Research

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.

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.

R4 Rural Resilience Initiative

aperera — 2012-05-16T13:59:05Z

R4 represents a new kind of partnership, bringing public- and private-sector actors together in a strategic, large-scale initiative to innovate and develop better tools to help the most vulnerable people build resilient livelihoods. R4 promises to leverage the respective strengths of its partners: Oxfam America’s capacity to build innovative partnerships and the World Food Programme’s global reach and extensive capacity to support government-led safety nets for the most vulnerable people. This partnership will enable thousands more poor farmers and other food insecure households to manage weather vulnerability through an affordable, comprehensive risk management program that builds long-term resilience.

Job Creator: Nana Kojo Kondua IV

JLentfer — 2013-01-17T20:50:26Z

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.

Nana Kojo Kondua IV is one of them.

Beltway Outsider: Martha Kwataine

JLentfer — 2013-03-28T20:23:29Z

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.

Martha Kwataine is one of them.

Fiscal Hawk: Manuel Dominguez

JLentfer — 2013-01-17T20:46:40Z

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.

Mayor Manuel Dominguez is one of them.

Emiliana Aligaesha, Venture Capitalist

JLentfer — 2013-04-02T18:24:17Z

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.

Emiliana Aligaesha is one of them.

Community Consent Index

jedwards — 2012-12-11T15:53:33Z

Increasingly, around the world local communities are demanding a meaningful voice in determining whether and under what conditions oil, natural gas, and mining projects take place. This Research Backgrounder collates a representative sample of the publicly available position statements concerning community rights made by 28 major oil, gas, and mining exploration and production companies, with a primary focus on 2010 to 2012.

Afghanistan Reintegration Briefing Note

llucas — 2010-05-27T18:41:39Z

Following the London Conference on Afghanistan in January 2010, there has been a greater acknowledgment that military means alone cannot resolve the conflict and a renewed focus on reintegration and negotiations with insurgents as a key element of the strategy to end the war. Broadly, this entails two parallel processes: negotiations with high level insurgent commanders and reintegration programs targeting low to mid level fighters. This briefing note focuses on proposed reintegration plans, with reference negotiations where relevant.

Think big. Go small.

jlee — 2010-05-20T18:47:07Z

Food and beverage companies are facing a rapidly changing world. Global demand is rising as the world’s population grows. Yet the planet’s ability to meet this demand is threatened by factors such as droughts and other expected consequences of climate change, together with land degradation and biofuel production. At the same time consumers everywhere are growing more knowledgeable and concerned about the ethics of where and how their food and drink are produced.

A number of innovative companies have begun integrating smallholders into their supply chains. There is evidence that this strategy can attract customers and manage supply risks. The investment by a company can be relatively modest if the company collaborates with farmers’ organisations, government, and other non-commercial actors. This approach to investment can have broader impacts on the rural sector, ensuring that trade benefits men and women farmers who are normally marginalised from wealth creation.

Ensuring a smallholder sourcing programme can deliver both commercially viable products and value to the smallholder, requires a number of structural challenges to be overcome. An increasing number of new business models are emerging of global and domestic companies that have adapted to overcome these challenges.

Better jobs in better supply chains

jlee — 2010-05-20T18:51:34Z

This is the fifth in a series of Briefings for Business that Oxfam has published recently, the purpose of which is to offer ideas and insights into topical poverty issues and what they mean for business.

Oxfam believes business plays a key role in poverty reduction by creating jobs that enable people to work their way out of poverty. There is a growing body of evidence that better labour standards also benefit business by boosting sales, staff recruitment and retention, and supply chain productivity. Sustainable, green and ethical are moving from the margins to the mainstream. Is your business prepared?

Better Jobs in Better Supply Chains sets out two key labour issues based on Oxfam’s current analysis and two business behaviours that hinder rather than help. In each case the issue is explored and the benefits of addressing them are identified.

The four issues highlighted are:

Precarious work and poverty wages
Weak relations between management and workers
Purchasing practices that undermine labour standards, and
Over-reliance on audits

Leading companies, working with NGOs and trade unions, have started to tackle the root causes of poor standards. Case studies are included on initiatives by Adidas, Next, Marks & Spencer, ASDA George, Danone, McDonalds and many other companies.

There is a tool to help you benchmark your company, a section on emerging issues and a list of resources.

Oxfam invites you to tell us about other initiatives in these areas, which we will collate and publish on our website in the Autumn.

The Cost of War

mhart — 2010-02-22T18:01:39Z

Afghan experiences of conflict, 1978-2009

The new adaptation marketplace

mborum — 2011-06-08T19:58:24Z

Climate change is a growing humanitarian crisis that we cannot ignore. Developing innovative ways to adapt to its impacts is a necessity. Policies that address the impact of global warming on the world’s most vulnerable communities can drive the market toward new innovation and stimulate the US economy.

Getting results from our aid: Rethinking what we measure

mborum — 2009-09-11T21:34:51Z

In the midst of an economic crisis, US policy makers are more prone to ask, "Are we actually getting results from our foreign aid?"

Transparency is happening right now: USAID and Indonesia's national budget

Porter McConnell — 2009-10-26T16:16:12Z

Transparency is key to strengthening local ownership of US foreign aid. It’s already happening in Indonesia.