Research

Why are humanitarian advocates leading on aid reform?

apalaniappan — 2010-01-12T14:25:54Z

The US government has an unparalleled capacity to deploy humanitarian aid to emergencies and natural disasters. But an out-of-date bureaucracy is keeping humanitarian aid workers from responding to affected communities as effectively as possible.

The climate after Copenhagen

akramer — 2011-06-08T14:55:49Z

Copenhagen was an unprecedented moment in the history of climate change policy. Heads of State – more than 100 of them – participated in UN climate negotiations for the first time, adding a sense of political weight and import to the negotiations. And global attention was focused like never before on climate policy and negotiations.

This was the direct outcome of two years of negotiations and preparation by governments, added to in critical ways by civil society mobilization. The negotiated outcome at Copenhagen very clearly left the job undone, with a low level of ambition and many gaps left to be filled. But it did create some forward movement, and it should most importantly be seen as a moment that crystallized a global focus on climate change in historic ways.

The task now is to capture that energy and mobilize our public and political power for a fair, ambitious, and legally binding deal by the next major UN climate summit in Mexico City at the end of 2010. As Copenhagen demonstrated, this will not be an easy task, but there is no credible alternative. We try to capture here what happened at Copenhagen, as well as what is necessary to do in the coming year.

Reconstructing Haiti

mborum — 2010-01-25T16:38:39Z

All those delivering assistance on the ground must immediately work to coordinate within the UN established system and with the Haitian government.

All actors should ensure that the people of Haiti have a central role in the process of reconstruction and that reconstruction is equitable.

The UN and the US government are trying to ensure that there is adequate fuel to support the relief effort. Fuel supply will remain a concern for humanitarian agencies in the near term. In consultation with NGOs, the UN should establish a system to determine who receives fuel, for what purposes and in what priority.

The Haitian government, UN and international military actors must work together to improve the security situation, preempting a potential deterioration of the situation, with increased patrols, transparency in operations and clear conjoined rules of engagement and chain of command.

Protection, particularly for women and children, should be mainstreamed into the design of all programs, including any camps for affected people or expansion of patrols, in consultation with affected people and local civil society.

The government, UN, donors and other actors must ensure that efforts to restore and improve public services, infrastructure and economic activity prioritize poorer communities. In a socially divided society such as Haiti, there is a real danger that the better off and politically influential will secure their needs first.

It is not too early to lay a new foundation for Haiti's reconstruction and development with complete debt forgiveness, aid in the form of grants not loans and a "pro-poor" approach that prioritizes livelihoods and sustainable development led by Haitians from the start.

No will, no way

oxfam america — 2011-01-03T16:21:50Z

This paper is a follow-up case study to Oxfam America's 2009 report on US security assistance and the protection of civilians. In that report, Oxfam America examined the importance of SSR and the evolution of US policy and doctrine and then surveyed US practice. DRC is an important and useful case study of US implementation of SSR because the US government has committed to improving the security of the Congolese and to helping promote development and democracy in DRC, and SSR is crucial to solving the problems in the country.

The US has provided tens of millions of dollars in support of armed forces and police reform in the DRC, yet the impact of the US efforts has not been measured and thus is not actually known. Moreover, notwithstanding these and other donor efforts, it is clear that true reform in the DRC security sector has yet to occur: “No progress at all,” according to one senior MONUC official. True reform, including the training of all security forces in civilian protection and human rights principles and the implementation of that training in field operations, plus effective application of military justice and measures to remove known human rights abusers from the army and the implementation of a judicial system based on the rule of law, is crucial to improving the humanitarian situation in DRC and moving DRC to a position of stability, economic development, and robust democracy.

Risk and Risk Transfer in Agriculture

csoares — 2011-01-24T17:14:52Z

The current food crisis has manifested itself in high prices of most major food crops, posing the risk of serious hardship for consumers, and especially the most vulnerable poor. The crisis has prompted a search for measures that might boost the supply of food crops (and curtail “unnecessary” demand, such as that for biofuel feedstock). But why would such interventions to boost production be necessary? Shouldn’t the dramatic increase in prices provide a sufficient market incentive for producers to right the balance? Indeed, why was the current situation not anticipated and production expanded before it was too late?

These questions can be addressed from two different perspectives. One perspective suggests that the current situation is the result of the globe running up against the limits of its capacity to supply food. This paper focuses on the second perspective, which does not focus directly on physical or production technology capacity constraints, but instead sees the current crisis at least in part as the product of the risky nature of agricultural production. Viewed from this perspective, the current crisis is a particular manifestation of the tendency of agricultural markets to occasionally produce supply/demand imbalances that can cause pronounced spikes, as well as collapses, in prices.

Beyond Recovery: Moving the Gulf Coast Toward a Sustainable Future

jlee — 2011-02-11T21:12:09Z

This report details the Gulf Coast’s environmental, economic and social challenges and recommends a regional ecosystem restoration plan to help coastal communities and the ecology recover their past strength and build a foundation for a new economic future – establishing the Gulf Coast as an international leader in coastal restoration and resiliency – by promoting participation from coastal communities and businesses, and prioritizing innovation and opportunity.

Sowing seeds

aperera — 2012-05-16T17:28:53Z

Opportunities and challenges facing US assistance for food security in Guatemala

In need of a better WASH: Water, sanitation, and hygiene policy issues in post-earthquake Haiti

nhailu — 2012-05-25T19:13:56Z

This research initiative examined Haiti’s water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector before and following the January 12, 2010 earthquake, and the work of the WASH cluster following the earthquake, in the context of effectiveness, equity, and accountability.

Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA) quarterly report: October 2011–December 2011

aperera — 2012-03-12T17:16:22Z

For the 1.3 billion people living on less than a dollar a day who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, vulnerability to weather-related shocks is a constant threat to security and well-being. As climate change drives an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, the challenges faced by food-insecure communities struggling to improve their lives and livelihoods will also increase. The question of how to build rural resilience for climate change adaptation is critical for addressing global poverty.

In response to these challenges, Oxfam America, Swiss Re, and their partners developed an integrated risk management framework to enable poor farmers in the drought-prone northern state of Tigray in Ethiopia to strengthen their food and income security through a combination of improved resource management (risk reduction), insurance (risk transfer), and microcredit (prudent risk taking): the Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA) project.

HARITA brought together a network of partners including Ethiopian farmers, the Relief Society of Tigray (REST), Nyala Insurance Share Company, Africa Insurance Company, Dedebit Credit and Savings Institution (DECSI), Mekelle University, the government of Ethiopia, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), Swiss Re, and Oxfam America. The project is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and Swiss Re.

Existing approaches to providing drought insurance to the poorest have not been effective owing to high administrative costs and the inability of cash-poor smallholders to afford premiums. In the HARITA team’s conversations with farmers, the farmers themselves suggested a solution; they could pay for insurance with their labor. Oxfam America worked with the Relief Society of Tigray and the government of Ethiopia to build an “insurance-for-work” program on top of the government’s “foodand cash-for-work” Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), a well-established program that serves 8 million chronically food-insecure households in Ethiopia.

The resulting innovation allows cash-poor farmers the option to work for their insurance cover by engaging in community-identified projects to reduce risk and build climate resilience, such as improved irrigation or soil management. In the event of a seasonal drought, insurance payouts are triggered automatically when rainfall drops below a predetermined threshold, enabling farmers to afford the seeds and inputs necessary to plant in the following season and protecting them from having to sell off productive assets to survive. In partnership with local microfinance institutions, the model facilitates the farmers’ option to collateralize credit with insurance.

Hygiene promotion: determining what works

Elizabeth Stevens — 2012-04-27T13:21:52Z

In 2011, we engaged the Swiss research institute Eawag to study the relationship between Oxfam hygiene promotions and safe hand-washing practices in Haiti in the wake of the earthquake and cholera outbreak of 2010.

Now or Never

jlee — 2011-06-08T14:52:53Z

Global warming affects poor people first and worst. It is a major obstacle to development and poverty alleviation, as well as a serious threat to business supply chains and markets in developing countries. Oxfam believes that companies can help to determine whether the world wins or loses the fight against climate changes.

It cannot be a case of continuing development or adapting to climate change – without both, neither will happen.

Climate change is a global problem, requiring a global solution. Oxfam has seen first-hand the impacts that climate change can have on poor people and action is urgent.

We must keep the rise in global temperatures below 2 degrees. This means that emissions must peak and start to decline in the next decade – so we must act now to set the world on a low-carbon path. Coordinated international action is essential.

Oxfam Poverty Footprint

jlee — 2011-04-21T14:20:11Z

"Oxfam is well aware of the extraordinary potential of business to positively influence the lives of poor people ... This paper offers insights into how business can work with governments and organisations such as Oxfam to combat poverty. It is the result of our extensive experience of working with businesses—small and large—all over the developing world."

Jeremy Hobbs, Director, Oxfam International

Companies around the world are increasingly concerned about the impacts that their businesses have on societies in their home countries as well as abroad. For many companies operating in developing countries, impacts on society are related to the effects of their operations on development and poverty reduction, and in turn play an important role in determining the success of the business itself. Understanding the links between business and development can highlight real opportunities for enlightened businesses to make a positive difference.

This paper explains Oxfam's Poverty Footprint Methodology, which helps companies to comprehensively understand how their operations affect the people in their value chains and the communities and countries where they operate.

Oxfam America Mid-‐Term Climate Change Campaign Evaluation Executive Summary

aperera — 2012-01-09T19:47:19Z

This is a final report of iScale’s mid-‐term review of Oxfam America’s (OA) Climate Change Campaign (CCC). The purpose of the review is to assess the effectiveness of OA’s campaign efforts to influence US policy and leadership in international fora as well as its efforts to promote greater action on climate change through its country assistance programs. As a
member of Oxfam International (OI), OA carries out the majority of its policy and campaign work in conjunction with OI. The CCC in the US and the climate change work of other OI affiliates (Oxfam Great Britain and Oxfam Australia) were designed to contribute to the objectives of the OI Climate Change Campaign.

Summer of high food prices and hot air: CFS meeting crucial in fighting hunger

bgrossmancohen — 2012-10-12T14:10:57Z

The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) meeting in Rome should break the cycle of government inaction and agree to set a path toward an equitable, sustainable and resilient food system.

Planting Now (2nd edition)

mhart — 2012-10-15T14:35:22Z

Agriculture in Haiti has suffered three decades of crisis and institutional neglect. Nevertheless, almost 60 percent of Haitians live in rural areas and rely on farming for their livelihoods.

For that reason, agriculture must play a central role in post-earthquake reconstruction. However, the plans and programs of the Haitian government and the international community have proven insufficient to revitalize the sector and improve conditions for small-scale farmers, and have failed to recognize the important roles of women in agriculture.

The Haitian government and the main actors in agriculture should continue to prioritize agricultural development, while putting greater emphasis on long-term programs to assist Haitians to get back on their feet and improve their living conditions with dignity.

Summary available here.