What Oxfam is doing

Oxfam America's programs in Darfur

December 2009

Protecting health

In the wake of the expulsion of many international agencies from Darfur in March 2009, Oxfam America has been moving quickly to fill the most crucial gaps in aid, such as drinking water supplies in the camps for displaced people.

Working with local Sudanese partners and community members, we are now providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene programs to more than 235,000 people in the camps of North Darfur. Our water engineers help maintain the boreholes, pumps, tanks, pipes, and tap stands that deliver treated water to the settlements, and our public health staff ensures that camp residents have latrines, bathing areas, soap, water cans, and access to the information they need to stay healthy under challenging camp conditions. We are now expanding our water and sanitation work to South Darfur.

Meanwhile, with few aid agencies still working in the region, the programs Oxfam America has been engaged with since before the expulsion have taken on new urgency.

Restoring incomes

Many people affected by the conflict no longer have the means to make a dignified living. Farmers who have been displaced from their land, herders who have lost their animals, and widows who are trying to raise children alone have a range of needs as they try to restore their incomes. Oxfam partners offer grants and small business loans, as well as assets like donkeys, donkey carts, seeds, and plows.

Oxfam America's partners also distribute high-efficiency stoves that use 75 percent less fuel than the more commonly used models, contributing to both incomes and security. In rural areas, the stoves reduce the risk of assault for women who leave their camps and homes to gather firewood; in more urban or deforested areas they dramatically reduce the cost of purchasing fuel. Efficient stoves mean less time spent preparing meals, which gives women more opportunities to care for their children and pursue income-generating work.

Supporting communities at risk

By working through local partners, Oxfam America has been able to assist people living in some of the most dangerous areas of Darfur, far from the large, relatively safe camps for displaced people. We have supported rehabilitation of water sources in remote areas and provided health education to community trainers, with a particular focus on preventing malaria and diarrhea.

Protecting the environment

Oxfam America's fuel-efficient stove program is helping protect Darfur’s fragile environment by reducing the need for firewood and charcoal. In October, an Oxfam  partner organization launched a workshop that is now employing displaced people to assemble more than 9,000 stoves for distribution.

Other environmental initiatives include rehabilitating a nursery, and planting tens of thousands of tree seedlings around camps and schools for displaced people.

Raising community voices for peace

Oxfam America is pursuing ways to bring peace to Darfur’s conflict-affected communities. An Oxfam partner recently completed a year-long program to restore harmony among three tribes in northeastern Darfur whose relations had been badly damaged by war. An estimated 80,000 people have benefited from the program, which involved helping revive the tribes’ traditional conflict-resolution system while simultaneously organizing cultural and sporting events aimed at easing tensions.

We have also helped elevate the voices of women in their communities, and the voices of Darfuri communities in the national peace process.

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