Red Marker West Africa
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  • Africa
  • Burkina Faso
  • Chad
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Mali
  • Niger
  • Senegal
  • West Africa

West Africa

Oxfam America works in six countries in West Africa: Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal. The West Africa program was established in 1991 and is based in Dakar, Senegal.

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West Africa is making great strides on the path to democracy. The region is also rich in natural resources, including diamonds, gold, oil, wood, and fish. However, West African communities continue to suffer from severe poverty.

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An eternal stranger comes home
In southern Mali, organic farming helps women overcome inequality and claim a place of their own.
Ghana's Oil Readiness Report
Civil society groups in Ghana have produced a report on the country’s readiness to deal with the challenges and meet the expectations of joining the league of oil producing nations.
People-centered resilience
Working with vulnerable farmers towards climate change adaptation and food security
Empty promises
What happened to 'development' in the WTO's Doha Round?
Oxfam Impact July 2009
A quarter million now Saving for Change
Ghana's Big Test
Oil's challenge to democratic development
Mission incomplete
Why civilians remain at risk in eastern Chad
Impacts of Reductions in US Cotton Subsidies on West African Cotton Producers
Pricing Farmers Out of Cotton
The cost of World Bank reforms in Mali
Oxfam Impact February 2007
Small Investments, Big Changes
More research
In harm's way: Oxfam America's game on rethinking natural disasters
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.
More tools for activists
Climate change wake-up call
You know about global warming. You may already be doing your part to protect the environment. But, climate change is a human issue too—it's hitting the poorest people hardest.
Can Ghana Beat the ‘Oil Curse’? Countdown to First Oil
On April 26, 2010, Oxfam America hosted a panel discussion on the Ghanaian oil industry, scheduled to begin production later this year.
Follow the Money
Standing at the pump, watching the numbers tick away, do you ever wonder where the money goes? People on the other end of the pipeline are wondering too.
A perfect storm is driving millions into poverty
More than one billion people now face chronic hunger—and more could join their ranks if we don't act now. With increasing food prices, droughts and floods, and economic pressures, 40 years of progress against extreme poverty is at risk. Oxfam is ready with innovative programs that can save lives.
TCK TCK TCK - It's Time to Act on Climate Change
With only 100 days to go until world leaders meet in Copenhagen to hammer out a global climate change treaty, Oxfam has launched a new video with Oxfam Ambassador and Hollywood actor Gael Garcia Bernal.
Saving for Change
Oxfam America has pioneered an alternative microfinance model called Saving for Change, which self-replicates on a large scale and at a low cost, serving those who have been left behind.
Coping during the hungry season in Gambia
Nyama Filly Fofana leads the way.
A set of simple water pumps improves life in a Gambian village
In border village in Gambia, hardships hit everybody
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Struggle in Sahel: 'If there's no pasture, nothing works'
'We've stayed on our ancestors' land and we've put up with everything, but if rain doesn't come, life would turn into a nightmare," says Koubra Hamid.

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As food crisis looms, the lean season hits early in northern Senegal
An Oxfam team assesses the conditions around a group of small villages where many of the food reserves are now exhausted.

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Food security concerns at World Food Day events in Ghana
Land grabs for biofuels, and gender inequity take center stage.

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Food price spikes
After decades of progress, the number of people without enough to eat has reversed course and is increasing. It could soon top one billion. That's more than one in seven people going to bed hungry. Today. In the 21st century.

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Saving for Change now exceeds 500,000 members
Mali continues to lead rapid growth of innovative, savings-based microfinance program.

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Saving Lives 24/7: Flood response in Senegal
Emergency fund allows fast response to severe flooding in suburbs of Dakar.

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Oil in Ghana: Civil society groups launch country’s readiness report card
Civil society groups in Ghana have produced a report on the country’s readiness to deal with the challenges and meet the expectations of joining the league of oil producing nations.

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Oxfam responds as hundreds of thousands flee Ivory Coast capital
Fifty tons of relief supplies delivered to neighboring Liberia.

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Oxfam and partners hail Ghana for enacting law on petroleum revenue
As Ghana joins the league of oil producing nations, Oxfam America and its local partners congratulate the country for putting in place the legal framework for ensuring judicious use of anticipated financial gains.

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Ghana adopts West African mining principles
After almost two years of its enactment by West Africa’s regional body, Ghana joins Senegal in adopting the principles on mining in the region.

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ECOWAS sets up committee on mining reforms
Latest step in effort to improve, standardize requirements for oil, gas, and mining in West Africa.

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Some justice for a palm tree
Inadvertent destruction of an oil palm tree leads to highest compensation ever.

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In a city of water
Heavy rains in Senegal have turned the low-lying city of Pikine into a lake. Oxfam and a local partner are working to improve the conditions of life for those who can't afford to leave their homes.

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The rains have come, but food crisis continues to afflict West Africa, hitting Chad hard
With harvests still weeks away, Oxfam is increasingly concerned about the situation in western Chad.

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In villages of Niger, hunger weakens people and animals
Rains are desperately needed for farmers across the Sahel. But in some places, the rain will also make it very difficult to deliver vital aid.

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Food crisis grips Sahel region of West Africa, 10 million affected
Poor rains last year reduced the size of harvests and dried out pastureland across the region.

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Countdown to oil drilling in Ghana
As Ghana prepares for a billion-dollar industry, Oxfam convenes the experts to discuss how oil revenues can help, not harm, the people of this West African country.

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Instead of tea: Respect
A savings group in Senegal breeds entrepreneurs and independence on just a few cents a week.

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Members of Ghana’s Parliament concerned about use of new oil money
Communiqué calling for urgent steps to ensure new wealth is managed transparently and responsibly.

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The struggle continues in Ghana
Members of a farmers’ group continue their long struggle to claim their rights in court, but one farmer loses everything in a surprise legal move.

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