Hunger & food security

In a world with plenty of money and food, why are 925 million people hungry? And what can we do about it?

The solutions to hunger are both local and global. Oxfam America supports locally-led efforts to fight hunger from the ground up, while also calling on our leaders to tackle the crisis through political action.

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.
Oxfam Fact Sheet: GROW Campaign
You might think hunger is about too many people and too little food. That is not the case. Hunger is about power. Its roots lie in inequalities to resources and opportunities.
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.
More publications
R4 Rural Resilience Initiative: Partnership for resilient livelihoods in a changing climate
Oxfam America and the World Food Programme launch a partnership for resilient livelihoods in a changing climate.
Land and Power
The growing scandal surrounding the new wave of investments in land
Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA) quarterly report: April 2011–June 2011
Rural resilience series
Growing a Better Future Summary
We have entered an age of crisis: of food price spikes and oil price hikes; of scrambles for land and water; of growing climate disasters.
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.
Growing a Better Future
Food justice in a resource-constrained world.
Sowing seeds of self-reliance in Ethiopia
With an initial investment from Oxfam, community-owned grain banks allow Ethiopians to feed the World Food Programme.
Planting Now
Agricultural challenges and opportunities for Haiti's reconstruction
Halving Hunger: Still Possible?
Building a rescue package to set the Millennium Development Goals back on track
More rice for people, more water for the planet
System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
More research
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.
The New Forests Company and its Uganda plantations
‘I lost my land. It’s like I’m not a human being.’
Oxfam Fact Sheet: GROW Campaign
You might think hunger is about too many people and too little food. That is not the case. Hunger is about power. Its roots lie in inequalities to resources and opportunities.
GROW: Food. Justice. Planet.
An overview of Oxfam's global GROW campaign
Enough for Everyone
Oxfam America's five-point plan to respond to the emerging food crisis and reduce food insecurity around the world.
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.
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.
Take Action: Global Food Crisis
Already 854 million people on our planet suffer from hunger. Now, as food prices climb high and fast, conditions are becoming worse and threatening the well-being of millions more people.
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.
World Food Day, Hunger Banquets, and a global conversation
Thanks to Oxfam supporters like you, thousands of people around the world came together this fall to talk about food, farmers, and a future where no one goes hungry.
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.
Frances Moore Lappé: host a Sunday Dinner on World Food Day
On October 16, dedicate your Sunday dinner to farmers. Go to www.oxfamamerica.org/worldfoodday for free materials.
Ellen Walsh-Rosmann: host a Sunday Dinner on World Food Day
On October 16, dedicate your Sunday dinner to farmers. Go to www.oxfamamerica.org/worldfoodday for free materials.
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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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Counting on the rain to continue--or weather insurance to help cover losses

Counting on the rain to continue--or weather insurance to help cover losses

For Ethiopian farmer Gidey Mehari, when the opportunity to buy weather insurance for his crops arose, he jumped at the chance.

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Doubling his weather insurance, this Ethiopian farmer is happy for the security it provides

Doubling his weather insurance, this Ethiopian farmer is happy for the security it provides

"Anything can happen," says Alemu Tadesse. And that's why he is investing in weather insurance for some of his crops.

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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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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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Nine hectares of hope: an irrigation project promises better harvests for Ethiopian farmers

Nine hectares of hope: an irrigation project promises better harvests for Ethiopian farmers

With the help of an Oxfam partner, local farmers have tapped well water to nourish their fields in the Central Rift Valley.

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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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Where there's water, there's hope: Tapping the potential of a river in West Arsi

Where there's water, there's hope: Tapping the potential of a river in West Arsi

For more than 400 farmers along the Gurracho River, water now flows in abundance to their fields through a new irrigation system.

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With insurance, loans, and confidence, this Ethiopian farmer builds her resilience

With insurance, loans, and confidence, this Ethiopian farmer builds her resilience

Selas Samson Biru is using her entrepreneurial spirit--and the security she has from her insurance--to build a more secure future for her family.

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Food security concerns at World Food Day events in Ghana

Food security concerns at World Food Day events in Ghana

Land grabs for biofuels, and gender inequity take center stage.

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More than 1 million growers are now embracing innovative approaches to producing more rice

More than 1 million growers are now embracing innovative approaches to producing more rice

System of Rice Intensification helps small-scale farmers in Vietnam.

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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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Land grabs push thousands further into poverty

Land grabs push thousands further into poverty

Large-scale land grabs threaten poor communities' access to food. In such deals, small-scale farmers are forced to leave their land, their homes, and their livelihoods.

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New life in the midst of Kenya's drought

New life in the midst of Kenya's drought

An emergency cash transfer program helps more than 5,500 hard-hit families take control of their futures.

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A message from Peru's forgotten farmers

A message from Peru's forgotten farmers

At 15,000 feet above sea level, rural food producers battle back against climate change and poverty.

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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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