News & Media

Winnie Byanyima: this starvation in Africa is an affront to humanity

April 18, 2017

Oxfam International’s Executive Director Winnie Byanyima is visiting Nigeria, where millions have been displaced by conflict and are desperately hungry. She writes of what she has seen so far.

We’re all shaken by the fact that our world stands on the brink of 4 famines. It is unprecedented in modern times. It should never have been allowed to happen. The UN says nearly 20 million people are at risk of starvation.

This week, Nigel Timmins and I have joined Oxfam staff and partners in northeast Nigeria. We are visiting people and the work we do in and around Maiduguri, and travelling to Gwoza and Pulka (towns that have been badly affected by the conflict, with much of Gwoza totally destroyed by Boko Haram; Pulka is still receiving people being displaced by the conflict for the first time).

Communities here have been forced to flee their homes, leaving everything behind as they seek safety, food, clean water and more amid the ongoing conflict between Boko Haram and the government.

Thousands of people are thought to have died already. Many of them are young children.

As an African: it pains me to see this happening on our continent. I feel great sadness, but also anger and humiliation.

As Nigel said: “These are human-made crises. They’re not inevitable. There is no reason, and no excuse in today’s world, for a mother to sleep outdoors on the ground with her children, with little food or water and fearing for their lives. This should not happen”.

Governments must act. We need an injection of aid, backed by diplomatic courage to tackle the causes of these crises. State, national and international political leadership is needed now to address the immediate crisis and bring an end to the conflict.

Oxfam is doing what we can – delivering on the front-lines to those in need and pushing decision makers to act. This is a journey Nigel and I wish we had never had to make – but we are so glad we have come here to see this crisis first-hand and meet these brave people. We will do our utmost to share what we have seen, and push decision-makers to avert catastrophic loss of life.

And we must tell you: in these past few days, in the midst of such suffering, we’ve had cause for hope.

We’ve seen communities sharing what little they have with others in greater need. We’ve spoken with strong women who are stepping up as leaders in their communities. We’ve been greeted with warmth and gratitude by people who have been through so much, and have so little.

Political leaders can still – and must – avert catastrophic loss of life. We need an immediate and sweeping response. Governments must end this betrayal of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Day 1

Winnie, Nigel and the team visited Oxfam’s programs in and around Maidaguri, in northeast Nigeria. Oxfam is responding to the crisis there by providing access to food through distributions and cash for people to use in local markets, clean water and sanitation and helping people to keep themselves safe. During the visit, they met with senior State Government leadership, including the Deputy Governor, the Secretary to the State Government and the State Attorney General. They discussed key issues including the stark number of people at risk of starvation in the state, improving coordination between the humanitarian community and the state government, government funding and leadership in the response and secondary displacement.

They also visited Kushari, an area of Maiduguri, which is in Northeast Nigeria, where local families and those who have arrived in town fleeing violence live together and share what little they have. They heard examples of host families giving those in greater need their clothes, food and more to help support them. This generosity in the face of one’s own dire need is an inspiring common theme across this hunger crisis, which comes from the tradition and culture of community that has always been so strong in this region and the rest of Africa. Oxfam rehabilitated two boreholes in Kushari, giving both local and displaced families access to safe and clean water.

Photos: Tom Saater/Oxfam.

Four reasons to buy Fairtrade this Easter

April 13, 2017

A four-day weekend and an excuse to eat chocolate? Yes please!

We’re definitely chocolate consumers here at Oxfam, but we believe in eating the right chocolate. The fairly traded chocolate.

Here’s four reasons why we think buying Fairtrade is best:

1) The farmers who grow the cocoa beans – the foundation for chocolate itself – can support themselves and their families.

With a lot of the chocolate we buy from the supermarket, only a tiny percentage of what we pay actually gets back to the farmers who grow the cocoa beans. The big companies capture the lion’s share of profits from trade of these products and use their power to pay the growers as little as possible leaving them struggling to feed their families, send their children to school, and sometimes even cover their production costs. Most of their villages lack basic services such as clean water and toilets.

Buying Fairtrade means that these farmers get a fair amount of money in exchange for their product – cocoa beans – and the work they put into producing it. Being paid a fair amount means farmers can cover production costs and have enough left over to live. They can feed their families, drink safe water, access healthcare, send their children to school, and obtain the basic things they need.

Maria Daniel, a female cocoa farmer, dries cocoa beans on the ground outside her house in the village of Oke Agbede Isale in Western Nigeria. Many women farmers in southwest Nigeria cultivate cocoa beans used by major global companies. Photo: George Osodi/Panos for Oxfam America.

2) The chocolate you’re eating involved no child labour at any stage in its manufacturing.

In some cases, low incomes mean the children of farmers need to work in order to help the family make ends meet. As well as being deprived of an education, children are often engaged in dangerous work, such as using machetes and applying toxic pesticides.

Fairtrade standards prohibit the use of forced labour and children are not allowed to work if it jeopardises their education or health.

3) Fairly paid farmers can invest in local development projects to help their community.

Fairtrade guarantees a premium for farmers over and above the world price, enabling them to invest in local development projects like schools, healthcare and drinking water for their communities.Conscious chocolate choices can help a whole village.

4) Buying Fairtrade is a simple way to play a part in fighting global extreme poverty.

Over 10 million people in West Africa alone are dependent on cocoa farming for their income. But the low prices of commodities like cocoa mean that poverty is widespread amongst the cocoa farming communities.

Being paid fairly means that these farmers can earn a steady, decent income, and therefore have the means to work themselves out of poverty and thrive. Buying Fairtrade can be your way of giving a hand-up to a family in need.

(Surprise reason number 5) It’s delicious! Find it here:

Trade Aid has stores all over the country, and stocks a wide range of Fairtrade chocolate in many different flavours.

Whittaker’s Dark Ghana and Creamy Milk chocolate are both Kiwi favourites – and they’re Fairtrade! Available at supermarkets all across the country.

Wellington Chocolate Factory sells pretty much every flavour of chocolate you can think of – from salted brittle caramel to their craft beer bar – and it’s all ethically traded. They have stockists across the country.

US companies stashing $1.6 trillion off-shore

April 12, 2017

The 50 biggest American companies, including global brands Pfizer, Goldman Sachs, GE, Chevron, Wal-Mart, and Apple, stashed $1.6 trillion of US-based profits offshore – $200 billion more than the previous year – according to a new report by Oxfam.

Four need-to-knows about the four famines

April 11, 2017

Famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan. Yemen, Somalia and Nigeria are only a step away from the same fate. 20 million people are at risk of starvation and 50 million are severely hungry.

This is the biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II. If it’s left unresolved, malnutrition and death will dramatically increase.

Nyadak, and her daughter (pictured), moved to an island near Nyal to escape the violence gripping many parts of South Sudan. Nyadak is sick, so her daughter takes care of her. “My daily routine is to ensure I make food for her, take her to the toilet since she has no power to do so. The food we get here comes from Kawaini (white people – referring to Oxfam). I just want to thank them for doing that… Since my mother got sick the thought of ever going to school is next to impossible, especially now. If I get the chance to go to school, I would like to be a doctor so that I can treat people like my mother who are suffering from diseases.” Photo: Bruno Bierrenbach Feder/Oxfam.

Alongside our partners, Oxfam is currently responding to all four crises providing access to crucial aid – including clean water, toilets, showers and cash for food – and we’re working to make sure this is available for everyone.

In South Sudan we’ve helped over 600,000 people since 2016
In Nigeria we’re reached 300,000 people since mid-2014
In Yemen we’ve helped over 1 million people since mid-2015
In Somalia we’re launching a humanitarian response, where we’ve already established development programmes

Here are four need-to-knows about famine, and the four that are affecting millions today.

1) Once a famine is declared, people are already dying.

The IPC is a five-level scale classifying how severe food insecurity in an area is. Famine is Phase 5. It’s declared when a substantial number of people have died from hunger, either on its own or with associated disease. Across four countries, 20 million people are, or are very close to, experiencing this.

Famine means:

20% of households in an area are facing extreme food shortages
30% of the population is facing extreme malnourishment
There are two or more deaths in a day per 10,000 people due to food shortage

Famine is as much about lack of access to clean water and poor hygiene practises as it is about a lack of access to food.

South Sudan: 4.9 million people currently in IPC Phases 3-5 (100,000 already in famine)
Yemen: 6.8 million people in IPC Phase 4
Somalia: nearly 3 million people in IPC Phases 3-4
Nigeria: at least 4.4 million people in IPC Phases 3-5

2) Ongoing conflict is the main catalyst.

Along with weak governance and poor access, continued conflict is driving the situation in all four affected countries. A brutal civil war in South Sudan has put millions at risk. Women, men and children that fled their homes in search of safety are now faced with a new issue – hunger. In Nigeria, conflict between the government and Boko Haram continues and is the main cause of wide-spread, severe hunger in the region. Two years of war in Yemen, and conflict paired with a massive drought in Somalia, are resulting in poor food security for the two nations and is pushing them dangerously close to famine.

3) Oxfam, and other organisations, are providing life-saving aid and resources.

In South Sudan Oxfam is providing crucial access to food and aid through free canoe transport for locals living in swampy areas or on islands. We have trained locals to operate the canoes, which help them earn money to support their families. We are supporting local partner organisations in distributing emergency food and are continuing to provide clean water and sanitation services to help stop the spread of diseases like cholera and diarrhoea, which can lead to malnutrition and prove fatal. It is essential that Oxfam positions aid supplies before the rainy season begins in April/May and the situation worsens.

In Nigeria we have delivered food, cash and vouchers for local markets, as well as installed tap stands, showers and toilets to help prevent the spread of disease. Oxfam hopes to help up to 500,000 people here in 2017.

In Somalia we are launching a programme to provide people with the basic essentials – clean water, sanitation facilities and cash assistance so people can buy food. This work is focused on preventing water-borne diseases that are a real risk in this kind of crisis.

In Yemen three of the four governorates are at risk of famine. Oxfam is providing people with cash to allow them to buy food and livestock so they can eat and, where possible, generate more income. We’re continuing to provide clean water and hygiene kits to help manage the spread of diseases.

Gabrial Puol Thiel, an employed boat operator in South Sudan as part of Oxfam’s free canoe scheme, has been with Oxfam for the past two years and is motivated by the fact he is helping people in crisis. “I feel some sense of achievement when I carry a sick person to the hospital in the mainland and they get treated, or when I get some food to an elderly person who could have died of hunger.” Photo: Bruno Bierrenbach Feder/Oxfam.

4) We can avert a famine with your help.

If these crises go unresolved, malnutrition and death could reach even more catastrophic levels. But we can still stop the worse from happening and save lives. Where we have access, we are saving lives, but we need better access to all people in need, many of whom who are trapped by conflict.

The international community must act now – both to respond to needs in famine-affected areas and to hold back the hunger in areas at risk.

“To be clear, we can avert a famine,” said UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien. “We’re ready despite incredible risk and danger… but we need those huge funds now.”

High risk of cyclone hitting Vanuatu: Oxfam monitoring

April 8, 2017

Oxfam is closely monitoring after a cyclone warning was issued for Vanuatu, as numerous provinces brace for damaging gale-force winds and flooding.

Brussels Conference is latest international event to fail the people of Syria

April 5, 2017

Five international organisations working on the Syria crisis – Oxfam, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children – have called for more international action as world leaders met in Brussels at a conference to discuss the Syria crisis. Ministers, international organisations, and humanitarian workers discussed supporting Syrians inside the country and those who have crossed the border to become refugees.

On Idlib: Yesterday’s appalling attack on civilians in Idlib shows the ongoing horror for people inside Syria and lays bare the mirage of the nominal ‘ceasefire’. People in Syria need more than the words of concern and condemnation which we heard today – there must now be an immediate impartial investigation into the attack, and parties responsible must be held to account. The long line of atrocities against civilians in Syria must be brought to an end. The attack is an urgent wake-up call that shows why talk of returning refugees to Syria is at best premature, and in fact outright dangerous.

On aid: Last year in London, governments made unprecedented pledges to support refugees and Syria’s neighboring countries, and provided additional and multiyear funding to deal with the crisis. The follow up at Brussels has not matched this yet, and we expect pledges to be significantly lower than last year.

Governments had the opportunity today to build on the commitments at London, to provide the legal protections refugees need, better education opportunities, and decent work for millions in neighboring countries, as well as increase humanitarian and development funding to help make this a reality. Rich countries had the opportunity to show solidarity and share responsibility for refugees by increasing resettlement and other admissions. Practically, none of these opportunities were taken.

London was an important first step, at Brussels the international community stood still.

On participation of Syrian and national organisations: Syrians and Syrian organisations deliver the bulk of the assistance inside the country, often at great risk to themselves and their families. Yet they have to a large extent been prevented from meaningfully contributing to the conference preparation and deliberations. The EU’s new Syria strategy announced recently recognises the importance of an increasingly threatened Syrian civil society for the future of the country. But the EU needs to practice what it preaches, and this conference was a major missed opportunity.

On reconstruction: After years of heavy bombardment and deadly clashes, Syria will need massive support for reconstruction, so the international community is right to be thinking to the future. How this happens, and when, is of critical importance. International support should be conditional on a political solution being agreed, respect for human rights and protection of an independent civil society. Absent these conditions, a move towards reconstruction assistance risks doing more harm than good.