All Publications http://www.oxfamamerica.org These are the search results for the query, showing results 301 to 315. From Poverty to Power http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/from-poverty-to-power For the US to become a global leader in smart development, it should focus on strengthening responsible and effective states and helping active citizens to foster equitable economic growth through their own efforts. From Poverty to Power, published by Oxfam International in 2008, contributes to an urgent and fast-changing debate about development. Its analysis draws on the experience of Oxfam and the organizations it supports in more than 100 countries around the world, and on extensive discussions with numerous development professionals.

From Poverty to Power sets out a vision of women and men in communities everywhere who are equipped with education, enjoy good health, have rights, dignity, and voice—and are in charge of their own destinies.

What is required to achieve that vision is nothing less than a global new deal: a redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets. Oxfam's experience shows that the necessary redistribution can best be accomplished through a combination of active citizens and effective nation states.

This need is particularly relevant to Oxfam's aid reform initiative. Well-designed aid programs complement and support national and community development efforts, strengthening both active citizens and effective states. In contrast, poorly designed aid competes with states and citizens or even undermines them. For the US to become a global leader in smart development, it should focus on strengthening responsible and effective states and helping active citizens to foster equitable economic growth through their own efforts.

To learn more about this publication, as well as how to obtain your copy, visit FP2P.org.

]]> No publisher mborum 2009-06-30T21:42:38Z Research Report Mirror on America http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/mirror-on-america How the state of Gulf Coast recovery reflects on us all—Oxfam's report on the status of Gulf Coast recovery three years later. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed long-standing inequities in the US, President Bush vowed to "confront this poverty with bold action." But after three long years, many people on the Gulf Coast still lack homes and jobs.

Although the force of the storms was an act of nature, what the American people have since witnessed—an uneven and often incompetent recovery effort—is the result of deliberate human acts. If we refuse to address this as a nation, it will go down in history not only as a failure of leadership, but also as a failure to hold our government accountable.

Two fundamental indicators, housing and jobs, provide stark proof of the stalled recovery. Full recovery is possible only when affordable homes are coupled with secure, decent jobs. Without quality jobs and affordable housing, low- and moderate income families are unable to return to their former lives. Decent wages allow people to return home and recreate vibrant communities by providing the necessary workforce to rebuild the region.

The situation grows increasingly critical, but despite challenges, there is a way forward. We face a historic election; the next president of the US must guarantee a just, equitable, and complete recovery. America must take immediate action to ensure that people struggling to rebuild their communities get the support that their hard work and innovation demand.

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]]> No publisher mborum US Gulf Coast Recovery United States affordable housing humanitarian relief natural disaster politics and government workers' rights 2009-06-08T15:45:34Z Research Report US Gulf Coast Recovery Program Fact Sheet http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/us-gulf-coast-recovery-program-fact-sheet An overview of Oxfam America's continuing effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast Even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, Louisiana and Mississippi were the two poorest states in the nation. Nearly one in five residents lived below the national poverty line of about $20,000 in annual income for a family of four. Good schools, job opportunities, and decent housing were scarce. Now the region is in crisis. The 2005 storms, coupled with levee failures, severely damaged or destroyed more than 300,000 homes across the Gulf Coast. Seventy-one percent of the housing Katrina damaged or ruined was affordable to low-income households. Today communities are struggling to rebuild schools, health facilities, and businesses—all while residents remain displaced or still live in trailers.

]]> No publisher Oxfam America US Gulf Coast Recovery United States affordable housing humanitarian relief immigrant rights minority rights natural disaster politics and government workers' rights 2009-06-08T15:56:31Z Fact Sheet Square pegs in round holes http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/square-pegs-in-round-holes How the Farm Bill squanders chances for a pro-development trade deal When trade ministers from 35 countries gather in Geneva at the World Trade Organization [WTO] for what is being billed yet again as a last-ditch attempt to forge a Doha trade deal, they will be forced to meet an unwelcome guest: the 2008 US Farm Bill. With a host of newly bolstered subsidies that will hurt farmers in developing countries, as well as higher farm payment rates, squeezing the new Farm Bill into the 'boxes' defined under existing WTO obligations will be a remarkable trick. That speaks poorly about the willingness of the US to accept new disciplines on agricultural subsidies, and demonstrates that the US Congress is unwilling—thus far—to take the necessary steps for a new trade agreement that would prioritize development.

]]> No publisher rbaker 2009-05-27T22:20:17Z Briefing Note Take Action: Global Food Crisis http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/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. Since late 2007, as many as 100 million others—no longer able to afford the food they need—have joined the ranks of the hungry.

]]> No publisher mborum Central and East Africa Central and South Asia East Asia Fast for a World Harvest Horn of Africa Hunger Banquet Southern Africa West Africa agriculture food security humanitarian relief hunger livelihood livestock natural disaster public health refugees water 2010-08-09T19:47:33Z Campaign Publication Take Action: Democratic Republic of Congo http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/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. One of the largest countries in Africa, with an area the size of western Europe, Congo borders nine nations and every major region of the African continent. Abundant in natural resources, it has vast deposits of diamonds, oil, and gold. Despite these riches, Congo's more than 60 million people remain among the poorest in the world. The UN ranks it 168 out of 177 countries on its human development index—a measure of health, education, and standard of living.

]]> No publisher Oxfam America human rights peace and security violence Central and East Africa humanitarian relief internally displaced persons Democratic Republic of Congo women 2009-06-09T21:07:17Z Campaign Publication From Poverty to Power http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/from-poverty-to-power-1 How Active Citizens and Effective States Can Change the World Duncan Green
Edited by Mark Fried
Foreword by Amartya Sen

Paperback: 978 0 85598 593 6
Price: $29.95

Buy now

The twenty-first century will be defined by the fight against the scourges of poverty, inequality, and the threat of environmental collapse—as the fight against slavery or for universal suffrage defined earlier eras.

From Poverty to Power argues that to break the cycle of poverty and inequality and to give poor people power over their own destinies a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets is required. The two driving forces behind such a transformation are active citizens and effective states.

Why active citizenship? Because people living in poverty must have a voice in deciding their own destiny, fighting for rights and justice in their own society, and holding states and the private sector to account.

Why effective states? Because history shows that no country has prospered without a state structure than can actively manage the development process.

There is now an added urgency beyond the moral case for tackling poverty and inequality, we need to build a secure, fair, and sustainable world before climate change makes it impossible. This book argues that there is still time, provided leaders, organizations, and individuals act. Starting today...

]]> No publisher Duncan Green 2009-07-07T22:36:28Z Book Oxfam Impact July 2008 http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/oxfam-impact-july-2008 New mangroves breathe life into Mekong Delta By safeguarding their forests, communities in Vietnam strengthen their ability to earn a living, protect biodiversity, and build resilience to climate change.

]]> No publisher mborum East Asia Vietnam climate change livelihood 2009-03-25T20:42:31Z Oxfam Impact Field Report from El Salvador http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/field-report-from-el-salvador Smart Development in Practice Series In this booklet, we share the perspectives on questions regarding aid effectiveness from aid practitioners and intended beneficiaries in El Salvador. This material draws from conversations with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) country mission and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), US contractors, government of El Salvador staff, civil society organizations, beneficiaries, and other donors.

]]> No publisher mborum Central America El Salvador aid reform 2009-05-26T18:46:29Z Research Report Credibility Crunch http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/credibility-crunch Food, poverty, and climate change: an agenda for rich-country leaders The year 2008 is halfway to the deadline for reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Despite some progress, they will not be achieved if current trends continue. Aid promises are predicted to be missed by $30bn, at a potential cost of 5 million lives. Starting with the G8 meeting in Japan, rich countries must use a series of high-profile summits in 2008 to make sure the Goals are met, and to tackle both climate change and the current food crisis. Economic woes must not be used as excuses: rich countries' credibility is on the line.

]]> No publisher mborum climate change 2009-05-28T18:47:39Z Briefing Paper New Day New Way http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/new-day-new-way The importance of supporting development and reducing poverty abroad are understood now as never before to be both moral imperatives and prerequisites for sustained US national security. US foreign assistance—the rationale behind it, the amount we give, its orientation and organization—has changed dramatically in the last decade. These changes have challenged its efficacy but have also created new opportunities to modernize US foreign assistance.

]]> No publisher mborum aid reform 2009-05-26T18:50:34Z Briefing Paper The Time is Now http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/the-time-is-now Global food prices are up 83 per cent compared with three years ago. Around the world, Oxfam International and many of its partners have seen soaring prices force people to eat less food or less nutritious food and drive poor households to cut back on health care, education, and other necessities. In this report, Oxfam lays out a plan for short and long-term responses to the crisis. Global food prices are up 83 per cent compared with three years ago. The resulting food price crisis constitutes an unprecedented threat to the livelihoods and well-being of millions of rural and urban households who are net food buyers. Around the world, Oxfam International and many of its partners have seen soaring prices force people to eat less food or less nutritious food and drive poor households to cut back on health care, education, and other necessities. In a report published ahead of an emergency UN Food Summit in Rome, Oxfam lays out a plan for short and long-term responses to the crisis.

]]> No publisher mborum 2009-06-30T22:25:58Z Briefing Note Rights-Based Approaches http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/rights-based-approaches A Research Report by Oxfam America and CARE USA. Paperback: 978 0 85598 607 0
Price: $23.95

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The failure to respect, protect, or fulfill human rights is a fundamental and leading obstacle to economic development and social justice. Practically speaking, however, we are still struggling to understand what this major organizational shift means. The term rights-based approaches (RBAs) has become so familiar that we tend to assume that it is well-understood and that it is a foregone conclusion that rights-based approaches offer more potential for sustainable impact.

This report presents the findings of a collaborative Learning Project between CARE USA and Oxfam America, who compared RBA projects with non-RBA projects and identified best practices and lessons that could be used to improve the application of rights-based approaches in programming. In doing this they confirmed that rights-based approaches strengthen development work.

This work will be invaluable for field-based staff, partners, and other development practitioners working on the design and implementation of rights-based projects.

]]> No publisher Oxfam America 2009-07-07T22:38:38Z Book Getting results from our aid: Rethinking what we measure http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/getting-results-from-our-aid-rethinking-what-we-measure AidNow series In the midst of an economic crisis, US policy makers are more prone to ask, "Are we actually getting results from our foreign aid?"

]]> No publisher mborum aid reform 2009-09-11T21:34:51Z Briefing Paper OXFAMExchange Spring 2008 http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/spring-2008 Raising a generation without fear The global food crisis is new and very real, but the seeds were planted long ago. Oxfam has long spoken out against poor policy decisions—like farm subsidies in wealthy countries and misguided trade policies—that have undermined small farmers in the developing world and have made a fertile ground for today's crisis. Yet the situation is far from hopeless. The global community must act swiftly. Unfortunately—as we've seen in other crises—that does not always happen. For example, this issue of OXFAMExchange features the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has been going on for over a decade. Increasingly Oxfam is a harbinger of such avoidable crises. We need your help in speaking out. Through effective advocacy, we can prevent unnecessary suffering. Together, we have the ability to influence our futures.

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]]> No publisher mborum Ghana oil, gas and mining equality for women Central America global food crisis El Salvador humanitarian relief Democratic Republic of Congo 2009-06-15T18:28:22Z Oxfam Exchange