All Publications

What Happened at the G20?

mborum — 2010-09-27T20:11:16Z

G20 leaders met for the second time in London on April 2, as the global economic crisis began to crash across the borders of poor countries with ever-greater severity. Oxfam's research shows rising human impacts in the shape of job losses, falling remittances to the families of migrant workers and a particularly severe impact on women workers in global supply chains. Based on the latest forecasts, published on the eve of the summit, Oxfam estimates that the crisis could push 100 million people into poverty in 2009 alone.

Against this backdrop, how did the G20 leaders perform?

Failing the Cardozo test

mborum — 2010-01-21T16:24:25Z

If the US wants to modernize its efforts to foster a more stable, prosperous, and democratic world, it needs new foreign assistance legislation designed to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

This brief looks at how current laws undermine US foreign aid as a strategic tool for fighting poverty today. Drawing from original legal analysis, it argues that foreign aid legislation:

Is too large to be used effectively;
Is broken into too many laws;
Has no clear priorities to guide decision-making;
Is often out of date;
Authorizes different actors to fulfill the same purposes;
Puts the budget process in charge of setting strategic priorities, rather than setting strategic priorities to drive resource decisions.

Oxfam America is calling for ambitious reforms to US foreign assistance—from aid's legislation, strategy, organizational structure, and implementation, to a substantive rethink of development in the field. Our foreign aid should lead global development efforts, it should put developing states and their citizens in the driver’s seat, and it should strive to get as much value as possible for poor people out of every aid dollar.

Caught in the Conflict

mborum — 2010-02-22T16:32:28Z

This paper makes recommendations on how the security strategy of the international community should be changed in order to minimize the harm caused to Afghan civilians and reduce the disruption to development and humanitarian activities in the current environment in Afghanistan.

Oxfam Impact April 2009

mborum — 2009-04-20T22:16:40Z

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a cholera epidemic that has sickened 91,000 people and killed more than 4,000 of them. With clean water and public health education, Oxfam and its local partner organization are fighting the spread of the deadly disease.

Meeting humanitarian needs on the Kenya border with Somalia

mborum — 2009-03-27T20:23:31Z

1.3 million Somalis are currently displaced and 3.5 million are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, a 77 percent increase since January 2008. However the impact of the crisis inside Somalia on humanitarian needs elsewhere in the region, particularly Kenya, has received much less attention from regional governments, donors and the media. Kenya has been the host to the largest concentration of Somali refugees in the world for almost two decades. The three Dadaab camps- Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley- were built in Northeastern Province in 1991 to host 90,000 refugees. Long lacking adequate resources and international attention, Dadaab is currently one of the world’s oldest, largest and most congested refugee sites. The camp population has exploded along with the conflict in Somalia and now stands at close to 250,000 with over 60,000 new arrivals in 2008 alone, mostly from the conflict-affected areas of Mogadishu and Lower Juba.

Field report from Afghanistan

mborum — 2010-02-22T16:30:57Z

This report aims to convey the views of people who have extensive experience with US development aid to Afghanistan. For that purpose, 40 people were interviewed in Kabul in November and December 2008. They included employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), other foreign donors, contractors, consulting companies, and Afghan and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), many of whom have several years of experience working in Afghanistan, as well as Afghan government officials. We would like to extend our thanks to all those who gave up their time for this research.

Climate Change and Security Fact Sheet

mborum — 2009-05-29T19:25:47Z

It begins with changes in weather: higher temperatures; rising sea levels; more frequent droughts, floods, and storms. But climate change is more than environmental shifts. Because of its human consequences—including widespread hunger, water shortages, forced migrations, and disease—it threatens to undermine global stability and security.

Field Report from Southern Sudan

mborum — 2011-06-29T13:44:59Z

To hear field perspectives on US foreign aid, Oxfam America went to southern Sudan. We present here representative perspectives—common themes we heard across interviews. This brief report cannot begin to do justice to the complexities of southern Sudan; it is meant simply to convey views of people working to ensure that US foreign aid does the best possible job of supporting the southern Sudanese.

Mining conflicts in Peru: Condition critical

mborum — 2009-03-23T16:33:34Z

The Peruvian government, the mining industry, international donors and civil society must act quickly to help the country break the current cycle of conflict and ensure that mining helps reduce poverty and contributes to Peru’s development.

Metals, mining, and sustainable development in Central America

mborum — 2009-03-11T20:42:59Z

Mining communities throughout the world know firsthand that those closest to mining development get hit the hardest. If mining is to realize any of its promise, it must be done with the full sanction and support of local communities. The mining industry must respect local communities' right to free, prior, and informed consent. Furthermore, it must integrate tightly into local economies and allow for cooperative decision-making on a continuing basis. If these circumstances do not exist, communities have grounds to reject mining projects—because the costs will likely outweigh the benefits.

Ghana's Big Test

mborum — 2009-03-24T21:47:32Z

Ghana's oil boom is happening in an era of increased attention to the problems of resource-rich states, and Ghana has important opportunities to learn from the positive and negative examples of others. This report makes extensive recommendations for the government, companies, donors, and others to support the transparent, accountable, and efficient development of Ghana’s oil wealth. An Oxfam America/ISODEC report.

Collaboration in Crises

mborum — 2010-07-20T18:00:32Z

Between 2005 and 2008, Oxfam International and its partner organizations developed a research program in the tsunami-affected regions of India and Sri Lanka aimed at improving the policies and practices of Oxfam and other aid agencies in the tsunami response, as well as contributing to humanitarian aid effectiveness in future emergencies. This report shares the key findings of several of the studies and reflects on the lessons we drew from the program.

Ten Point Plan to Change Course in Afghanistan

mborum — 2010-02-22T16:28:42Z

Oxfam America's memo to President Obama calls for better humanitarian response to avert crisis in Afghanistan.

A Portrait of Mississippi

mborum — 2009-06-08T15:44:06Z

The Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, the American Human Development Project and Oxfam America released "A Portrait of Mississippi: the Mississippi Human Development Report 2009," on January 26th, the first state-specific report by the American Human Development Project. The report provides a state-wide, county-by-county assessment, broken down by race, of such indicators as lifespan, earnings, incidence of diabetes, high school completion, crime, birth weight, and more, and will help policymakers, business and non-profit leaders, the media and people around the state understand Mississippi's current circumstances in a clear and unique way.

What is most surprising is not all of Mississippi is poor, or last in every development category. There are regions in Mississippi that rank on par with the richest state in America (Connecticut), and there are regions that rank on par with the least developed countries in the world.

This study illuminates the sharp disparities in opportunity between regions and between races within the state. The report forces us to acknowledge who is thriving, and who is being shut out. It is clear that we cannot forge ahead while leaving so many people behind.

"In Mississippi, where we work with 13 state and local organizations such as the NAACP, this report clearly illustrates the conditions residents were struggling with even prior to the hurricanes of 2005—limited access to education, lower incomes, and shorter lives—and argues for a comprehensive solution for recovery," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.

Given the profound economic and social challenges facing Mississippi, and more broadly working families in the US today, this report comes at a crucial time to help policy makers use precious resources to ensure all Mississippians have access to the American Dream.

Open publication

Why trade policy can help or hinder the US's fight against poverty

Porter McConnell — 2009-07-22T17:45:24Z

Effective aid can measurably reduce poverty. But making our foreign aid more effective and leaving in place current trade rules will severely constrain our ability to help poor countries lift themselves out of poverty.