Media Releases

Oxfam raises fresh concerns for Türkiye earthquake survivors as torrential rains and flooding batter devastated region

March 15, 2023

Survivors of last month’s devastating earthquakes in southern Turkiye have been dealt a fresh blow as heavy rains and severe flooding hit the region, with further downpours forecast in the coming hours.

At least five people have been killed so far and at least five others are reported missing, with the provinces of Sanliurfa and Adiyaman badly impacted.

Footage shows city streets in Sanliurfa turned into fast-flowing rivers, with cars and other debris being swept away, and people being rescued from the floodwaters.

Thousands of people who have been living in tents since February’s earthquakes have also been affected with reports some have been evacuated. A hospital’s emergency department was inundated as well as many homes and businesses, and schools were closed.

The General Directorate of Meteorology has issued an orange alert for a possible extreme downpour in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Elazığ, Diyarbakır and Mardin, most of which were also badly impacted by the earthquakes, which killed more than 50,000 people.

Oxfam KEDV’s Deputy Executive Director Didem Demircan said the situation was incredibly difficult for many people who had already lost everything in the last disaster.

“The situation is extremely dire. Flooding is not unusual in this area, but to have this come in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes is compounding the suffering of those still struggling to come to terms with the first disaster and its impact on their lives.

“As well as the tragedy of more lives lost, roads have been blocked again limiting access, dams are overflowing and large amounts of agricultural farmland have been impacted, with some harvests likely to have been lost.

“Floodwaters and stagnant water also increase the risk of further contamination of drinking water supplies, which were already threatened by heavy infrastructure damage, and measures must be taken to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases.

“People impacted by this flooding will be in need of food, drinking water, sanitation and shelter, as well as furniture and bedding. Women will require extra support as risks to their safety always increase in disasters.”

Oxfam is already responding to last month’s earthquakes and has been working with the National Disaster Response Platform and a network of women’s cooperatives to facilitate the distribution of food, drinking water, temporary shelter, blankets, sanitary kits and power banks. Community kitchens have also been established in various locations, including in Sanliurfa.

Oxfam Trailwalker 2023 Results

March 14, 2023

Fastest times 100 km
1. The JMs                              17:14 (Paraparaumu, Havelock North, and Palmerston North)
2. Capital Connection             17:26 (Wellington)
3. Striders of Disfunction        17:53 (Australia)

Fastest times 50km
1. Lost in Pace                        09:04 (Auckland)
2. Proclaimers                         09:32 (Auckland)
3. The Walking Westies          09:34 (Raglan)

Oxfam Aotearoa’s Fundraising Director Ange Janse van Rensburg said:

“Completing Oxfam Trailwalker is an amazing achievement for the teams and something they will remember for the rest of their lives. The fastest 100km team was an incredible group called the JMs who hailed from all over the country and finished at a time of 17 hours and 14 minutes. It is such a thrill to watch the first team cross the finish line and the energy from spectators, friends and whānau was electric.”

Participants in teams of four took on either a 50km or 100km trail across the stunning Taranaki region, from New Plymouth city to Lake Mangamahoe and everywhere in-between. Teams started early Saturday morning and had 18 hours to complete the 50km trail or 36 hours to compete the 100km trail.

“The weather really turned it on for the event over the weekend. Clear skies gave way to the stunning view of Mt Taranaki all weekend,” said Janse van Rensburg. “Even though we had such terrific weather, this year’s event was still a real challenge through tough terrain, which certainly put the teams through their paces. The warm welcome received from New Plymouth was fantastic and will have certainly helped spur teams on through the wee hours of the night. A huge thank you to the New Plymouth District Council, Venture Taranaki and the local community for their support.”

Second to cross the 100km line was Wellington team Capitol Connections local, finishing in 17 hours and 26 minutes. Team Leader Dennis said that it was the team’s encouragement of each other that helped them get through the low points and push them to the end.

In third position, Australian team Striders of Disfunction, who crossed the finish line at 17 hours 53 minutes.

The first team to cross the 50km line was team Lost in Pace, in 9 hours 4 minutes. In second place, the Proclaimers who came in at 9 hours 32 minutes. And third placed was the Walking Westies who crossed the line at 9 hours 34 minutes.

Executive Director of Oxfam Aotearoa, Jason Myers said:

“The teams participating in Oxfam Trailwalker are taking part in something very special. The money raised will go towards Oxfam’s vision of a just, inclusive, sustainable world for everyone, now and for future generations. This means supporting communities to prepare for and survive the immediate threat of disaster. It means helping people rebuild with strength and security – so they can ultimately thrive in the future.

“Oxfam confronts the root causes that keep people poor, and makes sure those on the frontlines of the climate crisis have what they need to adapt. We stand with all those facing inequality and discrimination to make sure that everyone has equal rights and opportunities, and that economies work for all, not some. I can speak from personal experience when I say that this is a life-changing challenge, and every step is worth it.”

Once the teams have recuperated and recovered, teams will continue to fundraise until the cut-off of 1 May 2023.

As of today, Oxfam Trailwalker has so far raised $482,050. Donations to teams for Oxfam’s lifesaving work can be made at oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz

Oxfam and partners mounting a humanitarian response to help people affected by cyclone in Malawi and Mozambique

March 13, 2023

More than 80 people including women and children have been killed in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar, and millions more urgently need clean water, shelter and food following Cyclone Freddy – the longest and strongest tropical storm on record in the Southern hemisphere – which has damaged thousands of homes, roads, and telecommunication infrastructures.

Oxfam and partners are currently assessing the scale of devastation in order to mount a humanitarian response to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, as well as emergency cash and food.

“This is a double tragedy for the people of Malawi and Mozambique as this is happening at the time when the two countries are already battered by a cholera outbreak,” said Dailes Judge, Oxfam in Southern Africa Programme Director.

Among the hardest hit areas are Quelimane district in Zambezia Province in Mozambique, and Blantyre City, Chikwawa, Thyolo, Phalombe and Nsanje districts in Malawi. Collapsing infrastructure particularly in the remotest areas is slowing relief efforts. Oxfam is working in close cooperation with both governments.

Cyclone Freddy made its first landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar on February 21, 2023, and proceeded to hit Mozambique. The climate crisis has made extreme weather including cyclones more severe and prolonged.

“The people that contribute the least drivers of climate change are once again paying the steepest price to climate change, including their own lives”, said Lynn Chiripamberi, Oxfam in Southern Africa Humanitarian Programme Lead.

“A comprehensive humanitarian response is urgently needed to ensure those most impacted get immediate shelter, water and food. Equally important is for rich polluting nations to pay for the climate loss and damage of these countries,” added Judge.

Trailwalker has begun!

March 12, 2023

Oxfam Trailwalker 2023 kicked off early this morning with the first wave of participants stomping through the start line at TSB Stadium at 06:00am. Deputy Major David Bublitz welcomed in the first lot of teams well before the sun rise, and Oxfam’s fundraising director Ange Janse van Rensburg hyped the teams up before sending them on their way.

One team hit the first 16km check point at 07:47am – an incredible 1 hour and 47 minutes after kick off. The ambitious team has chosen to run the Oxfam Trailwalker, rather than walk it.

Over 860 participants are taking place this year, that’s a total of 137 teams with their support crew. Teams will walk 50km in under 18 hours or 100km in under 36 hours to raise funds for Oxfam’s vital work in the Pacific and beyond.

Land used for European biofuels could feed 120 million people daily

March 9, 2023

CO₂ benefits of biofuels pale in significance to simply giving land back to nature, while using just 2.5% of the land for solar panels would produce the same amount of energy

Europe currently wastes land the size of Ireland on crops for biofuels which is an obstacle to tackling the climate crisis and food security, a new study shows. The study commissioned by Transport and Environment (T&E) shows that this land could be used to feed 120 million people or, if given back to nature, could absorb twice as much CO₂ as is supposedly saved by powering cars with biofuels. Using an area equivalent to just 2.5% of this land for solar panels would produce the same amount of energy.

Maik Marahrens, biofuels manager at T&E, said: “Biofuels are a failed experiment. To continue to burn food as fuel while the world is facing a growing global food crisis is borderline criminal. Countries like Germany and Belgium are discussing limiting food crop biofuels in response. The rest of Europe must follow suit.”

Julie Bos, EU climate justice policy advisor at Oxfam, said: “The EU’s biofuel policy is a catastrophe for hundreds of millions of people who are struggling to find their next meal. Not only does it surrender vast swathes of cropland to fuel cars, but it also pushes food prices even higher. European countries must once and for all stop burning food for fuel.”

According to the research, land cultivated to grow crops for biofuels could be used to provide the calorie needs of at least 120 million people [1]. It would be more than enough to cover the 50 million people that the UN says are “in emergency or worse levels of acute food insecurity.” With world fertiliser prices sky-high and the UN-brokered deal that allowed shipments of grain out of Ukraine in the balance, the organisations call on European governments to prioritise food over fuel.

This is made worse due to biofuels’ questionable climate benefits. Crop biofuels consumed in Europe require a total of 9.6 million hectares of land – an area larger than the island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) [2]. If this were returned to its natural state, it could absorb around 65 million tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere – nearly twice the officially reported net CO₂ savings from biofuels replacing fossil fuels.

Using the land for solar farms would also be far more efficient. You need 40 times more land to power a car using biofuels compared to an electric car powered by solar energy, the analysis shows. An area just 2.5% of the land currently dedicated to biofuels would be needed for solar to produce the same amount of energy, leaving the rest available for rewilding or growing food.

“Right now we surrender vast swathes of land for crops that we simply burn in our cars. It’s a scandalous waste. This land could feed millions of people or, if given back to nature, provide carbon sinks rich in biodiversity. Crop biofuels are probably the dumbest thing ever promoted in the name of the climate,” concludes Maik Marahrens.

The EU has set itself targets to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity in its Nature Restoration Law. With biofuel feedstocks taking up a good chunk of Europe’s croplands, ending the use of land for biofuels could be an important step to achieving this goal.

Notes to editor

[1] If the land now fully dedicated to biofuels for consumption in Europe (5.3 Mha) would be used for growing wheat.

[2] This figure refers to the total area needed to grow the crops used for Europe’s biofuels consumption. A share of these crops is going into ‘co-products’, mainly animal feed. The following numbers given on food and carbon sequestration in this press release refer to the area allocated to biofuels, only (5.3Mha), excluding the area allocated to co-products (4.3Mha).

Cox’s Bazar camp fire: Oxfam responding with food and shelter

March 7, 2023

A fire that swept through Rohingya refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sunday has left 12,000 people homeless and in urgent need of shelter, water, sanitation, and medical services. Oxfam is mounting a response to provide immediate food and shelter to impacted people.

“In a matter of hours, thousands of bamboo and tarpaulin shelters were destroyed along with few primary health centres, local schools, and community spaces. Thousands of families were forced to spend the night under the open sky, many without any food or water,” said Ashish Damle, Oxfam Country Director in Bangladesh.

The fire started on Sunday afternoon around 2:45 pm local time (9:45 PM NZST) in camp 11 and quickly spread to adjacent camps. While no casualties were reported, the full extent of the damage is being assessed.

“This is the second major fire that hit Rohingya camps since 2021. It took years of relief efforts to bring a semblance of normalcy to the lives of people after the first fire. To the Rohingya refugees this is a déjà vu of loss and suffering,” added Damle.

Oxfam team is working closely with partners on the ground, assessing people’s needs; and preparing to provide most affected people with immediate food, shelter, water, and sanitation.

Oxfam International is collaborating with community leaders, local authorities, and other partners on the ground to conduct long-term needs assessments for those affected.