What Oxfam is doing
Oxfam America supports emergency food and flood relief efforts, rural agricultural support and credit programs, and women's rights reforms in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The program in Zimbabwe also includes a peace-building initiative to end ongoing local conflicts.
Building food security
More than seven million people in southern Africa are expected to fextreme food shortages through 2005. Floods, droughts, and chronic disease have kept thousands of farmers at the subsistence level, with few opportunities for growth.
In Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa, HIV/AIDS is crippling the ability of millions of families to make a living. Individuals in their most productive years are the most likely to contract the virus, leaving those who are traditionally most vulnerable to food shortages—the elderly and children—with increased responsibilities to generate income and procure food, water, and fuel.
In 2004, Oxfam funded local partners to distribute seed packs to groups that were particularly vulnerable to drought and food shortages: female-headed households, households with children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, child-headed households, and households caring for the chronically ill.
Securing women's rights
After four years of campaigning, Oxfam America's partners won a landmark legal victory for the women of Mozambique. On December 9, 2003, the National Assembly of Mozambique passed a new Family Law that secures a broad range of rights previously denied to women.
This progressive legislation, drafted with input from an Oxfam-supported women's coalition, marks a huge step forward for Mozambican women. The Family Law will serve as the foundation for future gains in gender legal reform.
A new law with better protections for women's rights awaits approval in Zimbabwe's Parliament. Oxfam and our partners continue to champion the rights of Zimbabwean women and advocate for new laws to protect them from gender violence.
Oxfam's partners include 22 women's and gender rights organizations committed to improving the quality of life for women. The group has taken the lead in protecting women and is presently working on several pieces of legislation to enforce women's rights.
Developing agriculture
Mozambique contains one of the largest areas of fertile land in southern Africa. With nearly 60 million uncultivated acres, it is a hotspot for enterprising investors.
Despite this potential, the central provinces of Mozambique are some of the poorest regions in the world—more than 70 percent of the population lives in poverty. Floods, disease, and a costly recovery from a long civil war keep farming families trapped in poverty, with few opportunities for economic growth.
A group of local organizations saw an opportunity to help the people of the Manica Province by connecting farmers with the capital, training, and technical expertise they need to break out of poverty.
With Oxfam's support, the Manica Initiative has introduced an innovative model of community development, capitalizing on the highly evolved maize market in the area. The project is encouraging the growth of the local economy by uniting rural farmers with private investors into business partnerships.
