All Publications

Vulnerability to disaster highlighted in new report

khamilton — 2013-05-21T19:09:14Z

We need a new approach to risk and poverty reduction. Major external risks, such as climate change and food price volatility, are increasing faster than attempts to reduce them. Many risks are dumped on poor people, and women face an overwhelming burden. In many places of recurrent crises, the response of governments and the international aid sector is not good enough. A new focus on building resilience offers real promise to allow the poorest women and men to thrive despite shocks, stresses, and uncertainty – but only if risk is more equally shared globally and across societies. This will require a major shift in development work, which for too long has avoided dealing with risk. More fundamentally, it will require challenging the inequality that exposes poor people to far more risk than the rich.

Mali: A New Development Contract

mhart — 2013-05-14T18:34:09Z

Mali needs a comprehensive response to the problems of poverty and governance. It is the third largest producer of gold in Africa and yet one in five Malians still live in extreme poverty. Development must be informed by the needs and interests of ordinary people, who need to be much more involved in decisions that will determine their future. Donors also have an important role to play, given the magnitude of aid they provide, starting with a commitment to continue providing aid for the next 15 years. Aid can also contribute to improving the governance and transparency of the Malian authorities. Donors should evaluate the impact of their aid to Mali over the past two decades and set an example with transparent aid that does not fuel conflict but rather helps to build lasting peace.

Saving for Change: Financial inclusion and resilience for the world's poorest people

jabdulla — 2013-05-15T13:29:15Z

Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people do not have a formal bank account. With few viable means to save, these individuals and their families are vulnerable to life-threatening hardships. Community-based savings groups are designed to provide a mechanism for resilience. Jointly, Oxfam America and Freedom from Hunger commissioned the largest study to date to evaluate the impact of community-based savings groups—using both a randomized controlled trial and in-depth qualitative research.

Housing Delivery and Housing Finance in Haiti

jedwards — 2013-05-09T18:39:44Z

Although the 2010 earthquake destroyed much of Haiti's urban infrastructure, it is not the sole cause of the nation's distress today. Rather, the earthquake exposed weaknesses in Haiti's housing ecosystem—including delivery blockages and the absence of effective supply and demand value chains that must be addressed or the nation will never be able to build a successful society with quality affordable urban housing.

Overtaken by Need

mhart — 2013-05-09T18:42:47Z

The human cost of Syria’s conflict has risen beyond all expectations. In January, the UN predicted 1.1 million refugees by June. This April, there are already 1.3 million. Inside Syria, 6.8 million people struggle in urgent need of assistance.

As the numbers grow, however, the money to help some of those refugees and displaced people is running out. UN appeals have received only half of what they sought – to help far fewer people than they now need to assist.

The world has failed to find common purpose to end Syria’s brutal conflict. Shamefully, it has also failed to provide enough aid to help the conflict’s most vulnerable victims. Without a massive increase in aid now, millions of Syrians will miss out on the food, water, shelter and medical care that they desperately need. Donor governments – both in the region and the OECD – must urgently give more aid now, and be ready to give more as needs increase further and, tragically, Syria’s humanitarian crisis continues for some time.

Learning the Lessons? (Summary)

mhart — 2013-04-22T17:17:08Z

While continuing to address the enormous humanitarian and recovery needs in the region, we also must all learn the lessons from the 2012 response and develop a new model that will allow better prevention and management of future crises. The growing momentum around the concept of resilience offers considerable potential to achieve this, but only if all actors work together to turn rhetoric into action that brings lasting improvements for the poorest communities across the Sahel.

Learning the Lessons?

mhart — 2013-04-16T15:48:16Z

In 2012, the Sahel was once again hit by a severe food crisis affecting more than 18 million people. The region’s governments, donors and aid agencies were determined to avoid mistakes made in the response to previous crises. But while their response was better in many respects, there were still some critical shortcomings. The poorest families and communities suffered most, as deep-seated inequalities made some people far more vulnerable than others. While continuing to address the enormous humanitarian and recovery needs in the region, we also must all learn the lessons from the 2012 response and develop a new model that will allow better prevention and management of future crises. The growing momentum around the concept of resilience offers considerable potential to achieve this, but only if all actors work together to turn rhetoric into action that brings lasting improvements for the poorest communities across the Sahel.

A quiet renaissance in American aid

JLentfer — 2013-05-03T18:38:58Z

Current US reform efforts intend to allow countries to lead in their own development. Oxfam's inquiry shows that local development leaders are noticing—and valuing the change. However, the US government must accelerate and deepen these reforms if it hopes to meet the expectations of people in developing countries.

Click here to watch a recording of the report launch event, including remarks by USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah, and a panel discussion hosted by Kojo Nnamdi.

The Rice Value Chain in Haiti

jedwards — 2013-05-01T14:55:28Z

Trade liberalization in 1995 led to a surge in rice imports in Haiti, and today, foreign rice accounts for 83 percent of the supply of this main staple of the Haitian diet. This costs Haiti some $200 million annually, and leaves Haitian consumers vulnerable to spikes in volatile global prices. A substantial increase in local production is needed to reduce import dependence. But Haitian rice yields have stagnated for over two decades due to limited irrigation and poor maintenance of existing networks, poor soil and water conservation, lack of drying and milling facilities, limited government support for research and extension, and other problems.

This paper proposes a comprehensive new national rice policy, aimed at boosting farmers’ productivity and incomes. To bolster these investments, the paper proposes a price stabilization system that ensures that imported rice sells at a minimum entry price, with a variable tariff that rises when the price of imports falls below the minimum level. This system would not have a high impact on either producer or consumer prices.

Human Rights and Social Conflict in the Oil, Gas, and Mining Industries

jedwards — 2013-04-10T17:34:38Z

This research backgrounder proposes a framework for evaluating National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in countries with significant human rights abuses associated with oil, gas, and mining projects. Based on secondary research and interviews with experts on business and human rights, the report analyzes the successes and shortcomings of NHRIs in their work to resolve human rights-related social conflicts in the extractive industries. The report also includes a case study with recommendations for Ghana’s NHRI, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice.

Alexis Nkurunziza, Transparency Expert

JLentfer — 2013-04-02T18:32:55Z

US foreign aid works best as a tool in the hands of the right local leaders—those trying to solve their own problems in their own nations and neighborhoods. Alexis Nkurunziza is one of them.

R4 Rural Resilience Initiative

manand — 2013-04-25T20:15:16Z

In its two years of inception, R4 has successfully expanded the HARITA operations in Ethiopia, and has kicked-off the implementation of R4 pilot 2013 in Senegal. With its successful initiation on the ground, the R4 partnership is set to enable many more vulnerable people to graduate from food insecurity through a community-oriented, risk management– focused, and market-based approach to achieve rural resiliency.

In this report we share key accomplishments during the October– December 2012 quarter, including the risk reduction activities conducted during the 2012 agricultural season in Ethiopia, and present the Senegal pilot design for the 2013 roll-out.

With weather insurance, farmers have options when the rain fails

jabdulla — 2013-04-13T20:07:44Z

Started in Ethiopia, the initiative is now expanding into Senegal and two other countries.

Colombia: Contested Spaces

jedwards — 2013-03-19T19:59:11Z

Colombia has one of the longest-running armed conflicts in the world, as well as the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The United States is one of the leading donors to NCP, along with Spain and the Netherlands. In the areas where we carried out our research, our interviewees clearly indicated that the NCP and other stabilization efforts had failed to make communities more secure, often leaving them less safe. We found severe limitations in attempts to promote conflict-sensitive development. This briefing paper explores these issues and offers recommendations to improve both security and development in Nariño and Montes de María.

Power of Oil Palm

jedwards — 2013-03-19T20:06:56Z

Access to land is critical for the survival of millions of households in developing countries that depend on it for their food security and livelihoods. Yet land holdings, especially of the most fertile land, are highly concentrated. In recent years the accelerated scale and pace of large-scale land acquisitions has signaled a global land rush, and evidence is mounting that the price being paid by affected communities is unacceptably high.

This case study focuses on the Palmas del Ixcán company and the social, environmental and economic effects of its oil palm plantations on local communities in northern Guatemala. The evidence gathered reveals practices that violate people's basic rights and indicates lack of a thorough impact assessment, of effective democratic planning, and of contract transparency.