israeli authorities are not only failing to facilitate the international aid effort but are actively hindering it. We believe that Israel is failing to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide,” Abi Khalil said.

Oxfam’s report “Inflicting Unprecedented Suffering and Destruction” identifies seven crucial ways that Israel is actively preventing the delivery of international aid into Gaza and punishing all Palestinians living in Gaza by deliberately depriving them of life and safety.

The report says that Israeli authorities:

  • Only allow aid in via two crossings into Gaza – at Rafah and KarmAbu Salem/Kerem Shalom – despite having total control to open more, thereby creating avoidable choke points for aid;
  • Are leading a dysfunctional and undersized inspection system that keeps aid snarled up, subjected to onerous, repetitive and unpredictable bureaucratic procedures that are contributing to trucks being stranded in giant queues for 20 days on average;
  • Are routinely and arbitrarily rejecting items of aid as having “dual (military) use”, banning vital fuel and generators entirely along with other items vital for a meaningful humanitarian response such as protective gear and communications kit. Much rejected aid must go through a complex “pre-approval” system or end up being held in limbo at the Al Arish warehouse in Egypt;
  • Have cracked down on humanitarian missions, largely sealing off northern Gaza, and restricting international humanitarian workers’ access not only into Gaza, but Israel and the West Bank including East Jerusalem too.

Israel has allowed 15,413 trucks into Gaza during the past 157 days of war. Oxfam says the population of Gaza needed five times more than that just to meet their minimum needs. In February, Israel allowed 2,874 trucks in – a 44% reduction from the month before.

Israel’s actions are also undermining international aid by its continued military assault inside Gaza, unparalleled in terms of intensity, brutality and scope – and which Israeli leaders themselves have called a “total siege” – as Oxfam highlights:

  • Israel’s assault has caught Gaza’s own aid workers and international agencies’ partners inside a “practically uninhabitable” environment of mass displacement and deprivation, where 75% of solid waste is now being dumped in random sites, 97% of groundwater made unfit for human use, and the Israeli state using starvation as a weapon of war;
  • Israel has rendered nowhere in Gaza safe amid the forcible and often multiple displacements of almost the entire population, which makes the principled distribution of aid unviable, including agencies’ ability to help repair vital public services at scale;
  • Its attacks are disproportionate and indiscriminate upon civilian and humanitarian assets – including people – such as solar, water, power and sanitation plants, UN premises, hospitals, roads, and aid convoys and warehouses, even when these assets are supposedly ‘deconflicted’ after their coordinates have been shared for protection.

“The state of Israel has created the perfect storm for humanitarian collapse and only the state of Israel can fix it,” Abi Khalil said.

Celine Maayeh, the Advocacy and Research Officer for one of Oxfam’s partner organisations in Gaza, Juzoor for Health and Social Development, said:

“Juzoor has been overwhelmed with support from all over the world, but we’re so frustrated in our helplessness and inability to actually get enough aid into Gaza. For the first few weeks, we managed to procure whatever we could get our hands on from local markets. Now, there is almost nothing — no resources, no supplies. In the North the situation is beyond dire. There’s been an alarming increase in cases of malnutrition among children in the last month , and yet the only food the team is able to find to feed people living in 45 shelters is some vegetables. There is an indisputable, man-made, intentional deprivation of aid that continues to suck the life out of any and all humanitarian operations, including our own.”

Oxfam is calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to end the death and suffering because the measures intended to protect civilians or give them aid are not working. Armed Palestinian groups must release the civilian hostages they hold unconditionally. Displaced people should be allowed to return home in safety.

NOTES TO EDITOR

CONTACT DETAILS

oxfam@oxfam.org.nz

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Oxfam is a worldwide development organisation that mobilises the power of people against injustice. Oxfam Aotearoa is a registered charity with the New Zealand Charities Register (registration CC24641). Donations are tax refundable.

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