Effective humanitarian action requires a deep understanding of culture, geography, language, and power. As the climate crisis and conflict force record numbers of people from their homes—putting lives and livelihoods at risk—local organizations are often the best-positioned “first responders” to save lives and build their communities’ resilience to future catastrophes.
With your help, Oxfam advocates for the dignity of people in crisis, partnering with a global network of local organizations to deliver clean water, food, cash, and information to communities in need right now. We push for reforms to make foreign aid a better tool for ending poverty. We also help local responders break their dependence on aid by investing in their communities before disaster strikes to reduce potential harm.
In the long-term, we address the root causes that force people from their homes. We call for policy change that protects immigrants and refugees in the US, including supporting a path to citizenship for undocumented people, more humane policies at the US-Mexico border, and economic and workplace protections. And we bring leaders from communities around the world to Washington, DC, to ensure their priorities drive US government action to strengthen funding for local humanitarian action, bolster the role of women as leaders and advocates, and help local and national communities and governments improve their disaster management systems.