Research & reports

Crises in a New World Order: Challenging the humanitarian project

jlee — 2012-02-07T16:19:14Z

The growing number of vulnerable people, the rise in disasters, and the failure to put most fragile states on the path to development, will significantly increase needs.

Western-based donors, INGOs and the UN provide only part of the answer. Already, new donors and NGOs from around the world provide a significant share of humanitarian aid. Future humanitarian action will rely on them, and on the governments and civil society of crisis-affected countries even more. The UN and INGOs will be vital, but their contribution will increasingly be measured by how well they complement and support the efforts of others, and encourage every humanitarian actor to uphold humanitarian principles.

R4 Rural Resilience Initiative: Partnership for resilient livelihoods in a changing climate

khamilton — 2012-01-24T16:32:28Z

For the 1.3 billion people living on less than a dollar day who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, vulnerability to climate-related shocks is a constant threat to food security and well-being.

As climate change drives an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, the challenges faced by food-insecure communities struggling to improve their lives and livelihoods will also increase. The question of how to build rural resilience against climate-related risk is critical for addressing global poverty.

In response to this challenge, the United Nations World Food Programme and Oxfam America have launched the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative, known as R4, referring to the four risk management strategies that the initiative integrates. R4 builds on the initial success of a holistic risk management framework developed by Oxfam America to enable poor farmers to strengthen their food and income security through a combination of improved resource management (risk reduction), microcredit (prudent risk taking), insurance (risk transfer), and savings (risk reserves).

A Dangerous Delay: The cost of late response to early warnings in the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa

jlee — 2012-01-17T21:39:10Z

Governments, donors, the UN and NGOs need to change their approach

to chronic drought situations by managing the risks, not the crisis.

This means acting on information from early warning systems and not

waiting for certainty before responding, as well as tackling the root causes of vulnerability and actively seeking to reduce risk in all activities. To achieve this, we must overcome the humanitarian–development divide.

Haiti Progress Report 2011

mhart — 2012-01-12T21:25:41Z

It is now two years since the most powerful earthquake in Haiti in 200 years struck the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding metropolitan area. In a matter of a few violent minutes the city was devastated. More than 220,000 people were killed, 300,000 were injured, and 1.5 million were made homeless. The earthquake was followed the same year by a cholera outbreak and then by Hurricane Thomas, making already severe conditions even worse.

This report demonstrates what Oxfam has achieved during this past, challenging year. Although this is still in many respects a humanitarian situation we are also working on innovative longer-term programs – involving existing and new partnerships with local organizations – to help in the wider reconstruction effort.

The politics of partnership: How donors manage risk while letting recipients lead their own development

jlee — 2011-12-13T15:12:04Z

The underlying field research comes from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, and Tanzania. Our research findings suggest that aid works best through genuine partnerships, partnerships that truly support the visions and efforts of people and their governments.

Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA) quarterly report: July 2011–September 2011

aperera — 2012-01-24T16:12:01Z

For the 1.3 billion people living on less than a dollar a day who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, vulnerability to weather-related shocks is a constant threat to security and well-being. As climate change drives an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, the challenges faced by food-insecure communities struggling to improve their lives and livelihoods will also increase. The question of how to build rural resilience against weather-related risk is critical for addressing global poverty.

In response to this challenge, in 2007, Oxfam America, together with local and international partners,1 launched a pilot program called HARITA, or Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation, to work with farmers on building their resilience to climate change. Today, the program has grown to become Oxfam’s Rural Resilience Initiative, or R4 (http://www.oxfamamerica.org/issues/insurance/). Initiated as a result of the partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme announced at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference, R4 builds upon the highly successful growth of the multiyear HARITA pilot in Ethiopia.

HARITA, in its three years of delivery in Ethiopia’s northernmost state of Tigray, has shown promising results for replication. More than 1,300 households participated in HARITA in 2010, up from 200 in its first year. In the 2011 agricultural season, HARITA expanded its outreach by 10 times with more than 13,000 farmers in 43 villages signing up for insurance.

A state of fear: Human rights abuses in North Carolina’s tobacco industry

aperera — 2011-12-20T19:34:46Z

America’s migrant farm workers toil for sub-poverty wages under some of the most dangerous working conditions in the nation. Oxfam America and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee have completed a joint study of the tobacco industry’s impact on the human rights of farm workers in the fields of North Carolina.

Impact of garment and textile trade preferences on livelihoods in Cambodia

nhailu — 2011-09-13T16:09:48Z

A review the recent performance and structure of the Cambodian economy, particularly its apparel sector and how the sector has developed (including the extent of vertical integration, diversification of products, and dependency on foreign investment) over the past two decades.

Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA) quarterly report: April 2011–June 2011

aperera — 2011-10-07T18:04:09Z

Rural resilience series

Saving lives, seeking solutions

aperera — 2011-08-15T16:16:32Z

In August 2008 Oxfam America undertook a two-year campaign to stand by some of Ethiopia’s hardest-hit farmers and herders as they wrestled with the consequences of increasingly erratic weather and strove to change their lives in ways they hope will ensure a better future. This work was accomplished with generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the ELMA Relief Foundation.

Growing a Better Future Summary

aperera — 2011-08-15T15:22:54Z

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.

The Human Cost: Cubans and Cuban Americans talk about their lives and the U.S. Embargo

kharrison — 2011-07-28T18:26:35Z

Over the course of three years, author Dr. Mercedes B. Arce Rodriguez interviewed Cubans and Cuban Americans about their lives, collecting testimonies about the impact of the U.S. embargo. She lets their personal stories speak for themselves while reflecting on the social impact of the blockade from a deeply human dimension. The publication was made possible through the support of Oxfam America.

Adapting for a Green Economy: Companies, Communities and Climate Change

aperera — 2011-06-20T18:29:02Z

At the end of this year, governments will gather in Durban, South Africa, for the next round of United Nations negotiations to advance global action on climate change. In June 2012, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) will seek to secure new and comprehensive commitments to sustainable development.

This publication aims to support the efforts leading up to Rio+20, as well as the activities, processes, commitments and partnerships that flow from it. By highlighting the nexus among climate change risks and opportunities, sustainable development and climate change adaptation,

Adapting for a Green Economy provides useful guidance to business leaders and policymakers alike.

An Ounce of Prevention:

aperera — 2011-06-21T15:36:32Z

This report examines the likely impacts of a changing climate on the US government’s civilian and military humanitarian response systems. We analyze both humanitarian and security implications of climate change as well as how the US government responds to overseas climate-related emergencies. We want to understand the changes that can be made now to better prepare these systems for the long-term effects of climate change.

Growing a Better Future

akramer — 2011-08-15T15:24:14Z

We face three interlinked challenges in an age of growing crisis: feeding nine billion people without wrecking the planet, finding equitable solutions to end disempowerment and injustice, and increasing our collective resilience to shocks and volatility.

The good news is that practical solutions are both urgent and available—from simple common sense acts we can all take, to bold shifts in how we manage shared resources and value social progress. They are good for producers, good for consumers, and good for the planet. Their benefits can be shared by the many, not just the few, and they are built to be resilient in the long run.

Growing a better future will take all the energy, ingenuity and political will that humankind can muster. If the best solutions are to win out, we must mount powerful campaigns to win significant reforms in how our societies manage common threats and resources and create platforms for opportunity. From global negotiations to national decision making, this report outlines the shifts we must work for to make food justice a reality.

Open publication