water

IPC Alert: Famine Spreads in Sudan

February 5, 2026

Responding to today’s Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) alert Oxfam’s Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Oxfam in Africa Director, said:

“It is deeply alarming that famine-level malnutrition has been confirmed in two additional areas of North Darfur that were previously not at risk. This is in addition to the extreme hunger levels already being experienced by communities who have suffered nearly three years of brutal war.

“We express solidarity with the people of Sudan and remain committed to supporting those seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. The consequences of the conflict are now being felt heavily in South Sudan, where renewed violence and deepening hunger are colliding, stretching an already fragile country to breaking point – a direct result of global failure to act.

 “Oxfam is supporting refugees and returnees in Chad and South Sudan providing life-saving assistance such as water, food, cash and hygiene support but deep funding cuts to humanitarian action are stripping away lifelines, leaving families with nothing and driving millions closer to the edge.”

Notes to editors

IPC alert available here.

Contact information:

Rachel Schaevitz | Head of Communication, Media & Advocacy, Oxfam Aotearoa

Email: [email protected], Mobile: +64 (0)27 959 5555

Millions stranded as conflict and aid cuts in South Sudan drive surge in suffering – Oxfam

November 26, 2025

Donors provided lowest aid funding ever in 2025, since country created in 2011

Almost 6 million people – nearly half of the population – in South Sudan are experiencing acute hunger, with little access to clean water or sanitation as funding cuts have stripped away vital humanitarian support just as it is needed the most, Oxfam warned today.

Massive reductions in funding from governments, including huge cuts across USAID (United States Agency of International Development), have forced humanitarian programmes to significantly scale down, while the number of people in need of support has soared. More than 2 million people are currently displaced due to conflict across the country and widespread flooding; with over a million people fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Sudan.

This year, South Sudan has seen the least amount of funding ever provided by institutional donors since the country was created in 2011. With only a month of the year left, the country’s $1.7 billion emergency Humanitarian Need and Response Plan for 2025 is less than 41 per cent funded.

In Renk, one of the country’s most densely populated and vulnerable towns where up to 1,000 people are arriving at transit centres every day, Oxfam is being forced to scale down its operations there by 70 per cent over the next month. Unless new funding is secured by February, Oxfam will have to shut down its operations there entirely.

Shabnam Baloch, Oxfam’s South Sudan Country Director, said: “These aid cuts are catastrophic for the millions of people already grappling with extreme hunger and disease. We are now confronted with the heartbreaking reality of having to scale back our humanitarian response and in Renk, potentially have to close entirely in less than three months. It is as though the world is turning its back on those who need help the most, at the very moment when their survival hangs in the balance.”

Many people who have fled the deadly conflict and hunger in Sudan are living in the border town of Renk, where communities are grappling with multiple health crises. Currently, there is only one clean water tap for every 433 people in one transit centre – almost half the accepted humanitarian standard.

New cases of cholera, acute watery diarrhoea and Hepatitis E continue to be reported, with 450 (35 per cent) hospitals or health clinics either closed or severely disrupted.

A recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for South Sudan found that nearly 6 million people are experiencing acute hunger; this includes nearly 1.3 million people with very high acute malnutrition and an increased mortality rate. The report forecasts that these figures will worsen, reaching 7.5 million people in crisis by April next year.

Oxfam warns there is a significant risk of many more being tipped into catastrophic levels of hunger as support continues to be removed.

Maria, a returnee from Sudan said: “Few organizations are now operating, unlike before when there were many. Now there is poor sanitation and hygiene, many water taps no longer work. We fear for the fact we no longer see the help we had before. Households are now minimising the amount of water they use, and we could see a worse situation where there is little or no water at all. Yet water is life.”

Oxfam is also concerned that the huge cuts to humanitarian assistance are directly translating into increased vulnerability and heightened protection risks for women and girls.

Baloch said: “Desperate families will be forced to turn to harmful coping mechanisms if they are unable to get any support. Awful consequences, such as child marriage or sending women and girls to forage for resources in unsafe areas, where they risk exposure to sexual violence and exploitation.

“We urge International donors not to forget what is happening in Sudan and the knock-on impact on South Sudan, where millions of vulnerable people could be left to starve or face a rapid spread in disease if the vital lifeline of aid is not urgently restored.”

Notes to editor:

UN OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service shows the Humanitarian Need and Response plan (HNRP) for South Sudan, with requirements and funding gaps each year since 2011 (Please see table below)

The World Food Programme announced last week a near $400m funding shortfall for the next six months and the impact of cuts

Oxfam is currently supporting 44,000 refugees and returnees in Renk with clean water, and sanitation services. Among them are more than 9,000 people residing in Transit Centre 2 (TC2), where water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions are already critically overstretched. UNHCR and IOM data shows the number of people arriving each day.

The IPC analysis on South Sudan was published on 4 November 2025

The humanitarian standard for the number of people per tap of clean water is generally set at a maximum of 250 people per tap. In the transit centres in Renk, there are just 30 functioning clean water taps for 13,000 people.

Contact information:

For more details, please contact: [email protected]

Disease ripping through Gaza as Israeli military continues to deliberately block aid

July 24, 2025

Deadly diseases are now ripping through Gaza even as millions of dollars’ worth of humanitarian aid piles up in warehouses across the region, says Oxfam.

Water-borne diseases that are both preventable and readily treatable have increased by almost 150% inside Gaza over the past three months as Israel continues to deliberately block aid.

Available multi-agency health data shows that the numbers of Palestinians presenting to health facilities with acute watery diarrhea have increased by 150 per cent, bloody diarrhea by 302 per cent, and acute jaundice cases by 101 per cent.

Even these figures will be grossly under-reported because most of the two million people trapped by Israel’s continuing siege have little access to the few healthcare facilities that have managed to keep operating.

This surge of disease can quickly turn deadly especially as Palestinians living in Gaza have been deprived of enough food, water, shelter, and adequate healthcare for over 21 months. Their community and family networks have been shattered, and people made more vulnerable by repeated forced mass displacements and continuing violence.

Israel has put Gaza under a near total blockade since March 2 of this year stopping all but a trickle of aid. There are no longer any humanitarian aid reserves held by international agencies inside of Gaza.

As a result, international humanitarian donors and agencies have been forced to accumulate more than 420,000 pallets of aid that now sit in limbo inside warehouses across the regions. This covers an area of around 75 hectares, or enough to cover 101 football fields.

This aid includes shelters, food and supplements to combat malnutrition, and water equipment, sanitation items and medicines that would be vital to tackle diseases and

Oxfam alone has over 110,000 items of humanitarian aid in one warehouse including water bladders and tanks, hygiene, dignity and water testing kits, food parcels, soap, nappies, pipes and latrine slabs.

Oxfam is waiting for clearances and permissions to enter, however the Israeli authorities have recently denied water and sanitation items and food parcels.

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel policy lead, said that time is running out to prevent an epidemic across Gaza and the mass death that would inevitably result.

“The conditions that Palestinians in Gaza are being forced to endure have created a petri dish for disease. These are diseases that thrive where people lack water – clean or otherwise – and are stuck in over-crowded unsanitary environments with almost no food,” Khalidi said.

“There is a grim and deliberate inevitability as to what Israel has created in Gaza. Each day that its siege continues and it denies aid, starvation becomes increasingly widespread and human deaths from entirely preventable diseases becomes an absolute certainty.”

“As Gaza bakes in the summer sun and the hottest month of the year looms, it is increasingly urgent that Israel’s siege must end. It is shameful Israel has been allowed to besiege Gaza and create this catastrophe. Nothing other than complete access to Gaza to deliver aid at scale can alleviate the conditions that people have been forced to live in.”

“Each day we wait for a ceasefire, more lives are lost through violence, hunger and disease. Palestinians in Gaza cannot wait a day longer for this hell to end. There must be a full and complete ceasefire, and all required aid must be able to enter via all crossings into Gaza so that Palestinians can finally begin to recover and rebuild.”

Notes to editors

Health data is drawn from Gaza health cluster data epidemiology on WASH related disease trends March-June 2025
Calculation of aid pallets based on Palestine logistics cluster data
Oxfam has aid waiting for clearance in warehouses in Jordan and in Egypt.

Contact information

For more information and for interviews, please contact:

Media at Oxfam Aotearoa | [email protected] or

Oxfam Media office | [email protected]

Jacqui Crocoran | Oxfam Media Lead in Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territory | [email protected]

Less than seven percent of pre-conflict water levels available to Rafah and North Gaza, worsening a health catastrophe

February 18, 2025

– Nearly 1,700 kilometres of water and sanitation networks have been destroyed

– Big-ticket repairs of networks urgently needed but Israeli government balks in approving supplies

The resumption of aid into Gaza, including fuel to operate undamaged water and sanitation facilities along with water trucking, has improved the amount of water available to people in some parts of Gaza. But the picture remains extremely bleak and dangerously critical, especially in the North Gaza and Rafah governorates, warned Oxfam today.

Fifteen months of Israel’s military assault has destroyed 1,675 kilometres of water and sanitation networks. In North Gaza and Rafah governorates, which have suffered the most destruction, less than seven percent of pre-conflict water levels is available to people, heightening the spread of waterborne diseases.

As fragile ceasefire negotiations hang in the balance, any renewed violence or disruption to fuel and the already inadequate aid would trigger a full-scale public health disaster.

Carlos Calderon, Oxfam Aotearoa’s Head of Partnerships and Humanitarian said:

“No human can survive more than a few days without water. In Gaza, over two million people are being forced to drink from unsafe sources, while overflowing sewage networks create a breeding ground for deadly diseases we once conquered. This is a second humanitarian catastrophe in the making. What we do next will define who we are as a society.”

Clémence Lagouardat, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Gaza said:

“Now that the bombs have stopped, we have only just begun to grasp the sheer scale of destruction to Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. Most vital water and sanitation networks have been entirely lost or paralyzed, which is creating catastrophic hygiene and health conditions.

“Our staff and partners have told how people are stopping them in the streets asking for water, and that parents are not drinking to save water for their children. It is heartbreaking to hear about children having to walk for miles for a single jerrycan of water.”

In the North Gaza governorate, almost all water wells have been destroyed by the Israeli military. Over 700,000 people have returned to find entire neighbourhoods wiped out. For the few whose homes remain standing, water is non-existent due to the destruction of rooftop storage tanks.

In Rafah, over 90 percent of water wells and reservoirs have been partially or completely damaged, and water production is less than five percent of its capacity before the conflict. Only two out of 35 wells are currently operational.

Despite efforts to resume water production since the ceasefire, the destruction of Gaza’s water pipelines means that 60 percent of water is leaking into the ground rather than reaching people.

Oxfam and partners’ initial assessment after the ceasefire found:

– More than 80 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure across the Gaza Strip has been partially or entirely destroyed, including all six major wastewater treatment plants.

– 85 percent of the sewage pumping stations (73 out of 84) and networks have been destroyed. Some have been repaired but urgently require fuel to operate.

– 85 percent of small desalination plants (85 out of 103) have been partially damaged or completely destroyed.

– 67 percent of the 368 municipal wells have been destroyed. Most of the private small wells cannot function due to lack of fuel or generators.

The lack of safe water, combined with untreated sewage overflowing in the streets has triggered an explosion of waterborne and infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organisation, 88 percent of environmental samples surveyed across Gaza were found contaminated with polio, signalling an imminent risk of outbreak. Infectious diseases including acute watery diarrhoea and respiratory infections – now the leading causes of death – are also surging, with 46,000 cases, mostly children, being reported each week.

Chickenpox and skin diseases such as scabies and impetigo are also spreading rapidly, particularly among displaced populations in the Northern Gaza Governorate, where water shortages are most severe.

Meanwhile, with no waste collection and transport for over 15 months, more than 2,000 tonnes of garbage has been piling up in the streets every day. This toxic combination of open sewage, uncollected waste and contaminated water is creating a perfect storm for a deadly disease outbreak.

Lagouardat said: “Despite the increase in aid since the ceasefire, Israel continues to severely impair critical items needed to begin repairing the massive structural damage from its airstrikes. This includes desperately needed pipes for repairing water and sanitation networks, equipment like generators to operate wells.”

Oxfam’s own 85 tonne-shipment of water pipes, fittings and water tanks – worth over $480,000 – had been held up for over six months because it was deemed as dual-use and “oversized” to enter. Israeli authorities only finally approved the shipment this week, although it has yet to enter.

Lagouardat said: “Hundreds of thousands of displaced people across the Gaza Strip have had to resort to digging makeshift cesspits next to their tents. This daily discharge of approximately 130,000 cubic meters – the equivalent of 52 Olympic pools – of untreated sewage is contaminating the Mediterranean Sea and Gaza’s only aquifer.

“Rebuilding water and sanitation is vital for Gaza to have a path to normalcy after 15 months of horror. The ceasefire must hold, and fuel and aid must flow so that Palestinians can rebuild their lives. Lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis can only come through a permanent ceasefire and a just solution.”

Notes to the editor

– Oxfam has recent photos and footage of water and sanitation destruction in Gaza and can be downloaded HERE (valid until 14 May 25)

– According to the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) as of February 2025, a total of 1675 km out of 4,800 km of Gaza’s water and sanitation networks have been partially or entirely destroyed since October 2023. This includes 350km in North Gaza, 495km in Gaza City, 240 Km in the Middle area, 350km in Khan Younis, and 240km in Rafah respectively.

– Data on water and sanitation destruction is based on the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) Rapid Damage Assessment Report, January 2025.

– Data on cost of infrastructure repair is based on Gaza Municipality Planning and Investment Unit report of December 31, 2024.

– According to Oxfam’s Water War Crime s report, the Gaza population had access to 82.7 litres per person per day before 7 October 2023. Currently Rafah has less than five percent of that amount; and North Gaza governorates have less than seven percent of that amount, or 5.7 litres per person per day.

– According to the 10 Feb 2025 WASH Cluster report: only two (out of 35) wells in Rafah are currently operational.

– Acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in children under five years old was reported to be 13,179 cases. This accounts for approximately 54% of the total registered cases of AWD. Also, 21 out of 24 Polio environmental surveyed samples across Gaza (88%) were positive. Source: Polio Global Eradication Initiative (WHO & UN) on 1 Feb 2025

– UNOSAT latest data collected on 1 December 2024 identified 60,368 destroyed structures, 20,050 severely damaged structures, 56,292 moderately damaged structures, and 34,102 possibly damaged structures for a total of 170,812 structures. The governorates of North Gaza and Rafah have experienced the highest rise in damage compared to the 6 September 2024 analysis, with around 3,138 new structures damaged in North Gaza and around 3,054 in Rafah. Within North Gaza, Jabalya municipality had the highest number of newly damaged structures, totalling 1,339.

Nearly half a million people left without shelter, food or water in DR Congo amid destruction of displacement sites and aid cuts

February 14, 2025

Oxfam warns of an alarming humanitarian crisis in Eastern DRC as aid groups struggle to respond in the face of funding cuts ripple effects.

Over 450,000 people are left without shelter, food or water in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the destruction of thirteen displacements sites in Goma, Oxfam warns. The crisis is increasingly alarming following the takeover of Bukavu, the capital city of South Kivu while funding cuts hinder the capacity of remaining humanitarian organisations to respond.

A surge in fighting has forced thousands of people to leave the displacement sites, many of which were destroyed or looted in the aftermath of the conflict. Many are now seeking shelter in overcrowded churches and schools in Goma. Many families are going back to their villages, only to find their house in shamble and struggling with immense needs. The fall of Bukavu has triggered mass population movement, deepening the humanitarian crisis.

An Oxfam staff member in Minova, located 45 km south-west of Goma, said: “The displaced people are returning en masse, there’s a lot of movement and the needs are enormous because the response has to be put in place and it will take time. Many are afraid to return to the village where they have already been attacked. People are traumatized. 25 cases of cholera have been recorded this week. There’s also Mpox. It’s a catastrophe. People are going to die.”

The ripple effects of the US funding cuts are dramatically affecting these communities, because USAID was the leading donor in the DRC and most aid groups were relying on their funding to provide lifesaving aid.

“We are forced to repair shattered equipment while people in desperate need go without help. Even worse, when the sites are finally up and running again, we may still be unable to assist them, as US aid cuts have put everything at risk. Unless the international community steps in, this crisis will spiral beyond control,” said Manenji Mangundu, Country Director of Oxfam in DRC. 

Three displacement sites in Rusayo (Goma), where Oxfam provides assistance to over 100,000 people, have been completely emptied. Water tanks, latrines, showers and the water pipes were destroyed and septic tanks were left open. With little access to clean water and hygiene sanitation, the health risks are increasing as cases of measles, cholera and mpox spread, straining and already fragile healthcare system.

Families and communities are also struggling to get cash to buy food or return home. Following intense fighting over the last weeks, banks in Goma remain closed and money agents are operating at limited capacity. On top, prices are skyrocketing and pushing many families to the limit.

Contact information:

Rachel Schaevitz | [email protected]

Notes to editors:

The M23 takeover of Bukavu comes as African leaders convene at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa today (Saturday). The crisis has triggered massive population movements, with thousands fleeing their homes in the early hours of Friday, February 14.
In DRC, Oxfam works in Goma, Minova, Masisi, Lubero, Beni, and Mahagi. Oxfam staff reports that thirteen displacement sites in Goma, hosting 450,000 people have been emptied and subsequently destroyed, looted or dismantled. The destroyed sites are: Baraka, Buhimba, Bulengo, 8th Cepac Mugunga, Kayarucinya, Kibati, Lushagala, Lushagala Extension, Lwashi, Rego, Rusayo 1, Rusayo 2 and Rusayo Extension.
Oxfam is working to restore critical infrastructure and treating septic tanks to help provide water and sanitation to the affected communities of Goma. The effects of the USAID funding cuts hinder urgent response for 300,000 people displaced in and around Goma with urgent clean water, food and protection services for women and girls. Long-term funding for humanitarian agencies to support affected families remains uncertain.
The DRC continues to grapple with the devastating impacts of the Mpox outbreak, which has claimed lives further straining an already fragile healthcare system
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the leading humanitarian donor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Last year 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
Photos of abandoned sites and destroyed infrastructure are available on request.

Risk of disease outbreak as Bangladesh floods

September 5, 2024

The risk of waterborne disease outbreak is rising as the water and sanitation systems across 11 districts in Bangladesh have been submerged or disrupted by recent floods, said Oxfam today.

Oxfam’s recent needs assessment survey across Fulgazi, Feni Sadar, Senbag, and Kobirhat areas in Feni and Noakhali, the hardest-hit districts, showed that nearly all shelters were submerged and 48% were destroyed. All of the sanitation facilities in the areas studied have been entirely damaged.

Oxfam’s Country Director in Bangladesh Ashish Damle said:

“We are looking at a health ticking bomb. The water and sanitation infrastructure in those districts have almost entirely collapsed. Floods have washed away agricultural and industrial chemicals as well as people’s waste, which have severely contaminated the water, putting millions of people already struggling at a very high risk of waterborne disease outbreak.”

The Bangladesh floods which started last week and are the worst in recent history, have affected around 5.8 million people. With sanitation facilities, infrastructures, homes, and agricultural lands extensively damaged, communities need immediate and sustained support.

Enamul Hoque, Oxfam’s Water and Sanitation Specialist said: “When we visited households in both urban and rural areas of Feni, we saw entire families suffering from acute watery diarrhea and vomiting. We need a large-scale coordinated response to prevent and mitigate an imminent disease outbreak.”

According to the UN, water and sanitation facilities in 10 districts have been severely impacted. Most have been flooded, washed away or damaged, posing major risks to the water quality and health, adding burden onto already struggling health facilities. Nearly 300,000 latrines have also been damaged, according to the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE).

Hosne Ara Begum, a 38-year-old Feni district resident, recounted her harrowing experience: “We spent days on the roof, with no food or clean water. The toilets were underwater, and we had no privacy. We had to use a saree (cloth) to cover and defecate on the roof. We’ve been sick, but there’s no other option. This flood has taken everything from us.”

 People urgently need clean drinking water, cash, food, and hygiene kits. In the mid-term, they will also need support to repair their homes, restore water and sanitation infrastructure, and provide agricultural inputs to restart food production. In the long term, sustainable solutions such as building resilient water and sanitation facilities, shelters, and promoting income-generating activities are essential to ensure these vulnerable communities’ recovery and future resilience.

Oxfam in Bangladesh has been on the ground since the floods, providing immediate emergency support, including clean water, dry food, water purifications, and mobile charging stations.

Oxfam is providing the most affected communities with shelter, sanitation facilities, cash, hygiene kits, and food. Together with its partners, Oxfam is also planning long-term rehabilitation of critical water and sanitation networks, as well as supporting people to rebuild their lives.

However, the scale of the disaster demands more substantial resources to address immediate and long-term needs.

Note to the editors:

According to the UN, Bangladesh Water, 520 unions of 77 Upazilas of 10 districts have been severely impacted. Source: UN Situation Report, 30 August 2024

According to the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) report, as of 31 August 2024, 295,689 latrines have been damaged.

Contact information:

Rachel Schaevitz, [email protected]