Media Releases

Oxfam responds to devastation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan

May 25, 2020

Cyclone Amphan has left a trail of devastation throughout north-east India and the Bangladesh coast, with over 80 deaths reported so far, destroying homes, embankments and crops, and compounding the suffering in many communities already hit by coronavirus and the impact of the lockdown.

The low-lying coastal communities in both countries are amongst the worst hit by the strongest ever cyclone recorded over the Bay of Bengal, which swept through the region late Thursday.

Oxfam and its partners are helping provide food, shelter and clean water to communities and assessing the further support needed in many others.

Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam in Bangladesh said:

“The situation in the low-lying coastal districts is very grave. Many homes have been destroyed and the cyclone has washed in salty water, contaminating the land and water sources. Our partners are distributing food to the most vulnerable and preparing to distribute safe drinking water and other essential items. The extra hygiene precautions necessary to contain coronavirus are slowing the response but we know they are vital.”

While Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh was spared the worst of the cyclone’s impact, flooding in the densely populated camps where almost one million Rohingya refugees live in muddy shelters on hill sides, has sparked fears of mudslides. There are also concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases in the camps.  

Pankaj Anand, Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, Oxfam India said:

“It’s a triple crisis with the cyclone, coronavirus and economic devastation completely intertwined.

“The evacuation was successful in saving many lives – the challenge now is ensuring that people have the food and support they need to survive and get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

“Many people already had no savings left having lost their jobs or vital remittances due to lockdown. There are now no jobs in the cities and in the villages farms and crops have been destroyed due to the cyclone. People have nothing to fall back on.”

Oxfam and its partners have teams in the affected villages assessing where safe drinking water and food is most urgently needed. In some places the response has already started while in others distribution will start as soon as possible.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus during the cyclone response, Oxfam has helped distribute masks, provide handwashing facilities and disinfect cyclone shelters. 

In the low-lying coastal areas in Bangladesh, Oxfam has also prepared desalination plants to provide safe drinking water as the water sources have now been contaminated by the storm surge.  Salty water destroys crops and causes health problems.

Coronavirus continues to incite fear and threaten lives, and the risks of outbreaks of water-borne disease such as cholera also remain.

Aysha, a 55-year-old mother from a small coastal village in Barguna, Bangladesh spent the night in a cyclone shelter. She said:

“In the shelter, there were so many people and it was really hard to maintain social distance. I forgot about what might happen to me if my house was washed away by the tidal surge – I was more worried about the possibility of my family members getting infected by the virus.”

Notes to editors: 

Footage and photos available for Cox’s Bazar shot on 17-20 May including photos of rains in the camp, preparations including workers in PPE digging ditches and interviews with a female Rohingya refugee and Moury Rahman, Oxfam’s Senior Public Health Promotion in the camp as well as B roll of camp, people handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks.
In Bangladesh, Oxfam is providing water and sanitation and increasing hygiene awareness to 173,000 people in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and 9,000 people in the surrounding community. It also helping almost 400,000 people in the coastal districts. 
Oxfam India is working across 14 states to help five million people with hygiene training and over one million people with food during the coronavirus lockdown migration. 
There are over 135,000 Covid-19 reported cases in India and Bangladesh

Oxfam accelerates new strategic changes to its global operations

May 21, 2020

Aims to maximise impact, shift power south and adapt to financial impact of coronavirus

Oxfam today announced that it is bringing forward a reorganisation of its global operations, and implementing a new strategic framework to adapt to the continuing financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The international organisation began its ten-year strategic review in late 2018, determined to build a more diverse global footprint better suited to a rapidly changing world. The changes will enable Oxfam globally to be more effective in working with partners and communities to tackle poverty and inequality and help people to survive humanitarian crises. Oxfam around the world will be shifting more decision-making power to developing countries’ local leaders and re-orientating teams to work in ways that are more tailored to specific local contexts.

Oxfam International currently operates in 66 countries and 20 affiliates. It will retain its physical presence in 48 countries, six of which it will explore as new independent affiliate members. It plans to increase resources to some of these programs and refocus how each works, according to the specific needs of local people. It will phase out 18 of its country-based offices. Globally, the changes in total will affect around 1450 out of nearly 5000 program staff and 700 out of nearly 1900 partner organisations. Oxfam will honour its existing commitments to its partners and donors.

Oxfam International Interim Executive Director Chema Vera said: “Looking strategically at where and how we operate is the essential first step in ensuring that Oxfam can continue to make the best possible contribution to fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice, and to influence for change as effectively as possible. We’ve been planning this for some time but we are now accelerating key decisions in light of the effects of the global pandemic.”

Oxfam New Zealand Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier said: Each Oxfam operates independently, nevertheless it is hard to see tough changes faced by some other Oxfams and their local partners. For Oxfam New Zealand, we have already moved towards more Pacific-led programmes and partnerships and we have together agreed we will reduce the size of Oxfam staff in each Pacific country. As with many New Zealand charities and businesses, we have implemented contingency plans including staff hours and salary reductions and wider cuts to some activities to support cost-saving measures. The priority remains that we continue to have a real impact on injustice and poverty through our humanitarian, program and influencing work.

“Our staff, partners, board and supporters are with us and will help see us through this challenging time for New Zealand and the world. We are determined that Oxfam will emerge stronger and better prepared for the world that emerges as we believe our support for those challenging injustice will be needed even more.”

Like many charities, organisations and business, Oxfam’s global finances have been impacted by the coronavirus crisis. Many Oxfam affiliates have been hit by shop closures and cancelled fund-raising events. For Oxfam New Zealand, a number of key fundraising activities have either had to be cancelled, such as the much-loved Oxfam Trailwalker event, or stopped such as the face-to-face fundraising teams. On a positive note, some of these fundraising activities have now resumed, such as the online Oxfam Shop which re-opened when New Zealand moved to Alert Level 3.

Oxfam International Interim Executive Director Chema Vera said: “In some countries, Oxfam will have a deeper footprint as we focus our program resources and strengthen our local partnerships to maximise impact. In others we will focus more strongly on our humanitarian or influencing goals.”

Oxfam New Zealand Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier said: “The impact of the pandemic is made even more potent by the systemic and structural injustices of poverty and inequality. The work of protecting and promoting strong global civil society is more critical now than ever. This fight is the very focus of our mission. We remain enormously grateful to our donors and supporters whose continuing generosity is helping us meet this unprecedented challenge.”

NOTES:

Oxfam is a confederation of 20 independent “affiliate” members, each with its own Board and governance structure.
The Oxfam confederation currently runs 66 country program teams. Under this restructure, it intends to explore new affiliate members in six countries: Indonesia, Philippines, Colombia, Senegal, Kenya and the Pacific* (an amalgamation including of five current country teams). Including these six, it will retain its presence in 48 countries with refocused operational strategies. It will phase out and exit its programs over time in 18 countries: Thailand, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Paraguay, Egypt, Tanzania, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Benin, Liberia and Mauritania.

‘Crisis on top of crisis’ as India and Bangladesh brace for super Cyclone Amphan – Oxfam

May 20, 2020

Cyclone Amphan, the strongest ever cyclone recorded over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to hit north-east India and Bangladesh tomorrow (Wednesday, 20 May) threatening millions of people in vulnerable communities already affected by Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdown.

Millions of people are being evacuated in India and 12,000 shelters have been prepared in Bangladesh to house nearly five million people in the expected path of the cyclone. Camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, home to almost a million Rohingya refugees, are also likely to be hit and are especially vulnerable given the cramped conditions and an increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Oxfam, working with partners, is preparing life-saving assistance including safety equipment, clean water, sanitation, food and shelter for people in the cyclone’s path.

Pankaj Anand, Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, Oxfam India said:

“Cyclone Amphan is a crisis on top of a crisis. Many of the cyclone evacuation shelters are already being used as coronavirus quarantine centres or housing migrants who have returned to their coastal communities because of lockdown. People are worried there won’t be enough space in the shelters and that they might catch coronavirus in them.”

Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam Bangladesh said:

“It is already a huge challenge to contain the spread of coronavirus amongst the Rohingya refugees living in over-crowded camps, sharing water and toilet facilities. Cyclone Amphan is also a major threat to the millions of vulnerable Bangladeshis living in low-lying flood prone coastal areas.” 

Without assistance, people will be at risk not only to water-borne and other infections rampant during inclement weather, but also coronavirus, with their immunity compromised. Between the two countries, there are nearly 130,000 Covid-19 reported cases, including an increasing number of cases in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

In Bangladesh, there are fears that up 1.4 million people may be displaced due to the cyclone and 600,000 homes could be destroyed. Oxfam is working with partner organisations to help evacuate people to cyclone shelters, provide safe drinking water and dry food. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, it is distributing masks, providing handwashing facilities and helping disinfect cyclone shelters.

In the low-lying coastal areas, Oxfam is also preparing de-salination plants to provide safe drinking water because when the areas flood the salty water is undrinkable.

Parul Begum is a community leader in a small vulnerable coastal village in Bangladesh and supported by Oxfam partner, Society for Development Initiatives. She said that people are more concerned about coronavirus than going to the shelters for safety:

“This cyclone is one of the most powerful ones we have faced so far but people are really worried about how they will maintain social distancing in the cyclone shelters. We do not go to the shelters alone but also take our cattle with us. People are unsure about the hygiene and safety arrangements. Also, the cyclone shelters do not have adequate facilities for expectant and lactating mothers or sufficient privacy for women and girls.”

In India, Oxfam is working with local partners in communities in Odisha and West Bengal pre-positioning emergency supplies such as shelter material (tarpaulins, ground sheets, blankets), clean water, sanitation, hygiene kits, solar lantern and dignity kits for women and girls. It is also providing training to ensure that the cyclone response is carried out in a safe way to prevent coronavirus spreading further in the community.

Notes to editors:

· VNR available of Cox’s Bazar – footage shot Sunday 17 and Monday 18 May 2020. Contains interviews with a female Rohingya refugee and Moury Rahman, Oxfam’s Senior Public Health Promotion in the camp as well as B roll of camp, people handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks.

More footage and photographs from Cox’s Bazar will be available from Wednesday.

· In Bangladesh, Oxfam is providing water and sanitation and increasing hygiene awareness to 173,000 people in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and 9,000 people in the surrounding community. It also helping almost 400,000 people in the coastal districts.

· Oxfam India is working across 14 states to help five million people with hygiene training and over one million people with food during the coronavirus lockdown migration.

Spokespeople:

· India – Pankaj Anand, Oxfam India Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, can explain the current situation and plans for Oxfam’s response in Odisha and West Bengal.

· Bangladesh – Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam in Bangladesh, can explain the current situation and plans for Oxfam’s response in Cox’s Bazar and low-lying coastal areas.

· Atwar Rahman, Acting Humanitarian Programme Manager

· Cox’s Bazar – Moury Rahman, Senior Public Health Promotion Officer

Aid agencies respond to MFAT announcement of $7m

May 20, 2020

As the coronavirus continues to impact low-income countries, New Zealand aid agencies welcome the $7m in aid funding announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people at risk from the virus.

Aid agency coalition spokesperson and Tearfund CEO Ian McInnes said:

“We welcome the announcement of this desperately needed humanitarian funding. It comes as the first cases of coronavirus are recorded in crisis-stricken areas, such as the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh where super-cyclone Amphan is predicted to also cause devastation in the next 24 hours. It’s hard to imagine the horrific impact it will have on people already living in the harshest conditions as they struggle to physically distance themselves and maintain good hygiene with limited access to clean water.”

He said, “As the coronavirus continues to spread, the humanitarian need is only going to increase. With the global pandemic deepening existing crises such as the Rohingya refugee crisis and cyclone responses in the Pacific, the amount of funding required globally now is significant, and nations cannot pull back now in the face of mounting global need.”

While the coalition believes that the funding is not enough, it is a start and at a time when there are many calls on public finances.

“Even so, we would hope that New Zealand will continue to hear our global neighbours’ call for help and will continue prioritising humanitarian contributions. For instance, when the Asian tsunami devastated communities in 2004, we provided the equivalent of over $61 million in humanitarian funding. We know that Kiwis are willing and ready to look after others in times of great need.”

Mr McInnes said we need to make sure nobody is left out of the world’s response. Limiting outbreaks of coronavirus in the most vulnerable areas and communities is vital because no one is safe until we are all safe.

In April, an open letter from the coalition of 14 international aid agencies called for $25 million in urgent, additional humanitarian support to help those living in the world’s harshest places, such as refugee camps and war zones.

Since then, the UN renewed its Global Humanitarian Response Fund, including an expansion of the amount it requires to fund the Plan, from the initial US$2bn to a total US$6.7 bn. This reflects the fact that the coronavirus has now reached every country, and its worst effects are expected to hit those most vulnerable over the coming three to six months.

-ends-

Notes to editors:

The aid agency coalition members are: Care, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, CWS, Council for International Development, Engineers Without Borders, FairTrade A/NZ, Family Planning New Zealand, Hagar New Zealand, Oxfam New Zealand, Rotary World Service New Zealand, Tearfund, Transparency International New Zealand, UnionAid, World Vision.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Kelsey-Rae Taylor on Kelsey-Rae.Taylor@oxfam.org.nz or +6421 298 5894.

Cyclone threatens world’s largest refugee camp as first Covid-19 cases are confirmed.

May 18, 2020

Almost one million Rohingya people in the world’s largest refugee camp are facing the added threat of a cyclone as the first cases of Covid-19 are confirmed, Oxfam warned today. The cyclone, which looks likely to form off the coast over the weekend, could bring further suffering and destruction to the camps on top of a potentially devastating health crisis.

Dipankar Datta, Oxfam Bangladesh Country Director said: “Our worst fears have been confirmed as the virus hits the overcrowded camps where many people are suffering from pre-existing health conditions.

“With 40,000 people crammed per square kilometre maintaining social distance is impossible. People share water and toilet facilities making it extremely challenging to maintain the strict hygiene needed. If a serious outbreak is to be avoided more prevention and containment measures – adapted to the needs of women and men – must be rapidly put in place.”

If the cyclone hits, the contamination of water sources caused by heavy rains and flooding could lead to a spike in illnesses. And any weakening of people’s immune systems will likely leave them even more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Oxfam is providing humanitarian relief, including essential water and sanitation to the refugees and the local host community.

Datta said: “Every effort is being made to keep the people safe, but there are huge gaps. We need more funds to immediately ramp up hygiene, health, and protection facilities to save lives. All governments and international agencies must step in to make sure no one is left behind.

“Our frontline workers and partners are providing clean water and toilets in Cox’s Bazar, and supporting the local host community with food and hygiene kits. Since the pandemic began, Oxfam teams have been promoting awareness on hygiene, hand washing, and Covid-19 prevention practices.”

Last week, Oxfam installed an innovative new contactless hand washing station designed with community input to reduce the risks of Covid-19 transmission. In the coming weeks teams will install more facilities.

Oxfam aims to raise approximately $3m to be able to ramp up its response in the camps. To date, less than a fifth of the UN Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya refugees has been funded.

Datta said: “While nations around the world are understandably focused on containing the spread of the pandemic amongst their people, it is crucial that the international community does not turn its back on at-risk populations. Special attention needs to be paid to the particular risks faced by women and girls during the Covid-19 crisis.“

Notes to the editors

In Bangladesh, Oxfam has stepped up its work on hygiene promotion and water and sanitation facilities for the most vulnerable marginalized communities including in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, where some 855,000 refugees currently live in extremely overcrowded conditions. With 23 local partners, Oxfam reached 106,050 people in 21 districts with food, hygiene promotion and protection materials in the country.
Oxfam is also providing hygiene promotion activities and essential water and sanitation to 173,000 Rohingya refugees in the camps and 9000 people in the host communities in Cox’s Bazar.
There are now roughly 19,000 confirmed cases in Bangladesh– and likely many more due to limited testing capacity.

Vaccinating poorest half of humanity against coronavirus could cost less than four month’s big pharma profits – Oxfam

May 14, 2020

Vaccinating the poorest half of humanity – 3.7 billion people – against coronavirus could cost less than the ten biggest pharmaceutical companies make in four months, Oxfam said today.

The agency is urging governments and pharmaceutical companies to guarantee that vaccines, tests, and treatments will be patent-free and equitably distributed to all nations and people, ahead of the World Health Assembly next week. The virtual meeting on Monday 18 May will be attended by health ministers from 194 countries.

The Gates Foundation has estimated that the cost of procuring and delivering a safe and effective vaccine to the world’s poorest people is $25 billion. Last year the top ten pharmaceutical companies made $89 billion in profits – an average of just under $30 billion every four months.

Oxfam warned that rich countries and huge pharmaceutical companies – driven by national or private interests – could prevent or delay the vaccine from reaching vulnerable people, especially those living in developing countries.

The EU has proposed the voluntary pooling of patents for coronavirus vaccines, treatments, and tests in their draft resolution for the World Health Assembly. If made mandatory and worldwide, this would ensure that all countries could produce, or import low cost versions, of any available vaccines, treatments, and tests. However, leaked documents reveal that the Trump administration is trying to delete references to pooled patents and insert strong language on respecting the patents of the pharmaceutical industry. This would give pharmaceutical companies exclusive rights to produce, and set prices for, any vaccines, treatments and tests they develop – even if taxpayer money has been used to fund their research and development.

Jose Maria Vera, Oxfam International Interim Executive Director said:

“Providing a vaccine to 3.7 billion people could cost less than what the ten biggest pharmaceutical companies make in four months. Anything less than guaranteeing that a vaccine is made available free of charge to all people would be obscene.

“Vaccines, tests and treatments should be distributed according to need, not auctioned off to the highest bidder. We need safe, patent-free vaccines, treatments and tests that can be mass produced worldwide, and a clear and fair plan for how they will be distributed.”

Once vaccines or treatments are developed, there is also a high risk that rich and powerful governments will outbid poorer nations and force their way to the front of the queue, as they did in the scramble for other essential medical supplies such as personal protective equipment and oxygen.

In March, drug manufacturer Gilead moved to extend the monopoly on a potential treatment for the virus, and only withdrew it after a public outcry. Gilead has now donated a significant portion of its current supply of remdesivir to the US government, but news reports suggest the company could make significant profits from subsequent production. Some Wall Street analysts expect Gilead to charge more than $4,000 per patient for the drug, even though the cost of remdesivir can be as low as $9 per patient.

Many poor countries are unable to access essential vaccines and medicines due to patent rules which give pharmaceutical companies monopoly rights and the power to set prices well above what they can afford. Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children under the age of five, with 2,000 children dying every day. For over a decade, millions of children have not had access to patented pneumonia vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline due to its high cost. After years of campaigning by Médecins San Frontieres, both companies reduced their prices in 2016, but only for the very poorest countries, leaving millions of children still without access to their vaccine.

Oxfam is proposing a four-point global plan that calls for:

1. Mandatory sharing of all Covid-19 related knowledge, data and intellectual property, and a commitment to make all public funding conditional on treatments or vaccines being made patent-free and accessible to all.

2. A commitment to deliver additional global vaccine manufacturing and distribution capacity with funding from rich country governments. This means building factories in countries willing to share and investing now in the millions of additional health workers needed to deliver prevention, treatment, and care both now and in the future.

3. A globally agreed, equitable distribution plan with a locked-in fairness formula so that supply is based on need, not ability to pay. Vaccines, treatments, and tests should be produced and supplied at the lowest cost possible to governments and agencies, ideally no more than $2 a dose for a vaccine, and provided free at the point of delivery to everyone that needs it.

4. A commitment to fix the broken system for the research and development of new medicines. The current system puts pharmaceutical profit above the health of people across the world meaning many needed put unprofitable medicines never get developed, and those that do are too often priced out of reach for the poorest countries and people.

Vera concluded “Delivering an affordable vaccine for everyone will require unprecedented global cooperation. Governments must rip up the rulebook and prioritise the health of people everywhere, over the patents and profits of pharmaceutical corporations. Governments must ensure that no one is left behind.”

Notes to editor

A background briefing paper is available on request

The Gates Foundation estimated the cost of producing and distributing a vaccine and have confirmed that this cost relates to the production and distribution in low and lower middle income countries only.

The 2019 profits for the top ten pharmaceutical companies can be found here

The Gilead monopoly decision can be found here, future Gilead cost of remdesivir here and remdesivir potential cost per patient here

Oxfam believes that vaccines should ideally be produced and supplied for no more than $2 per dose. This is a reasonable challenge to set given that new complex vaccines for big killers like pneumonia are already available for this price.