What Oxfam is doing

Oxfam America's programs in Darfur

July 2009

In the wake of the March 2009 expulsions of many international aid providers from Darfur, Oxfam America is quickly ramping up its programs to fill the most crucial gaps. We are now aiming to reach 250,000 additional people in need, bringing our total number of beneficiaries to 450,000. Our new programs will emphasize public health, providing clean water, sanitation facilities, hygiene supplies, and trainings on how to stay healthy in crowded living conditions.

Ongoing programs

While Oxfam America takes on its new responsibilities, it is continuing programs to protect public health and the environment, restore incomes, and find peaceful resolutions to conflicts in the region.

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's partners offer vocational trainings, grants, and small business loans, and in some cases they provide key assets like donkeys and donkey carts to help some of the most vulnerable families quickly restart their incomes.

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 stove program is helping protect Darfur’s fragile environment by reducing the need for firewood and charcoal. 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's partners are pursuing ways to build peace in this conflict-stricken region. For example, by reinforcing Judyia, the traditional means of resolving conflicts, a partner organization has helped more than 80,000 people from three tribes in northern Darfur coexist more peacefully.

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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