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Tough, urgent choices for African leaders as they launch “Year of Nutrition” to help millions of people facing hunger

February 2, 2022

African governments should boost funding for agriculture, address peace and security challenges, and do more to genuinely tackle inequality.

African Union leaders face one of their most important summits (Feb 5-6) in launching a “year of nutrition” amid worsening levels of hunger and malnutrition that are now threatening sustainable development across the entire continent.

One in five people (282m) is now under-nourished and 93 million in 36 African countries are suffering extreme levels of hunger. Women and children are hit hardest. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in three children under five is stunted by chronic undernutrition while two out of five women of childbearing age are anaemic because of poor diets.

The UN estimates that food prices in Sub-Saharan Africa are now 30-40% higher than the rest of the world, taking into account comparative levels of GDP per capita.

“The triple threat of the climate crisis, COVID-19, and conflict will require an extraordinary response from African leaders. Many countries have already taken important steps, increasing investment in healthcare, providing shock responsive social protection systems and empowering local, women-led, peacebuilding initiatives. However, such actions are still too few and far between,” said Oxfam’s Pan-African Program Director Peter Kamalingin.

“People are having to skip meals to feed their children, selling livestock and other assets, begging, pulling children out of school, or harvesting immature crops. Over three million people in Somalia have recently migrated, in large part because of hunger, while millions of households in pastoralist communities in Chad, Benin, Niger, Mali and Mauritania say they are having to sell more animals than they otherwise would to pay for more food”, said Kamalingin.

Historical injustices, inequality and wealth extraction have left generations of Africans poor and national economies indebted. Africa has stood last in line for Covid vaccines as the rich world hogged supplies. The continent has also been hit hardest by climate change and is already heating at a faster rate than the global average of 1.2 degrees.

“While the deck seems stacked against Africa, there is a lot more that African leaders can do to improve food security. Instead of allocating 15% of national budgets to the health sector and 10% to agriculture, military spending across Africa rose by over 5% in 2020. African’s leaders must prioritize food, trade and medicines over bullets, guns and bombs” said Kamalingin.

Twenty African countries are today facing insecurity and conflict including seven coups in the last year alone. In Ethiopia—the home of the AU—conflict has contributed to catastrophic levels of food insecurity in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions.

“AU leaders must make better, more effective use of all existing mechanisms they have to prevent and resolve conflicts,” said Kamalingin.

Here are how regions have been impacted:

The Horn of Africa is experiencing one of its most severe droughts in 40 years, following three back-to-back poor rainy seasons, and there are active conflicts across Ethiopia and Somalia. Nearly 15 million people are suffering from extreme hunger and severe water shortages.
In West Africa, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance could rise to 35.7 million during the lean season from June to August 2022.
In Southern Africa, communities in southern Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Malawi are struggling to cope with the cumulative consequences of climatic shocks and COVID-19 economic shocks. Until the 2022 harvest begins in April, many countries, including Madagascar, will continue to rely on food assistance.

Farmers and pastoralists have been particularly hit by food insecurity. Droughts on the continent have decimated thousands of hectares of crops and depleted livestock, often a primary source of income. COVID-19 restrictions have caused delays in the trade of critical agricultural inputs like fertilizer.

Jean-Paul Ndopoye, president of the Union des Riziculteurs de Paoua (URP) in the Central African Republic told Oxfam: “Our major problem is the sale of farm products. With the security crisis and the calamitous state of the roads, we can no longer travel to sell these products in neighboring towns and countries such as Chad. Our wish is to be connected to profitable marketing channels to sell all these products.”

Achta Bintou, who was displaced from her home and now lives in the Amma site in Lake Chad told Oxfam: “Today, the crisis has completely changed our lives. We had to move from Boma to the Amma site where we live in a makeshift shelter that barely hides the sun. Our water is not drinkable and we cannot get enough to eat. Imagine your diet dropping from three meals a day to one.”

Ahead of the Africa Union Summit, Oxfam calls upon African leaders to:

Meet the targets laid out in the 2014 Malabo Declaration to halve poverty and end hunger by 2025 by increasing agricultural investment to at least 10% of government budgets; encouraging women and youth in agricultural businesses and boosting intra-African agricultural trade.
Develop national agricultural investment plans that are gender-sensitive and climate-proof, which seek primarily to support small-scale farmers in non-cash crop sectors.
Commit to non-violent conflict resolution and enforce the African Peace and Security mechanisms that prevent and resolve conflict. They should ensure that international humanitarian law is respected in conflicts and condemn human rights violations and bring perpetrators to account.
Ensure that safe humanitarian access is granted to those most in need.
Adopt the draft Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security and encourage member states to sign and ratify it, in order to ensure universal access to adequate food and nutrition and to address vulnerability and inequality.
Ensure national humanitarian organizations at the forefront of addressing the hunger crisis, are at heart and centre of the political effort to resolve it.
Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic injustices, and collectively investing in partnerships that secure long-term health for Africans, including allocating 15% of annual budgets to health as per the Abuja declaration.
Redouble Africa’s political voice to urge heavy carbon emitters, like China and the United States, to reduce their emissions, pay for the loss and damage that the climate crisis is causing in Africa, and to support Africa in mitigating the impact of climate change.

Notes

Oxfam has reached nearly 12 million of the most vulnerable across 22 countries in Africa with lifesaving support including clean water, food, and cash. In addition, together with our local partners, we work on gender, climate, and income generation programs to help people rebuild their lives, demand for their rights and cope with the devastating impact of climate change.
The number of people unable to afford a healthy diet in Africa is 1 billion, or one third of the global figure. Source: FAO et al., “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021”
FAO figures on the prevalence of undernourishment in Africa (including N. Africa) = 21% in 2020, up from 17% in 2015. That translates to 282 million people, up from 200 million in 2015. Ibid.
Figures of “nearly one out of five Africans experienced hunger in 2020 – more than double the proportion of any other region” from Policy Brief: Africa and Food Security. United Nations, Office of the Special Adviser on Africa October 2021
Figures on extreme coping mechanisms are from WFP food security analysis monitoring survey. Data is collected on a rolling basis. For more details on the methodology kindly check the Hunger Map
Figures of sub-Saharan women being anaemic and children under five being stunted is from the Global Report on Nutrition 2021.
The number of African countries facing conflict based on figures from Uppsala Data Conflict Program and International Crisis Group reports.
State of Climate in Africa https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate/wmo-statement-state-of-global-climate/Africa
Data on arms sending and conflict in Africa from SIPRI trends in World Military Expenditure 2020
Food price figures from OECD report. Also, in the 20 Sub-Saharan African countries for which there is monthly price data, food prices were up 11% in October 2021 as compared to a year earlier.

NZ company working with Oxfam to turn seawater into drinking water in Tonga

January 25, 2022

Bay of Islands based company Open Ocean says it is pleased the desalination units developed on request of Oxfam in 2014 are still helping to save lives in Tonga today. Over the weekend, Oxfam Aotearoa finally made contact with their partner Tongan National Youth Congress (TYNC), and was told the good news about the desalination units.

Vanessa Lolohea, Director of TYNC, spoke to Humanitarian Lead for Oxfam Aotearoa Carlos Calderon, saying that morale is high despite the circumstances. Lolohea told Oxfam that water is still a critical issue, but they are managing to survive with what little water they have.

Humanitarian Lead at Oxfam Aotearoa Carlos Calderon said:

“Even though we were unable to make contact until recently, we were confident that TNYC would have already stepped in and responded as they know best. We were so pleased to hear that they are using the desalination units to purify salty and seawater and distribute it to the community. TNYC has expressed gratitude upon receiving word that the second Oxfam desalination unit arrived on the NZDF flight and is currently in quarantine.”

General Manager of Open Ocean Daniel Alexander said:

“Our thoughts have been with Tonga ever since we heard, so we are so pleased to hear the units are still going strong after so many years. We are currently building more at the request of Oxfam and hope to have them ready soon.”

Currently, TNYC has established five water stations in Tongatapu for easy access to the community. TNYC said they would look to expand to Haapai and Eua, but sea transport is still a challenge.

Calderon said: “The Eastern Districts on Tongatapu does not have access to drinking water, and water will need to be trucked in over the coming days. Groundwater on the main islands of Ha’apai is also unsafe for drinking due to high saltwater contamination.

“The main island of Tongatapu is covered with 5-10 centimetres of ash, but I’m told that clean-up operations are progressing well, and the runway at the international airport in Tongatapu has been cleared.

“Thanks for the generosity of Kiwis, Oxfam Aotearoa have raised over $40,000 and counting. Tonga will need every penny over the coming weeks.

“It is estimated that some 12,000 households have been affected as crops, livestock, fisheries suffered substantially. Of particular concern is the effect of ashfall on crops and saltwater intrusion, and the potential of acid rain.”

Notes:

Oxfam Aotearoa is currently running an appeal to help bring drinking water to Tonga. Those looking to give can do so here: https://www.oxfam.org.nz/appeals/volcanic-eruption-in-tonga/

Open Ocean have been building desalination units since 2001. In 2014, Oxfam Aotearoa approached Open Ocean to build specially made desalination units after Cyclone Ian ripped through Tonga. Open Ocean is located in Opua, Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

The Oxfam desalination units convert salt water and seawater into drinking water at approximately 240 litres per hour.

Tonga National Youth Congress (TNYC) is one of Oxfam’s local partners in Tonga. Other partners include Tonga National Youth Council, Tonga National Council of Churches (TNCC), Ma’a, Fafine mo e Famili Inc. (MFF), Tonga Leitis Association (TLA) and Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT)

Read more about the work Oxfam does in the Pacific here.

Oxfam reaction to recent civilian deaths in airstrikes, Yemen

January 19, 2022

Following recent airstrikes in Yemen, Muhsin Sidiqquey Oxfam’s country director in Yemen said; “The increase in fighting in Yemen is having a deadly impact and once again it is civilians that are paying the price. The people of Yemen have been caught in the crossfire of this violent conflict for nearly seven years. They can’t wait any longer for peace -the international community must urgently negotiate an immediate cessation in hostilities and a lasting end to the conflict.“ All parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian and human rights law and ensure the safety and protection of civilians.”

Notes:

BBC Arabic report –at least 11 civilians killed in Sana’a yesterday https://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast-60025576
Last week alone, 29 civilians including three children were killed and 23 were injuredaccording to figures from the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project Weekly Highlights 6-13 January 2022

Oxfam reaction to Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai Volcanic Eruption

January 16, 2022

Following the recent eruption of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai and the ensuing tsunami, Carlos Calderόn Oxfam Aotearoa Humanitarian Lead said:

“We share the concern of our Tongan whanau here in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and our heart goes out to all those impacted by this event. We are monitoring the situation as closely as possible.

“With little communication getting through, we cannot be sure how much damage there may be. Our colleagues have reported volcanic ash upon the ground of approximately 1-2 centimetres. Until we know more, our immediate concerns are air and water pollution from volcanic ash.”

Oxfam in the Pacific runs two programmes in Tonga: The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) programme and Food Security and Livelihoods Programme. Oxfam in the Pacific also works with several partners locally, including Tonga National Youth Council, Tonga National Council of Churches (TNCC), Ma’a Fafine mo e Famili Inc. (MFF), Tonga Leitis Association (TLA), Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT).

More to follow.

For more information please contact:

David Bull | +64 274 179 724 | [email protected]

Philippines hit by over half a billion dollars in damages from Typhoon Rai; farming and fishing hardest hit

January 10, 2022

Oxfam staff report people begging for food in towns worst-hit.

The Philippines is struggling to recover from last month’s massive Typhoon Rai that caused losses worth 11.1 billion Php (NZ$317.3m) to agricultural crops and farmland and another 17.5 billion Php (NZ$487.2m) damages to homes, roads, electricity and water lines.

More than 420,000 hectares of land have been lost to storm floods, and as many as 925,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Key staple crops like rice, coconut and sugarcane have been wiped out across some regions of the country. The Philippines’ fisheries industry has lost over three billion’s Php (NZ$85.6m) worth of fishing boats, gear, and stock.

Oxfam Philippines Country Director Lot Felizco said: “Our staff reported finding people begging for scraps of food in Bontoc, Padre Burgos, Tomas Oppus and Malitbog, towns that were worst hit in Southern Leyte.

“As the rest of the world starts a new year with hope, nearly 7 million people – more than the entire population of Denmark – are struggling to come to terms with their homes damaged or destroyed and main incomes gone. Nearly 390,000 farmers and fishing folk have had their crops flattened, fishing boats smashed, or livestock killed or lost. They have been left with nothing.”

Petronilo Bohol, a fisher from Malitbog village, Southern Leyte, who had already been hit by two other storms before Rai said: “We live here because our only livelihood comes from the sea. We pulled out all the boats for safety, but the waves still reached them and reached the roads. Typhoon Rai was bigger and stronger than the two previous ones. It turned our mountains bald.”

Ramon Cabarrubias, a welder from Malitbog village, Southern Leyte, told Oxfam: “[During the storm] we crowded in our bathroom thinking that it was going to be our end. The next day, we came out to nothing. My mechanic tools are gone. Even my boat disappeared”.

Typhoon Rai was the last – and by far the strongest – of fifteen typhoons to have hit The Philippines in 2021.

Extreme weather events like Typhoon Rai are harbinger of worse to come. Scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures, induced by a man-made climate crisis, are causing typhoons to become more intense more frequent.

Oxfam roundly criticised the last COP26 climate talks for showing an “appalling disregard“ of the financial plan needed to compensate countries, like the Philippines, for loss and damage. It has urged rich polluting countries to honour their promises to cut carbon emissions to avoid a catastrophic global temperature rise above 1.5C, and also to stump up funding for mitigation and adaptation – and loss and damage – to poorer countries.

Climate-fueled extreme weather events, compounded by economic fallout from Covid-19 and existing inequalities, have pushed millions of vulnerable people in the Philippines to the brink of hunger and poverty. In 2021, over 26 million people – nearly a quarter of the population – were already living under the poverty line, where families of five earn less than 12,082 Php (NZ$347) a month.

A recent survey in 2021, showed that 2.5 million Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the three months (Jul-Sept 2021).

In the Philippines now – as local people struggle to clean up and recover their homes and livelihoods – urgent humanitarian funding is needed to provide lifesaving food and water, and to help people rebuild their homes, crops and businesses. Oxfam is urgently calling for 4 million Euros (NZ$6.7m) to help support its part of the collective humanitarian response in the country.

Notes:

Figures on loss and damages according to Department of Agriculture – DRRM Operations Centre. As of 3 Jan 2022
Figures on infrastructure loss and damages are according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
According to 2015-2020 data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, around 54.9 million or 64% Filipinos are chronically food insecure (IPC-Chronic level 2 and above). There are 14.5 million in level 3; and 7.1 million in level 4, totaling 21.6 million in IPC3 and above.
Typhoon Rai has already killed more than 400 people, damaged nearly 830,000 houses, displaced over half a million from their homes, and left 6.8 million people in desperate humanitarian need.
Oxfam, together with eight local partners have already reached over 38,000 people in the worst-hit communities in in Southern Leyte, Leyte province, and Siargao islands, with food packs, shelter repair materials, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, water kits, solar lights and solar packs. They also provided pre-disaster financial aid to 2,650 families in Eastern Samar to help them prepare for the typhoon.
Data on hunger by the Social Weather Survey (SWS) reported in the 3rd quarter of 2021. http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20211206105401
Data on losses in agriculture and fishery sectors are from Philippines Department of Agriculture as of 6 Jan 2022

Oxfam reaction to Government of India’s decision to restrict foreign funds

January 3, 2022

Oxfam India’s humanitarian work will be severely impacted

In reaction to the Government of India’s decision to refuse renewal of Oxfam India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration, Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India said:

“The restriction will severely affect our ongoing crucial humanitarian and social work in 16 states across the country. This includes setting up oxygen plants, providing lifesaving medical and diagnostic equipment such as oxygen cylinders and ventilators, and delivering lifesaving food to the most vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Oxfam India has been working in public interest with the government, communities, and frontline workers in the country for decades now. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oxfam India joined hands with health departments, district administrations, and ASHA workers across the nation to provide life-saving equipment and support.

“We are also working with various state governments to ensure bridging of the learning gap in school education due to COVID-19. We have worked to enhance women’s livelihood and worked with forest dwellers to ensure that they are not denied their rights. We have worked in some of the most flood-prone districts to make communities resilient and provide a lasting solution. The Ministry of Home Affairs decision to deny renewal of FCRA registration will severely hamper these collaborations which were providing relief to those who needed it the most during times of crisis,

“Over the years, our work has always been in the public interest and guided by the principle of creating lasting solutions to address the injustice of poverty, to leave no one behind, and to end discrimination and create a free and just society. The MHA’s refusal to renew Oxfam India’s FCRA registration will not reduce Oxfam India’s commitment to serve the vulnerable communities in-country and uphold values enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Oxfam India will reach out to the MHA and will urge them to lift the funding restrictions to ensure vulnerable communities keep receiving the support they need at this critical time of the pandemic.”

Notes

As per the list released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 01 January 2022, Oxfam India’s FCRA registration renewal request has been denied which means that Oxfam India will not be able to receive foreign funds for any of its work in India from 01 January 2022.

COVID-19 Response by Oxfam India

This development severely hampers Oxfam India’s COVID-19 response ‘Mission Sanjeevani’ which is one of the largest among NGOs in India. Under the initiative, Oxfam India provided 6 Oxygen generating plants and distributed over 13,388 lifesaving medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders, BiPAP Machines, concentrators, and ventilators, over 116,957 safety and PPE kits, over 9929 diagnostic equipment such as thermometers and oximeters, and 20,000 testing kits in 16 states. We reached over 141 district-level hospitals, 171 Primary Health Centres, and 167 Community Health Centres.

We trained and provided safety kits to over 48,000 ASHA workers in 9 states, who are the backbone of the primary healthcare system. We have delivered food ration to over 5.76 lakh people. And made cash transfers to over 10,000 people to the tune of INR 3.53 Crores to help them with their immediate needs during the pandemic. These include helping the most vulnerable communities including transgenders, sex workers, miners, rag pickers, cancer survivors, survivors of domestic violence, weavers, fisherfolk, construction workers, and those affected by floods and cyclones. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. As India stares at a possible third wave due to the Omicron variant, the restrictions on accessing funds will hamper our efforts to provide support in strengthening the public healthcare system.

Since March 2020, Oxfam India was at the forefront whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon NGOs and civil society to join the fight against COVID-19 by helping the government to strengthen health services and accelerate the pace of vaccination. The Supreme Court also acknowledged the contribution of NGOs in providing relief during the pandemic.

Rapid Response to Natural Disasters and Crisis

Oxfam India’s humanitarian team has been one of the first to respond to cyclones, floods, landslides, and earthquakes. This year we reached out to over 8000 people in Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. Since 2008, Oxfam India has provided relief to lakhs of people through its disaster relief response. This includes crucial food aid, water, hygiene kits, shelter kits and lifesaving equipment.

Development Work for Nation Building

Oxfam India’s programmes and interventions are aimed at achieving overall development of the poorest states in India. Our work has presence in 109 districts of 6 states of India – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Jharkhand. Apart from humanitarian work, Oxfam India has worked with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities to ensure education to all, especially girl child and to provide multi-lingual education to tribal children. Our education programmes have helped more than 90,000 children to receive quality education in the last five years, and it continues to work towards bridging learning losses due to the pandemic and lockdowns.

We have worked with over 11,000 women to strengthen their livelihood; these include women farmers, fisherfolk and artisans many of whom have also set up producer companies. In the last five years alone, we have set up 11 Women Support Centres and reached out to 3.48 lakh women and girls through our campaign and programmes to address Violence Against Women. To improve public health, Oxfam India’s programmes are pushing for free medicines, patients’ rights and improving quality of healthcare for all. These programmes serve crucial public interests and serve communities which lag behind in development.

Oxfam India has worked for the forest rights of the tribal communities as well as other traditional forest dwellers. In the last 5 years, we have worked with over 40,000 tribes and forest dwellers in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and our work has borne fruit — 2975 Individual Forest Rights, 27 Community Forest Rights and 20 Community Rights titles were received. We have worked closely with the National and State Disaster Management Authorities to contribute to risk-informed development planning as well as draw up DRR Road Maps for states like Assam and Bihar.

Oxfam India has worked to bridge inequalities and end discrimination not just through its work on the ground but also through research and knowledge building. Our Inequality Reports over the years have covered a gamut of topics from the unpaid care work of women to the state of employment. Our latest Inequality Report this year, ‘India’s Unequal Healthcare Story’, took a deep dive into how access to healthcare and the health parameters varied for different sections of the society.

Legacy of Oxfam in India

While Oxfam India became a fully Indian organisation in 2008 with prominent citizens of India as its board members, Oxfam had been working in India since 1951. Throughout these seven decades, the organisation has always upheld Indian laws, propagated the country’s constitutional values and worked tirelessly for the people of India.

Oxfam came to India to provide famine relief in Bihar in 1951. Since then, we have been participating in India’s nation-building process in different ways and we are proud of it. Oxfam’s support to Amul, the dairy cooperative society based in Anand, Gujarat in the 1960s helped it to become the largest milk brand in India and one of the largest food products in the world. In 1971, it recruited doctors and medical students to provide medical assistance to refugees coming in India from East Pakistan.

During the Kargil war, Oxfam provided crucial relief material to communities on the Indian side of the border. Oxfam was at the forefront of the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts after Tsunami hit the Tamil Nadu coast in 2005. Oxfam India has in the last 70 years saved millions of people affected due to floods, cyclones, and earthquakes. And when the pandemic struck, we were on the ground with hot cooked meals for the migrant workers within days of the announcement of the lockdown in March 2020. We haven’t looked back since.

Oxfam India’s international affiliates have always joined hands whenever call for help has been sent out by the people of India. As recently as in May 2021, all Oxfam affiliates in 21 countries mobilised significant resources to combat the devastating second wave and mitigate the suffering of the people in India.