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Aid cuts left DRC exposed to Ebola – Oxfam is mounting a response

Reacting to the World Health Organization’s declaration of the Ebola outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — with over 400 suspected cases and 89 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo — Dr. Manenji Mangudu, Oxfam Country Director in the DRC, said:

“Our partners are sending us deeply alarming reports. One doctor in Mongwalu Health Zone, Ituri told us: ‘There are already deaths in the community. When people die at home, it means there are many more undetected cases. Yesterday alone, we had 15 suspected cases in isolation. By the time patients reach us, it is often too late to save them.’ With millions lacking access to functioning health facilities, this novel strain risks an already catastrophic crisis over the edge.

“This outbreak is hitting a country already stretched to breaking point. Ongoing conflict and years of aid cuts have deepened a humanitarian crisis of staggering scale: one in four people are going hungry. Those same aid cuts left DRC effectively exposed to Ebola, weakening the surveillance systems that should have detected this outbreak weeks earlier.

“Oxfam and its partners are mounting an emergency response in Ituri, providing clean water, sanitation and health awareness to affected communities. But this crisis is arriving at a moment of critically depleted humanitarian funding. Without urgent financial assistance, efforts to save lives risk being fatally undermined.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

  • Oxfam’s Ebola response is focused on public health promotion and supporting community-lead solutions to break the chain of transmission. Oxfam will also be providing safe, clean water in affected communities and improving the health centres infrastructure.

  • Oxfam needs £10m to scale up its emergency response in DRC, aiming to reach most vulnerable communities in Bunia, Beni and Butembo regions.

  • According to the latest IPC findings, 26.5 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity from January to June 2026, including 3.6 million in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 22.9 million in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis)

Contact information:

[email protected]

Somalia IPC Reaction

Reacting to the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) published today for Somalia which shows that over 6 million people are experiencing hunger (IPC Phase 3 or above), including nearly 1.9 million in emergency levels (IPC Phase 4), Oxfam’s Somalia Humanitarian lead, Sameer Kariya said:

“Somalia is once again sliding dangerously close to catastrophe. More than 6 million people – nearly one in every three people is struggling to find food.

“Three poor rainy seasons have pushed communities in the country at risk of famine particularly in Burhakaba district of Bay region where worsening acute malnutrition and the projected failure of the Gu rains (April-June rainy season) threaten to deepen the crisis.

“Water sources have dried up while crops and livestock continue to be wiped out and families are forced to abandon their homes in search of water and pasture. For communities and particularly women, it’s no longer about rebuilding but surviving to find at least one meal a day to keep their children alive.”

“The conflict in the Middle East is further driving up the cost of living with food prices rising by 30% and fuel costs increasing by 50% putting basic necessities out of reach for millions of people. Disruption to supply routes are also making it significantly harder and more expensive to deliver lifesaving aid to those most in need, with no foreseeable end to the blockage, Oxfam fears prices of the basic commodities will continue to exacerbate further.

“Somalia has also suffered heavy funding cuts which continue to undermine its response and are forcing aid agencies to make the impossible choices as to who gets support and who doesn’t.

“The world must not wait for famine to be declared before acting — by then, countless lives will have been lost. Urgent support must be delivered immediately.”

Note to editors:

  • Poor rains and rising costs drive urgent food and nutrition needs with risk of famine in one area according to the latest IPC findings

  • The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan estimates that 4.8 million people require humanitarian assistance, with 2.4 million targeted under the response. Funding levels remain critically low, limiting response capacity at a time of increasing needs

Contact information:

[email protected]

Reactive statement on the publication of the Acute Food Insecurity Analysis on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Reacting to the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) published today on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which shows that 26.5 million people are experiencing hunger (IPC Phase 3 or above), including nearly 3.6 million  in emergency levels (IPC Phase 4), Oxfam’s Country Director Dr, Manenji Mangundu said: 

“These latest figures show that conflict–driven hunger gripping the country continues to deteriorate with 1.7 million more people without enough food compared to the end of last year.  While the numbers are slightly lower than earlier projections, too many people are facing severe hunger. 

“The eastern side of the country – the epicentre of the conflict – remains one of the area worst affected by hunger, with nearly half a million people already in desperate need of life-saving assistance, such as food, clean water and shelter.  

“The impact of aid cuts to life-saving programmes continue to have a catastrophic impact. USAID was the leading donor in the country and most aid agencies relied on its funding to help people survive and rebuild their lives.  Without it, agencies have been forced to make terrible triage decisions including who gets to live and who might needlessly die. 

“The world cannot continue to look the other way, the situation is dire. Oxfam is calling on international partners to urgently scale up funding, to both alleviate immediate suffering and address the long-term food security needs.” 

Notes to editors:

  • Oxfam is helping over 670 000 people in eastern DRC with food, clean water, sanitation, cash assistance as well as hygiene kits for women and girls.
  • The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was the leading humanitarian donor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2024, USAID report indicated that it provided over $838 million in Fiscal Year 2024 alone, which includes $414 million specifically for humanitarian needs resulting from ongoing conflict and displacement   

Contact information:

[email protected]

Oxfam reaction to the outcome of the Santa Marta conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels

In response to the outcome of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, Oxfam Climate Policy Lead Mariana Paoli said:

“The fact that more than 50 countries came together to start developing a path to move away from fossil fuels must be celebrated. The People’s Summit demonstrated that there are many ways to implement a just transition, and the crucial role civil society can play in this process.

“However, it is disappointing that wealthy governments have still not stepped up to provide sufficient climate financing for poorer countries, which face the brunt of the impacts of the climate crisis, to make this move. Rich countries hold the historical responsibility for the climate crisis, therefore they must not only move first and faster but also provide finance at scale for others to follow them.

“A just transition must make rich polluters pay for the crisis they have caused. While households around the world struggle with skyrocketing energy prices amidst geopolitical instability, the biggest fossil fuel corporations rake in record-breaking profits, with most of those gains going into the hands of the richest 1 percent. Taxing the super-rich and big polluters to fund a just transition is the obvious viable solution that governments must choose.

“Santa Marta is just the first step of the process to a just transition. Between now and the next conference that will be hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland in 2027, governments must continue to build a momentum for a fair and equitable energy transition.”

Notes to Editors

In the context of the global energy crisis, Oxfam commissioned new polling by market research company Norstat in April 2026, from people in seven countries (UK, France, Brazil, Turkey, Australia, the Netherlands and Colombia). It found that three times as many citizens supported greater government investment in renewable energy compared to increasing fossil fuel extraction, and approximately two thirds (68 percent) supported increasing taxes on the profits of large oil and gas corporations to help fund the transition to renewables. Download the results.

Contact information:

[email protected]

Top CEO pay increased 20 times faster than workers’ pay in 2025

  • Global real worker pay fell 12 percent while real CEO pay surged 54 percent between 2019 and 2025.

  • At least four CEOs of major corporations each pocketed over $100 million in pay and bonuses last year. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan led the pack at over $205 million.

  • Billionaires were paid $2,500 per second in dividends in 2025.

  • The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Oxfam are calling for urgent action to rein in extreme wealth, including higher, fairer taxes on the richest and binding limits on CEO pay.

‘Workers’ wages have fallen behind the cost of living in Aotearoa, as they have around the world, at the same time as the bosses of our biggest companies gave themselves huge raises’ said Nick Henry, Advocacy and Policy Lead at Oxfam Aotearoa.

“The economy is being rigged against working people and it’s about time we tilted the balance back toward fair pay.”

Across Aotearoa, Workers’ pay declined by 1.3% in real terms from 2024 to 2025, while the top CEOs increased their pay by 45%.

Chief executives of the world’s largest corporations enjoyed a 11 percent real-terms pay hike last year, while the average global worker saw real wages increase by just 0.5 percent, reveals new analysis by the ITUC and Oxfam ahead of International Workers’ Day (1 May).

The analysis covers the top-paying 1,500 corporations across 33 countries which have reported CEO pay for 2025. The average CEO pocketed $8.4 million in pay and bonuses last year, up from $7.6 million in 2024. It would take the average global worker 490 years to earn the same amount.

So far, four corporations, including Blackstone, Broadcom and Goldman Sachs, have reported paying their CEO more than $100 million in 2025. The top 10 highest-paid CEOs collectively made over $1 billion.

The gender pay gap for the workforce across these 1,500 corporations averages 16 percent, meaning that these women workers effectively work for free from 4 November each year.

The growing chasm between CEO compensation and average worker pay is part of a long-term trend in which executives and shareholders are capturing an ever-larger slice of the global economic pie.

Global real wages for workers have fallen by 12 percent since 2019. This means they have effectively worked 108 days for free between 2019 and 2025 (31 days for free last year alone). Meanwhile, CEO pay has skyrocketed ―from an average of $5.5 million in 2019 to $8.4 million in 2025, a 54 percent increase in real terms.

The ITUC and Oxfam’s analysis of shareholdings reveals that the super-rich are receiving significant payouts from the corporations they control. Nearly 1,000 billionaires whose investment portfolios were identified collectively received $79 billion in dividends in 2025 —equivalent to $2,500 per second.

The average billionaire made more in dividends in less than two hours than the average worker earned in pay in an entire year.

Some of the largest payouts in 2025 went to Bernard Arnault, owner of luxury brand LVMH, who pocketed $3.8 billion and Amancio Ortega, owner of Inditex (Zara), who received $3.7 billion.

Payouts from corporations are often funneled into undermining workers’ rights and democracy.

  • Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, has used his wealth to become a major stakeholder in Paramount, which was purchased by his son’s company and includes major broadcast networks CBS.

  • In France, far-right billionaire Vincent Bolloré now controls CNews, and has rebranded it as the French equivalent of Fox News.

  • In 2024, Oxfam filed a formal UN complaint against Amazon and Walmart’s systematic human rights violations. Amazon and Walmart’s outsized wealth and power in the economy have enabled them to clamp down on unionization efforts and collective organizing.

Billionaires are also leveraging their wealth to buy political influence. A global survey found that half of people believe “the rich often buy elections” in their countries. Oxfam estimates that billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people. Many super-rich politicians have sought to erode workers’ rights, cut public services, and deliver tax cuts to the richest.

“This analysis exposes the billionaire coup against democracy, and its costs for working people. Companies promise us a virtuous cycle, but what we see is a vicious cycle led by mega corporations —they undermine collective bargaining and social dialogue while billionaire CEOs capture the wealth created by productivity gains. The super-rich then use enormous resources to fund anti-democratic political projects,” said ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle.

“These projects shift the blame for growing inequality onto marginalized groups, such as migrants, women and minorities in order to distract from the true culprits: their rich benefactors. They divide working people while dismantling and undermining democratic institutions and promoting policies that allow the super-rich to become even richer, at the expense of workers’ rights, safety and livelihoods. They attack democratic organizations like unions and block any avenues for popular reform, ensuring that the vicious anti-worker cycle continues.”

Billionaire wealth has reached record highs in 2026. In just 12 months, they have gained $4 trillion —bringing their wealth to $1.5 trillion more than that of the poorest 4.1 billion people combined. There are 400 more billionaires compared to last year, and 45 of these new billionaires have made their fortunes in artificial intelligence.

“We can’t continue to let a handful of super-rich people siphon off the rewards of work that belong to millions. Governments must cap CEO pay, fairly tax the super-rich and ensure minimum wages at the very least keep pace with inflation and ensure a dignified living. And workers must be able to exercise, without fear or obstruction, their rights to organize, to strike, and to bargain collectively. They are the ones who generate society’s wealth; they should be able to claim, as a matter of justice, what they are due,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

“These measures can do far more than redistribute income; they can create economies that reward work, invest in communities, and hold powerful interests accountable. This is how we turn a system rigged for the few into one that works for everyone.”

Notes to editors:

New Zealand CEO pay increased 45% in real terms in the year to December 2025 (for the 21 CEOs in the NZX50 for whom data was available).

New Zealand Workers’ pay declined 1.3% in real terms in the year to December 2025 (comparing Labour Cost Index to Consumer Price Index).

Download the ITUC and Oxfam’s media briefing and methodology note for more information, tables and graphs.

In 2024, Oxfam submitted a formal complaint against Amazon and Walmart to the United Nations. Read more about surveillance and suffering at Amazon and Walmart warehouses.

The World Values Survey Wave 7 found that half of people believe “the rich often buy elections” in their countries.

Oxfam’s estimates that billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people.

Download the ITUC’s report “Corporate Underminers of Democracy 2025.”

Contact information:

For more information or to arrange an interview, please reach out to:

[email protected]

Reactive statement on the publication of the Acute Food Insecurity Analysis on South Sudan

Reacting to the latest Acute Food Insecurity analysis on South Sudan, Oxfam’s Director in South Sudan, Shabnam Baloch, said:

“Oxfam is deeply concerned by the latest findings showing that acute food insecurity in South Sudan is alarmingly high and continues to increase with 7.8 million people- nearly two in every three persons facing extreme hunger. In some areas, conditions have worsened with 73,000 people now facing starvation according to the latest IPC findings.”

“A lethal mix of conflict, collapsing markets and climate shocks combined with devastating aid cuts is pushing more families deeper into severe hunger. Communities are being cut off from help when they need it most and the systems meant to protect the most vulnerable are falling short.

“With the rainy season fast approaching, the situation is set to worsen in the coming weeks. Without urgent, scaled-up action especially—food assistance and clean water—more lives are at risk.

“This is not just a hunger crisis—it is a full-blown humanitarian emergency unfolding in plain sight. Oxfam is calling on the international community to step up support and on all parties to the conflict to end the violence, protect civilians, and allow unimpeded humanitarian access.”

END

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • Between April and July 2026, about 7.8 million people in South Sudan face high levels of acute food insecurity—an increase of roughly 280,000 since September 2025 according to the latest IPC findings.

  • Around 73,000 people are facing starvation, and a high risk of death as livelihoods collapse. As conditions worsen, areas in Luakpiny/Nasir and Ulang in Upper Nile, and Nyirol,Akobo in Jonglei, could face famine under worst-case scenarios.

  • Violence in Jongeli state has worsened the humanitarian crisis, displacing over 300,000 people within the country, while 110,000 others have fled to Ethiopia according to UNHCR. Families are facing extreme hunger (emergency levels) and a growing risk of cholera outbreak due to lack of clean water and sanitation. Women and children fleeing the conflict are enduring days-long journeys, reporting attacks, family separation, abductions and hunger along the way.

  • An estimated 7.55 million people – 53% of the population are projected to face severe food shortages (crisis level and above). Heavy rains expected later this month will further cut off humanitarian access to communities most in need.

  • At the same time, refugees fleeing the war in Sudan — now entering its fourth year — is putting more pressure on an over-stretched response. Since last year, the humanitarian coverage rate in South Sudan is the lowest since the country was created in 2011 and only 22 percent of humanitarian response plan has been funded to date.

  • Oxfam was providing lifesaving food assistance, clean water, and sanitation support to over 400,000 displaced people and host communities in Jonglei State before operations were suspended and is now continuing support in neighbouring towns.

Contact information:

[email protected]