News & Media

Millions of poor people in the Pacific face hunger and poverty this year and next because of droughts and erratic rains as global temperatures reach new records, and because of the onset of a powerful El Niño – the climate phenomenon that develops in the tropical Pacific and brings extreme weather to several regions of the world. The combination of record warmth one year followed by an El Niño the next is unique and the climatic implications are uncertain. If 2016 follows a similar pattern, we are entering uncharted waters.

Recently leaders adopted an historic new goal of eradicating hunger by 2030, as part of the new Sustainable Development Goals. This unfolding crisis shows the scale of the threat that climate change poses to its realisation. Governments and agencies must scale up emergency preparedness measures to prevent what are still manageable food crises developing into major humanitarian disasters. December’s UN climate talks in Paris will be a crucial opportunity to strike an agreement that delivers for the women, men and children on the frontlines of climate change.

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mb-El-Nino-uncharted-waters-EMBARGOED.pdf

Saturday 13 September 2015 marked six months since Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu causing widespread destruction across the eastern and south-eastern islands of the country and affecting about 188,000 people across 22 islands. An estimated 15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, about 96% of food stocks were decimated and the water supply of 110,000 people was disrupted, destroyed or contaminated. Thanks to the generosity of donors and supporters from across the globe, Oxfam’s response to Tropical Cyclone Pam has reached close to 25,000 people in the first six months. Humanitarian activities have now moved from the response phase into the recovery phase. Oxfam’s programming for the next period will reflect this shift in focus, as well as the predicted impacts of El Niño on weather patterns.

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oxfam-cyclone-pam-6-month-report_web-edited.pdf