Disasters & conflicts

As a humanitarian organization, our mission is to do whatever we can to reduce suffering and save lives during emergencies—whether they are caused by conflict or by natural events such as earthquakes, floods, or drought. To move fast and efficiently, we partner with local groups who know the people, the land, and the political context of the region in which the disaster strikes. Our network of partners stretches around the world.

Even before a disaster strikes, Oxfam is working in innovative ways to reduce people's vulnerability to emergencies by helping them prepare to respond and to build their resiliency. When disaster strikes around the world, we and our partners respond quickly with life-saving assistance. Once the immediate danger has passed, we work to rebuild lives and reduce the risk of future disasters.

Oxfam is developing a public health program that will allow us to use scientific data to design better ways of responding to emergencies. We will be carrying this initiative into our regional offices and working with local partner organizations. We will also be building new relationships with academic institutions both in Boston and abroad.

The term "livelihood" means how people make their living: how they reliably earn money and get food to meet their family’s basic needs. Livelihoods are central to how people get by in normal, nonemergency times, but they are also a key part of how people cope in disasters and how people recover afterward.

Responding to disasters when they occur is a crucial part of Oxfam's humanitarian mission. But finding ways to help communities prepare for emergencies and prevent natural events from becoming disasters is the cutting edge of our work.

In the years following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, Oxfam supported a series of studies on topics that ranged from vulnerability to HIV to restoring incomes to reducing the risk of future disasters.

Support effective, efficient aid programs – they save lives.
Right now, forty percent of the world’s population – more than 2.5 billion people – live in poverty, struggling to survive on less than $2 per day. The persistence of global poverty poses a challenge to the security, prosperity and values of the United States. Cuts to the world's most vulnerable communities have real impacts. Tell Congress we won't stand by while they make cuts that will cost lives.
Fight hunger: Invest in women farmers!
The people who grow the world’s food are going hungry. Women grow the majority of food in developing countries, but due to unequal access to resources like land and credit, they can’t feed their families. Today, almost one in every six people worldwide suffer from hunger, a problem expected to worsen as climate change disrupts weather and farming cycles.
Host an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet® event
Raise awareness and help fund Oxfam's work by hosting a Hunger Banquet® in your community! Few experiences bring to life the inequalities in our world more powerfully than an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet® event. Organizers and participants alike can experience firsthand how our decisions affect others in the world.
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Oxfam Fact Sheet: Food Crisis in East Africa
Across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, a severe drought and food crisis have ensnared more than 13 million people. Get the facts and find out what you can do to help.
Haiti Progress Report 2011: Summary
This report summarizes Oxfam's continued response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Darfur Crisis Fact Sheet
An overview of the continuing humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
US Gulf Coast Recovery Program Fact Sheet
An overview of Oxfam America's continuing effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast
Haiti Progress Report 2010: Summary
Oxfam's relief operation in Haiti following the January 2010 quake has been one of the organization's largest and most complex efforts. This report summarizes our progress.
Earthquake in Haiti Fact Sheet
In the months following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Oxfam's urgent mission has been to help the people of Port-au-Prince, and beyond, meet their basic needs—not only to ensure their survival but to uphold their dignity.
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Fighting hunger in Mogadishu
In Somalia, Oxfam's partner SAACID is saving the lives of thousands of children.
Haiti: The slow road to reconstruction
Two years after the earthquake
Haiti Progress Report 2011
Two years after the most powerful earthquake in Haiti in 200 years, Oxfam remains committed to rebuilding with the people of Haiti.
A place at the table
Safeguarding women's rights in Afghanistan
Promoting the accountability of the Afghan National Security Forces
Follow up briefing to No Time to Lose report
Saving lives, seeking solutions
Oxfam America's response to drought in Ethiopia, 2008-2011
Pakistan floods progress report
A report on Oxfam's response to the floods in Pakistan between July 2010 and July 2011.
Ready or Not
Pakistan's resilience to disasters one year on from the floods
In war-torn Darfur, a stove with a mission
For the women of Darfur who live in camps for displaced people, simply feeding a family can present extraordinary risks.
No Time to Lose
Promoting the Accountability of the Afghan National Security Forces
More research
Haiti Progress Report 2011: Summary
This report summarizes Oxfam's continued response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Oxfam Fact Sheet: Food Crisis in East Africa
Across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, a severe drought and food crisis have ensnared more than 13 million people. Get the facts and find out what you can do to help.
Recommendations to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force
Enhancing the resilience of the most vulnerable communities and building the restoration economy
Fund-raising for Oxfam: Frequently asked questions
Your community-led efforts can provide essential support as Oxfam fights poverty and responds to disasters.
Menu of event ideas
Want to raise awareness about poverty and hunger? Find ideas for events you can host at your school, on campus, in your community, or or in the workplace.
Oxfam America organizing guide
From reaching out to your legislator to making your voice heard in the media, follow these tips to take action on the issues that move you.
Oxfam America House Party guide
Tools for hosting a high-impact event
Haiti Progress Report 2010: Summary
Oxfam's relief operation in Haiti following the January 2010 quake has been one of the organization's largest and most complex efforts. This report summarizes our progress.
Darfur Crisis Fact Sheet
An overview of the continuing humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
Earthquake in Haiti Fact Sheet
In the months following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Oxfam's urgent mission has been to help the people of Port-au-Prince, and beyond, meet their basic needs—not only to ensure their survival but to uphold their dignity.
In harm's way: Oxfam America's game on rethinking natural disasters
US Gulf Coast Recovery Program Fact Sheet
An overview of Oxfam America's continuing effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast
Take Action: Democratic Republic of Congo
According to Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian chief in DRC from 2003-06, casualties in Congo amount to "a tsunami every month, year in and year out, for the last six years." Yet since Egeland made this statement in 2005 about the crisis in Congo, the situation remains grim, and the Congolese people are being subjected to unrivaled brutality.
More tools for activists
A new way of life on the Dawa
Drought is making it difficult for herding families in southern Ethiopia to earn a living from their livestock. Some people have decided to try a new approach: irrigated farming. And they are tapping the Dawa river for water.
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald team up with Oxfam
NFL superstar wide receivers Anquan Boldin of the Baltimore Ravens and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals are teaming up once again on a mission to bring attention to the ongoing drought in East Africa.
East Africa Food Crisis update: October 2011
Oxfam America senior writer Coco McCabe and humanitarian media manager Andrew Blejwas discuss the latest situation in East Africa and take donors' questions and comments.
ViewChange: Africa's Last Famine
This World Food Day is marked by one of the worst famines in recent history. But, with the right planning and a few new ideas, it could be the last. Watch this special report from Oxfam America and ViewChange.org.
Scarlett's Video Journal - Installment 2
This is the second installment of Scarlett's video journal from her trip to Dadaab, Turkana and Lodwar, Kenya with Oxfam to shine light on the drought and food crisis that continues to unfold across East Africa.
Scarlett's Video Journal - Installment 3
This is the third installment of Scarlett's video journal from her trip to Dadaab, Turkana and Lodwar, Kenya with Oxfam to shine light on the drought and food crisis that continues to unfold across East Africa.
Scarlett's Video Journal - Installment 1
This is the first installment of Scarlett's video journal from her trip to Dadaab, Turkana and Lodwar, Kenya with Oxfam to shine light on the drought and food crisis that continues to unfold across East Africa.
R4: The Rural Resilience Initiative
Oxfam America and the UN World Food Programme launched the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative to empower rural households with integrated risk management tools.
In Audrey's hands
Meet Oxfam's Audrey Andwati, who's teaching thousands of kids in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp how to protect their health.
Bringing water to Dadaab
In the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, Oxfam is providing clean water to people displaced by drought and crisis.
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As food crisis looms, the lean season hits early in northern Senegal

As food crisis looms, the lean season hits early in northern Senegal

An Oxfam team assesses the conditions around a group of small villages where many of the food reserves are now exhausted.

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Haiti: a grain milling operation offers an economic lifeline for women

Haiti: a grain milling operation offers an economic lifeline for women

To help tackle unemployment and ensure families have access to food, Oxfam is working with a women's group to modernize and expand a service center.

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Haiti: Reducing the risk of flooding in Artibonite

Haiti: Reducing the risk of flooding in Artibonite

A local mayor enlists support from Oxfam to address major flooding in his community in rural Haiti.

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Ethiopian farmers get a payout, easing effects of drought

Ethiopian farmers get a payout, easing effects of drought

With cash from the weather insurance policies they bought through an innovative program, farmers from Tigray can now plan for the future.

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Rain in drought-hit East Africa brings changing humanitarian needs

Rain in drought-hit East Africa brings changing humanitarian needs

Despite the rain, and the relief it brings, emergency conditions will likely last well into 2012.

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In the midst of famine, children survive with the help of Oxfam partner SAACID

In the midst of famine, children survive with the help of Oxfam partner SAACID

Community therapeutic care centers across Somalia's capital are admitting more than 3,000 malnourished children every week.

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Oxfam takes the fight against cholera to rural Haiti

Oxfam takes the fight against cholera to rural Haiti

In remote communities where the risk of death by cholera is heightened by rugged terrain, Oxfam is making water safer.

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Business partnership to promote resilience and environmental preparedness launched

Business partnership to promote resilience and environmental preparedness launched

PREP is a one-year pilot partnership formed to address the risks and opportunities climate change poses to businesses and communities.

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Ti koze sou kolera: In rural Haiti, Oxfam takes to the airwaves

Ti koze sou kolera: In rural Haiti, Oxfam takes to the airwaves

Oxfam reaches out to remote communities about cholera, strengthening preparedness and easing fears.

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With irrigation, herders in southern Ethiopia turn to farming

With irrigation, herders in southern Ethiopia turn to farming

A small-scale irrigation project along the banks of the Dawa River is helping some herders grow enough food to feed their families--even as drought ravages much of the southern Ethiopia region.

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Pakistan: Four days old and the roof caves in

Pakistan: Four days old and the roof caves in

In flood-stricken Sindh province, a displaced mother tells her story.

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A feeding program in Somalia has helped more than 136,000 children and mothers

A feeding program in Somalia has helped more than 136,000 children and mothers

Supported by Oxfam, the center aims to treat acutely malnourished children and ensure they don't slip back into nutritional crisis.

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Three signs of hope in Turkana

Three signs of hope in Turkana

In the midst of crisis in northern Kenya, some herding communities find ways to break the cycle of drought.

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East Africa drought and food crisis Q and A

East Africa drought and food crisis Q and A

The following is an interview with Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian response for Oxfam America.

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In northern Ethiopia, weather insurance offers a buffer against drought

In northern Ethiopia, weather insurance offers a buffer against drought

A growing number of families have signed up for weather insurance to protect their crop investments from insufficient rainfall.

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Food price spikes

Food price spikes

After decades of progress, the number of people without enough to eat has reversed course and is increasing. It could soon top one billion. That's more than one in seven people going to bed hungry. Today. In the 21st century.

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The worst sight in the world

The worst sight in the world

Traveling through drought-stricken Somalia and Kenya, Oxfam's Jim Clarken writes of suffering and loss - and the aid that is saving lives.

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“It’s time we learned this lesson”

“It’s time we learned this lesson”

One year after the worst flooding in its history, Pakistan is still not prepared for this year’s monsoon floods and other natural disasters.

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Famine in Somalia: Causes and solutions

Famine in Somalia: Causes and solutions

Years of of internal violence and conflict have been highly significant in creating the conditions for famine in Somalia.

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Oxfam's cash-for-work projects help rural Ethiopians get through drought

Oxfam's cash-for-work projects help rural Ethiopians get through drought

By constructing fences, trenches, and dams that protect pasture and farmland, some Ethiopians have been able to earn a steady income for weeks at a time.

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