International shipping is a major – and rapidly growing – source of greenhouse gas emissions. Agreement to apply a carbon price to shipping can both reduce emissions and raise funds for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. This paper shows that doing so is possible while ensuring developing countries face no net costs. COP17 in Durban, South Africa at the end of 2011 provides an opportunity to agree the key principles of such a deal.
The EU has a long history of co-operation with the Arab region. Its economic and security interests in the region are considerable. In line with the European Consensus on Development, respect for human rights and democracy have been explicit values within EU development policies. Past EU co-operation in the region, especially in health and education, has achieved successes and enabled people to claim certain rights.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Human Rights, Regime Change, and Bilateral Relations
In the aftermath of the 2010–11 floods, the path to recovery and reconstruction in Pakistan will be long and full of challenges. However, there is also an opportunity to tackle crucial structural issues such as crippling inequalities in people's rights and access to land. A failure to do so would not only condemn millions of Pakistanis to continued and deepening poverty, it would also undermine the scope and sustainability of the country's recovery from this disaster and its ability to cope with the next.
Topic:
Agriculture, Political Economy, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Why, in a world that produces more than enough food to feed everybody, do so many – one in seven – go hungry? Oxfam's new global campaign, GROW, seeks answers to this question. GROW aims to transform the way we grow, share, and live together. GROW will expose the failing governments and powerful business interests that are propping up a broken food system and sleepwalking the world into an unprecedented and avoidable reversal in human development.
By the end of 2014, the Afghan national army and police – under the authority of the Ministries of Defence and Interior, respectively – are expected to assume full responsibility for the protection of Afghan civilians. But, as international military actors prepare for withdrawal, there are serious concerns regarding the professionalism and accountability of the security forces they will leave behind..
Amidst jubilant celebration in July 2011, the new Republic of South Sudan entered the international stage albeit as one of the least developed countries in the world. One in eight children die before their fifth birthday, the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world and more than half the population lives below the poverty line. Against a backdrop of chronic under-development, the country is acutely vulnerable to recurring conflict and climatic shocks. More than 220,000 people were displaced last year due to conflict and more than 100,000 were affected by floods; and already this year, fighting in the disputed border areas, clashes between the Sudan People‟s Liberation Army (SPLA) and militia groups, disputes over land and cattle, and attacks by the Lord‟s Resistance Army, have forced nearly 300,000 people from their homes. The situation is exacerbated by a continuing influx of returnees, restricted movement across the northern border, high fuel prices and regional shortages in food stocks. South Sudan is a context that challenges normal development paradigms and fits awkwardly in the humanitarian relief–recovery–post-conflict development continuum. This complexity has not always been reflected in the strategies of either donors or implementing agencies.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil War, Ethnic Conflict, and Territorial Disputes
Access to medicines at affordable prices is critical to the enjoyment of the human right to health. Lower prices require the implementation of pro-access policies that include the promotion of generic competition. However, medicines cannot be selected on the basis of price alone. To ensure that only safe, effective, and quality products are on the market, effective regulation is necessary.
Six months after the flood disaster began, this briefing paper evaluates the humanitarian response so far, the continuing crisis, and the challenges that lie ahead. It looks at the immediate reconstruction task, as well as the underlying socio-economic and political issues that need to be tackled by the Government of Pakistan, backed by the international aid community, in order to help vulnerable Pakistanis rebuild stronger, safer communities and a more equitable and self-reliant country.
The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 had a devastating impact on the already vulnerable island nation, leaving more than 200,000 people dead and over one million homeless. In October 2010, Haiti was struck by a second disaster: as of mid December 2010, a cholera outbreak has affected more than 122,000 people, leaving at least 2,600 dead.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Female education has faced significant obstacles in Afghanistan, yet there have been enormous gains since 2001. Under the Taliban, the majority of girls‟ schools were closed and gross enrollment fell from 32% to just 6.4%.In the early years after the fall of the Taliban, education was a top priority for the Afghan government and donors. Much of this donor focus was on getting children back into school, with a particular emphasis on primary level. The Back to School campaign, launched in 2002, significantly ex-panded enrollment, which has increased nearly seven-fold, from approxi-mately 900,000 in 2000 to 6.7 million in 2009.For girls, the increase has been even more dramatic: official enrollment figures have increased from an estimated 5,000 under the Taliban to 2.4 million girls currently enrolled.
Oxfam knows that ethnic minority women's organisations are proud, persistent, and passionate. Activists, members of management committees, staff, and volunteers bring a range of commitment, knowledge, and skills. They know their community and the women they work with, and the issues particular to both. This knowledge is vital to their organisations' success. And, using it, they achieve results.
Every half hour, an average of one Afghan woman dies from pregnancy-related complications, another dies of tuberculosis and 14 children die, largely from preventable causes. Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, the humanitarian and development needs in Afghanistan remain acute.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, War, Armed Struggle, and Insurgency
All actors should ensure that the people of Haiti have a central role in the process of reconstruction and that reconstruction is equitable. Those delivering assistance on the ground should immediately work to coordinate within the UN established system and with the Haitian government 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, pre-empting 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 programmes, 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 prioritise 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 prioritises livelihoods and sustainable development led by Haitians from the start.
African Heads of States and Governments gather in Addis Ababa for the 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union at a time when the continent faces a huge digital divide. African women are disproportionately affected by this divide.
The first decade of our new millennium was poised to go down in history as a hopeful turning point for the world's children. Remarkable progress was being forged across the developing world, spurred by a new global commitment to the Education For All (EFA) goals. These goals were answered by substantial increases in aid during the first half of the decade, extensive debt relief, and a growing political commitment to education in developing countries. The EFA Fast Track Initiative was also establ ished in 2002 as a global partnership to support national efforts to reach universal primary education.
Topic:
Development, Education, Globalization, and Financial Crisis
This paper is intended for senior managers in all companies that source goods from developing countries. Examples are drawn mainly from the garment and agriculture industries but the learning is transferable to other industries, including electronics, construction, and services.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Poverty, and Labor Issues
No disaster is completely natural. The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 was no exception. Haiti's extreme levels of poverty and inequality exacerbated the devastation and determined who was vulnerable.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Foreign Aid, and Reconstruction
In Mozambique, the government has a national plan to tackle poverty and inequality, but it cannot finance this plan from national resources alone. Despite this, Mozambique – just 20 years ago the poorest country in the world – has increased its spending on health care by over half, and in the past decade the number of children who die before their fifth birthday has come down by almost 20 percent.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Aid
People living in poverty in the UK make a vital contribution to the economy and society through unpaid caring and community work. But public attitudes prevail that people on low incomes – and particularly those on benefits – are 'scroungers' who are to blame for their own poverty. These attitudes are exacerbated by a widespread assumption that opportunities to earn a reasonable income are readily available.
Topic:
Poverty, Social Stratification, and Public Opinion
Incorporating smallholders into the supply chain allows a company to tell consumers how their purchasing choices can improve the lives of men and women farmers. Companies that incorporate smallholders equitably into their supply chains – and communicate their action through their brands – can capture new customers and gain greater loyalty from existing ones.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Third World, and Food
The Kabul Conference marks the ninth international conference on Afghanistan in nearly as many years. The conference aims to present a new set of development programs and shore up international support for civilian efforts. It will also follow up on commitments made on anticorruption and reconciliation during the London Conference in January 2010. Yet much of the hope and optimism that marked the earlier conferences such as the Bonn Conference in 2001, which set out the parameters for the interim government, and the Paris Conference in 2006, which outlined a strategy for reconstruction and development, is now gone.
Topic:
Security, Development, War, and Fragile/Failed State
In 2009, the government of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with international backing, launched military offensives against the FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda) and other militias in eastern DRC, with devastating humanitarian consequences: an estimated 900,000 people displaced and over 1,400 documented civilian deaths attributed to militia and government forces. In 2010 a new offensive, Amani Leo ('peace today'), continues efforts to disarm the militias, with some additional safeguards for civilian safety linked to UN peacekeeping support for the operations. However, while some areas have become safer as a result, ongoing population displacement (over 164,000 January- April 2010) and protection cluster monitoring of human rights violations (up 246% January-February in South Kivu after the launch of Amani Leo) are indications of continuing fallout for civilians. A survey conducted by Oxfam and partners in North and South Kivu in April 2010 enquired into the experiences of people in areas affected by the military operations. It found that, for 60% of respondents this year, things are worse than in 2009.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Gender Issues, Genocide, and War
The outpouring of global public support in response to the earthquake enabled Oxfam and other agencies to get aid through to the Haitian people and make a real difference. However, recovery in Haiti is one of the most complex humanitarian and development challenges in modern times. There are no short-term solutions for Haiti.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, and Foreign Aid
Remarkable progress has been made in the last ten years toward achieving the education-related Millennium Development Goals. Many more girls are in school and enrolment rates are on the rise, due to higher-quality aid and to political commitment in developing countries. However, these achievements could be derailed by the global economic crisis, newly falling aid levels, and educational challenges. With 72 million children still out of school, the world's poorest countries urgently need a global financing initiative that can deliver the resources to scale up to Education For All.
The next 12 months will be critical for the future of Sudan. As the country marks the fifth anniversary of the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a devastating civil war, southern Sudan has seen a major upsurge in violence. In 2009, some 2,500 people were killed and 350,000 fled their homes. With landmark elections and a referendum on the horizon, the peace deal is fragile and the violence likely to escalate even further unless there is urgent international engagement.
Topic:
Political Violence, Civil War, Ethnic Conflict, Peace Studies, and Treaties and Agreements
Climate change is the single greatest threat to development – making the battle to overcome poverty ever harder and more expensive. Finance is urgently needed to help vulnerable communities adapt to a changing climate. Last year the World Bank estimated the costs of adaptation in poor countries were $75–100bn per year if global warming was kept to 2°C. The non-binding pledges from rich countries to cut emissions offered since Copenhagen would steer a course towards a catastrophic 4°C.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Treaties and Agreements
Ten years after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by world leaders became the greatest-ever commitment for a 'more peaceful, prosperous and just future', progress is slow and many hard-won achievements have been undone after the global food, fuel and economic crises. Unless an urgent rescue package is developed to accelerate fulfillment of all the MDGs, we are likely to witness the greatest collective failure in history.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Poverty
When the G20 meets in Seoul in November 2010, it has a big choice to make. It can either retreat into a narrow focus on its own interests, or it can prove it is capable of genuine global leadership in the face of the interlinked economic, food, and climate change crises. The G20 must adopt a Seoul 'development consensus' that confronts the challenges of the 21st century: reducing inequality and tackling global poverty through sustainable, equitable growth that gives poor women and men, and their governments, the tools they need to overcome poverty.
Climate-related shocks are negatively affecting the lives of millions of poor women and men with increasing frequency and severity. The non- binding pledges made in Copenhagen put the world on track for a catastrophic temperature rise of 3-4°C. If developed countries fail to set much more ambitious emissions targets, the cost of damages will increase dramatically. There is an urgent need to set up a proper system of finance for adaptation to help developing countries avoid the worst impacts.
The massive earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 devastated rural areas as well as urban, destroying crops, farm buildings, equipment, and infrastructure. Indirect effects touched almost every corner of the nation, as 600,000 people migrated to the countryside, increasing pressure on already stretched food and fuel resources. Internal displacement worsened food insecurity, which affected six out of ten people even before the disaster.
In 2010, more than 10 million people, mainly women and children, were victims of the food crisis in the Sahel. Nearly 500,000 severely malnourished children were taken into care between January and November 2010 in Niger, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso. Most livestock in the Sahel was decimated. The images and the stories of hunger harked back to the food crisis of 2005 and the famines in 1973-1974 and 1984-1985.
Topic:
Agriculture, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Food
On Christmas Eve 2008 and over the following three weeks, 865 women, men and children were savagely beaten to death and hundreds more abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in a remote corner in the north-east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in southern Sudan. The attack was a murderous backlash in response to Operation “Lightning Thunder”, a military offensive launched some 10 days before against the LRA by Uganda, DRC and southern Sudan. Less than a year later, between 14 and 17 December 2009, LRA commanders oversaw the killing of more than 300 people, again shattering communities in a remote corner of northern DRC.
The protection of civilians from the worst ravages of war is a dilemma that international bodies have sought to address for decades. However, despite lessons learned from the atrocities of Rwanda and Srebrenica, among others, civilians are still not only adversely affected by armed conflict; they are too often directly targeted.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Intelligence, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
The food price increases of 2007 and 2008 focused attention on a global food crisis that was already affecting more than 850 million people. Even before the 2008 food riots, some 16,000 children were dying every day from hunger-related causes – one every five seconds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that by the end of 2008, rising prices had added 109 million to the ranks of the hungry. Today, about one in six of the world's population goes short of food, almost a billion people.
Topic:
International Relations, Humanitarian Aid, Third World, Foreign Aid, Food, and Famine
The stakes could not be higher. Every minute a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth for want of simple medical care; every hour 300 people die of AIDS-related illnesses; and every day 5,000 children are killed by pneumonia. The world is badly off-course to achieve the internationally agreed health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To get back on-course and achieve universal and equitable health care for all requires a massive expansion of health services. To fail in this endeavour will be to abandon hundreds of millions of people to an early death and a life blighted by sickness. The critical question is how can such a massive scale up be achieved?
Topic:
Health, Humanitarian Aid, Third World, and Foreign Aid
Food shopping may seem an innocent, even mundane, chore. But the food we buy every week can have huge impacts on people and environments seemingly worlds away from our regular dash round the shops. The futures of some of the world's poorest people and of the global environment are intimately linked to the contents of our shopping baskets.
The intensification and spread of the conflict in Afghanistan is increasingly affecting civilians. In 2008 there were over 2,100 civilian casualties, 55% of which were caused by militants. Despite steps to reduce civilian casualties, international military forces (IMF) caused 552 civilian deaths through airstrikes in 2008, which is up by 72% on 2007. IMF have also carried out or supported raids and search operations, a large number of which have involved an excessive use of force, including loss of life, physical assault, dam age to property and theft, as well as aggressive and improper treatment of women. Such conduct not only generates anger and mistrust towards foreign troops, but is steadily eroding popular support for the international presence in the country. Furthermore, many individuals detained by Afghan and US forces are held for long periods without charge or trial, and there are allegations of mistreatment and torture.
G20 leaders met for the second time in London on 2 April, as the global economic crisis began to crash across the borders of poor countries with ever-greater severity. Oxfam's research shows rising human impacts in the shape of job losses, falling remittances to the families of migrant workers and a particularly severe impact on women workers in global supply chains. Based on the latest forecasts, published on the eve of the summit, Oxfam estimates that the crisis could push 100 million people into poverty in 2009 alone.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Globalization, International Organization, Poverty, and Labor Issues
The major social policy challenge of the current economic recession is how to prevent a precipitous rise in poverty in the UK. In addition to limiting the numbers of people plunged into poverty because of the recession, government must also mitigate the impact on people already living below the poverty line. But, this paper will argue, response s to the recession present an opportunity to make a step-change, ensuring that actions taken also help build a fairer, more sustainable society in which poverty is ended in the long-term.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Even in hard times, it can make commercial sense for companies to develop markets that include poor people, and business models that address poverty. Businesses that create decent jobs, access to markets or goods and services that benefit low-income groups in emerging economies help to build healthier, wealthier, and more highly skilled communities. Those communities will provide the customers, suppliers, and employees that companies need for sustainable growth.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Markets, Poverty, and Non State Actors
International humanitarian aid provides relief to tens of millions of people each year: in 2007 to more than 43 million people through UN humanitarian appeals alone. However, it is also often too little, too late, and unpredictable, or inappropriate to the needs of communities, including specific groups such as women and girls. The UN-led reforms since 2005 to improve humanitarian aid have begun - but only begun - to make a difference to this variable performance.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Aid
The global climate is changing, fast. And this is the direct result of human activity. It is broadly accepted that we need to restrict global temperature increases to as far below 2°C as possible if we are to avoid triggering runaway, irreversible and catastrophic climate change. This is very probably the greatest challenge and danger that mankind has ever faced, and evidence is mounting that time is rapidly running out if we wish to “preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted.” (Hansen, et al, 2008).
Climate change is already affecting the lives of people in the developing world. Increased floods and droughts, rising sea levels, changing patterns of rainfall and falling crop yields are making it harder and harder for poor people to escape poverty. Oxfam is projecting that, on current trends, the average number of people affected by climate-related disasters each year may have risen by over 50 percent by 2015 – to 375 million people – potentially overwhelming the humanitarian system.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Industrial Policy
The World Business Summit on Climate Change provides an example of the leadership role that the global business community has assumed in paving the road to a post-2012 climate regime. Among various proposals from the business lobby for the creation of a policy for concerted action on climate change, the concept of co-operative sectoral approaches has risen to the top of the agenda. The Bali Action Plan of December 2007 put sectoral approaches officially on the negotiating table, with its proposal for 'cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions' as a means to 'enhance implementation of' articles in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC 2007: Art. 1 (b) (iv)).
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Industrial Policy
The world, and most of all, its poor people, desperately needs a fair and safe climate deal to be agreed in Copenhagen in December. But currently, negotiations are proceeding at a snail's pace, hamstrung by a yawning deficit of trust between developing and industrialised countries, and crucially lacking a global leader – one that can bridge this divide by leading by example with commitments to cut its own emissions and to finance adaptation and mitigation in the South.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Regional Cooperation
In June 2009 the blockade on the Gaza Strip enters its third year. The intense closure policy, coupled with the government of Israel's recent military operation 'Cast Lead', has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of one and a half million Gazans, pushing them further into poverty and aid dependency. Parties to the conflict and the international community have, to varying degrees, prioritised their own political objectives over people's rights and needs, leaving Gazans sitting on the ruins of their homes. By attempting to isolate Hamas, the government of Israel and key international donor governments and institutions have in fact isolated the people of Gaza, thereby reducing chances of securing a peaceful, just and durable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and War
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and Arab Countries
Antonio Hill, Julie-Anne Richards, and Richard King
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
A fair and adequate global climate regime requires a massive effort across the board to reduce the risks to lives and livelihoods that poor people face first and most. Rich countries must reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions first and fastest, with ambitious targets at home. High levels of rich-country pollution over the last century mean that even ambitious emissions-reductions targets will not be enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. Deep emissions reductions in rich countries are still critical, but climate security will now be won or lost as a result of co-operative efforts in which rich countries finance large-scale reductions in emissions in developing countries. Establishing a Global Mitigation and Finance Mechanism could achieve these reductions while respecting principles of equity, and delivering tangible development gains for poor people. This must be a centre piece of the Copenhagen deal in December 2009. But much greater political attention and support is needed for this vital part of the deal to be developed in time.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Cooperation
This report aims to identify key challenges arising from reform of the health-care system in Georgia, especially in primary health care, and to present some possible strategies to address them. It will be a useful reference document for Oxfam, our partners, and all those concerned with improving the provision of health care in Georgia.
Caroline Pearce, Sébastien Fourmy, and Hetty Kovach
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has been democratic since 1991, and the international community considers it to have, overall, a well-performing government and economy. But this should not mask the huge scale of the challenges facing Mali in realising even the most basic rights of its citizens. This challenge is increased by the country's vulnerability to shocks, such as the food and fuel crises.
It is the world's biggest and fastest human displacement in over a decade. The offensive launched by the Pakistan army against armed militants in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) at the end of April 2009 has resulted in a massive exodus requiring an enormous humanitarian response. Although exact numbers are difficult to verify, at least two million women, men, and children fled their homes in the districts of Swat, Dir and Buner, mostly during May. In late May, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) was registering 126,000 newly displaced people per day.