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Conflict in Darfur

Since early 2003, fighting between armed groups in the Darfur region of western Sudan has forced 2.5 million people from their homes. Fleeing the violence, they have sought safety in overcrowded camps and towns where aid groups continue to provide them with food, water, and medical care. But because of growing violence, parts of Darfur are completely inaccessible to humanitarian agencies, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without the assistance they need.

Oxfam has been working in Darfur for more than 20 years. We first responded to the 1985 drought in the region and have remained ever since, working to assist local communities with livelihood and health projects. The extensive local knowledge and the strong relationships with local communities and organizations that we have built up over the past two decades have greatly helped our understanding and response to the current crisis.

As of March 2009, Oxfam Great Britain has appealed the revocation of its license to provide humanitarian relief in northern Sudan.

The programs and staffing levels described here have been severely affected by the expulsion of Oxfam Great Britain in March 2009.

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Part four of Oxfam's Darfur Q&A series. Mike Delaney, Oxfam's Director of humanitarian response, and Scott Stedjan, our Senior policy advisor, answer your questions.
Darfur Q & A Part 3
Part three of Oxfam's Darfur Q&A series. Mike Delaney, Oxfam's Director of humanitarian response, and Scott Stedjan, our Senior policy advisor, answer your questions.
Darfur Q & A Part 2
Part two of Oxfam's Darfur Q&A series. Mike Delaney, Oxfam's Director of humanitarian response, and Scott Stedjan, our Senior policy advisor, answer your questions.
Darfur Q & A Part 1
Part one of Oxfam's Darfur Q&A series. Mike Delaney, Oxfam's Director of humanitarian response, and Scott Stedjan, our Senior policy advisor, answer your questions.
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With wood scarce in Darfur, a new stove promises good things for women and the environment

With wood scarce in Darfur, a new stove promises good things for women and the environment

Fuel-efficient stoves that burn less wood will benefit both women in Darfur and the environment there.

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Darfur peacekeeping force still short of members, basic equipment

Darfur peacekeeping force still short of members, basic equipment

One year after its deployment, a lack of resources is contributing to increased violence, suffering, and displacement.

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Acronyms of misery

Acronyms of misery

Numbers are easy to forget; faces are not. In Darfur, there are sad stories behind the faceless statistics.

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Overview of the crisis in Darfur

Overview of the crisis in Darfur

It has been more than five years since the crisis erupted in Darfur. Today, millions of people continue to live in fear without adequate protection.

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On a high note, Oxfam conveys health information

On a high note, Oxfam conveys health information

Using familiar tunes, women sing about how to avoid fatal diseases in a crowded camp for displaced people in Darfur.

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Darfur video Q & A

Darfur video Q & A

We asked Oxfam supporters to tell us what they wanted to know about the crisis in Darfur—and received an overwhelming response.

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Five years into the Darfur conflict, looking back

Five years into the Darfur conflict, looking back

Three Oxfam staffers talk about how the situation, and Oxfam's response to it, has changed as the conflict has dragged on.

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In promoting public health, compassion is Margaret Asewe's best medicine

In promoting public health, compassion is Margaret Asewe's best medicine

In Chad, Margaret Asewe worked with some of the first refugees from Darfur. In the summer of 2007, she returned to confront another rainy season and thousands of internally displaced people.

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Darfur five years on: five steps forward

Darfur five years on: five steps forward

Five years since the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, first erupted, 4.5 million people are caught in its grip and are in need of aid. As the violence continues, that number grows.

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Oxfam evacuates aid workers from Chad capital

Oxfam evacuates aid workers from Chad capital

Oxfam has evacuated its international staff from its N'Djamena office, following the latest upsurge in fighting in the Chadian capital.

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Lure of clean water: some displaced Chadians may not return

Lure of clean water: some displaced Chadians may not return

In temporary settlements in eastern Chad, displaced people have found some comfort in the new things around them: clean water and access to a large market.

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A day in the life of an 18-year-old at Kalma camp

A day in the life of an 18-year-old at Kalma camp

A young woman named Halwa talks about how she passes the long days at Kalma camp—the temporary home for tens of thousands of displaced people in Darfur.

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Oxfam program head reflects on her years in Darfur

Oxfam program head reflects on her years in Darfur

Caroline Nursey has been involved with the humanitarian response in Darfur, Sudan, since the crisis there erupted—first as a regional director and most recently as the country program manager. Now, after 18 months in that latter post, she has handed the job to a successor. Here, in an interview with Alun McDonald, Oxfam's press officer in Khartoum, Nursey reflects on the challenges and accomplishments of one of the largest relief efforts in the world.

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Who is Nick Anderson? He's Oxfam America's Youth Ambassador to Darfur

Who is Nick Anderson? He's Oxfam America's Youth Ambassador to Darfur

In late July, 2008, Oxfam America sent Nick Anderson, a rising high school senior, to Darfur. His mission was to find a way for American teenagers to connect with the youth of Darfur—and feel moved to help them as peers.

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A journey across Darfur imparts a critical lesson

A journey across Darfur imparts a critical lesson

With gunshots rattling the air, the pleas of Darfur youths take on a whole new urgency.

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Volunteers in Darfur camps help improve health conditions for everyone

Volunteers in Darfur camps help improve health conditions for everyone

Helping prevent the spread of waterborne diseases among 400,000 displaced people in camps scattered across Darfur and Chad is no small task. Volunteers are essential.

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Boredom, worry fill the days for many in Darfur camps

Boredom, worry fill the days for many in Darfur camps

For many of the two million people displaced in Darfur, home is now a crowded camp far from the work and social interactions that once framed their lives.

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Oxfam funds fuel-efficient stoves that help women

Oxfam funds fuel-efficient stoves that help women

A $132,000 program helps thousands of displaced women stay safer in Darfur by providing 4,200 households with fuel-efficient stoves.

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An Oxfam well driller hunts for water

An Oxfam well driller hunts for water

Under a scorching sun, Oxfam well drillers attempt to find new sources of water for people in Sudan.

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A Darfur camp of mud bricks feels permanent

A Darfur camp of mud bricks feels permanent

A surge in building homes from mud bricks has eased a housing shortage, but accelerated a water shortage in western Sudan.

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Rebuilding lives in Darfur

Rebuilding lives in Darfur

Responding to the emergency needs of the people.

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Children in Kalma camp say "OK" to staying healthy

Children in Kalma camp say "OK" to staying healthy

Oxfam works to teach children about how to stay health in the camps for displaced people in Darfur.

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Home is a shelter of straw and plastic

Home is a shelter of straw and plastic

Omar Bukhari Ahmed, his two wives, and their nine children live in a makeshift shelter a few miles from their home in North Darfur while they wait for safety to return to the region.

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In a Chad camp, gluey porridge sustains the Aboubakars

In a Chad camp, gluey porridge sustains the Aboubakars

Travelling through 24 countries, the authors of a book called 'Hungry Planet: What the World Eats' learn from the Aboubakars about the hardships in a Chad refugee camp.

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A Darfur mother faces bleak choices in camp for 15,000 people

A Darfur mother faces bleak choices in camp for 15,000 people

Collecting firewood and fodder are tasks full of risk for this Darfur mother. But without them, she won't be able to care for her family.

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Travelling down West Salvation Road

Travelling down West Salvation Road

Travel in Darfur requires patience and time. Often, riding on the back of a donkey is the most reliable way to get where you want to go.

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The second life of litter

The second life of litter

Little is wasted in poor Darfur: recycling is a way of life.

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