News & Media

Philippines hit by over half a billion dollars in damages from Typhoon Rai; farming and fishing hardest hit

January 10, 2022

Oxfam staff report people begging for food in towns worst-hit.

The Philippines is struggling to recover from last month’s massive Typhoon Rai that caused losses worth 11.1 billion Php (NZ$317.3m) to agricultural crops and farmland and another 17.5 billion Php (NZ$487.2m) damages to homes, roads, electricity and water lines.

More than 420,000 hectares of land have been lost to storm floods, and as many as 925,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Key staple crops like rice, coconut and sugarcane have been wiped out across some regions of the country. The Philippines’ fisheries industry has lost over three billion’s Php (NZ$85.6m) worth of fishing boats, gear, and stock.

Oxfam Philippines Country Director Lot Felizco said: “Our staff reported finding people begging for scraps of food in Bontoc, Padre Burgos, Tomas Oppus and Malitbog, towns that were worst hit in Southern Leyte.

“As the rest of the world starts a new year with hope, nearly 7 million people – more than the entire population of Denmark – are struggling to come to terms with their homes damaged or destroyed and main incomes gone. Nearly 390,000 farmers and fishing folk have had their crops flattened, fishing boats smashed, or livestock killed or lost. They have been left with nothing.”

Petronilo Bohol, a fisher from Malitbog village, Southern Leyte, who had already been hit by two other storms before Rai said: “We live here because our only livelihood comes from the sea. We pulled out all the boats for safety, but the waves still reached them and reached the roads. Typhoon Rai was bigger and stronger than the two previous ones. It turned our mountains bald.”

Ramon Cabarrubias, a welder from Malitbog village, Southern Leyte, told Oxfam: “[During the storm] we crowded in our bathroom thinking that it was going to be our end. The next day, we came out to nothing. My mechanic tools are gone. Even my boat disappeared”.

Typhoon Rai was the last – and by far the strongest – of fifteen typhoons to have hit The Philippines in 2021.

Extreme weather events like Typhoon Rai are harbinger of worse to come. Scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures, induced by a man-made climate crisis, are causing typhoons to become more intense more frequent.

Oxfam roundly criticised the last COP26 climate talks for showing an “appalling disregard“ of the financial plan needed to compensate countries, like the Philippines, for loss and damage. It has urged rich polluting countries to honour their promises to cut carbon emissions to avoid a catastrophic global temperature rise above 1.5C, and also to stump up funding for mitigation and adaptation – and loss and damage – to poorer countries.

Climate-fueled extreme weather events, compounded by economic fallout from Covid-19 and existing inequalities, have pushed millions of vulnerable people in the Philippines to the brink of hunger and poverty. In 2021, over 26 million people – nearly a quarter of the population – were already living under the poverty line, where families of five earn less than 12,082 Php (NZ$347) a month.

A recent survey in 2021, showed that 2.5 million Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the three months (Jul-Sept 2021).

In the Philippines now – as local people struggle to clean up and recover their homes and livelihoods – urgent humanitarian funding is needed to provide lifesaving food and water, and to help people rebuild their homes, crops and businesses. Oxfam is urgently calling for 4 million Euros (NZ$6.7m) to help support its part of the collective humanitarian response in the country.

Notes:

Figures on loss and damages according to Department of Agriculture – DRRM Operations Centre. As of 3 Jan 2022
Figures on infrastructure loss and damages are according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
According to 2015-2020 data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, around 54.9 million or 64% Filipinos are chronically food insecure (IPC-Chronic level 2 and above). There are 14.5 million in level 3; and 7.1 million in level 4, totaling 21.6 million in IPC3 and above.
Typhoon Rai has already killed more than 400 people, damaged nearly 830,000 houses, displaced over half a million from their homes, and left 6.8 million people in desperate humanitarian need.
Oxfam, together with eight local partners have already reached over 38,000 people in the worst-hit communities in in Southern Leyte, Leyte province, and Siargao islands, with food packs, shelter repair materials, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, water kits, solar lights and solar packs. They also provided pre-disaster financial aid to 2,650 families in Eastern Samar to help them prepare for the typhoon.
Data on hunger by the Social Weather Survey (SWS) reported in the 3rd quarter of 2021. http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20211206105401
Data on losses in agriculture and fishery sectors are from Philippines Department of Agriculture as of 6 Jan 2022

Oxfam reaction to Government of India’s decision to restrict foreign funds

January 3, 2022

Oxfam India’s humanitarian work will be severely impacted

In reaction to the Government of India’s decision to refuse renewal of Oxfam India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration, Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India said:

“The restriction will severely affect our ongoing crucial humanitarian and social work in 16 states across the country. This includes setting up oxygen plants, providing lifesaving medical and diagnostic equipment such as oxygen cylinders and ventilators, and delivering lifesaving food to the most vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Oxfam India has been working in public interest with the government, communities, and frontline workers in the country for decades now. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oxfam India joined hands with health departments, district administrations, and ASHA workers across the nation to provide life-saving equipment and support.

“We are also working with various state governments to ensure bridging of the learning gap in school education due to COVID-19. We have worked to enhance women’s livelihood and worked with forest dwellers to ensure that they are not denied their rights. We have worked in some of the most flood-prone districts to make communities resilient and provide a lasting solution. The Ministry of Home Affairs decision to deny renewal of FCRA registration will severely hamper these collaborations which were providing relief to those who needed it the most during times of crisis,

“Over the years, our work has always been in the public interest and guided by the principle of creating lasting solutions to address the injustice of poverty, to leave no one behind, and to end discrimination and create a free and just society. The MHA’s refusal to renew Oxfam India’s FCRA registration will not reduce Oxfam India’s commitment to serve the vulnerable communities in-country and uphold values enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Oxfam India will reach out to the MHA and will urge them to lift the funding restrictions to ensure vulnerable communities keep receiving the support they need at this critical time of the pandemic.”

Notes

As per the list released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 01 January 2022, Oxfam India’s FCRA registration renewal request has been denied which means that Oxfam India will not be able to receive foreign funds for any of its work in India from 01 January 2022.

COVID-19 Response by Oxfam India

This development severely hampers Oxfam India’s COVID-19 response ‘Mission Sanjeevani’ which is one of the largest among NGOs in India. Under the initiative, Oxfam India provided 6 Oxygen generating plants and distributed over 13,388 lifesaving medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders, BiPAP Machines, concentrators, and ventilators, over 116,957 safety and PPE kits, over 9929 diagnostic equipment such as thermometers and oximeters, and 20,000 testing kits in 16 states. We reached over 141 district-level hospitals, 171 Primary Health Centres, and 167 Community Health Centres.

We trained and provided safety kits to over 48,000 ASHA workers in 9 states, who are the backbone of the primary healthcare system. We have delivered food ration to over 5.76 lakh people. And made cash transfers to over 10,000 people to the tune of INR 3.53 Crores to help them with their immediate needs during the pandemic. These include helping the most vulnerable communities including transgenders, sex workers, miners, rag pickers, cancer survivors, survivors of domestic violence, weavers, fisherfolk, construction workers, and those affected by floods and cyclones. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. As India stares at a possible third wave due to the Omicron variant, the restrictions on accessing funds will hamper our efforts to provide support in strengthening the public healthcare system.

Since March 2020, Oxfam India was at the forefront whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon NGOs and civil society to join the fight against COVID-19 by helping the government to strengthen health services and accelerate the pace of vaccination. The Supreme Court also acknowledged the contribution of NGOs in providing relief during the pandemic.

Rapid Response to Natural Disasters and Crisis

Oxfam India’s humanitarian team has been one of the first to respond to cyclones, floods, landslides, and earthquakes. This year we reached out to over 8000 people in Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. Since 2008, Oxfam India has provided relief to lakhs of people through its disaster relief response. This includes crucial food aid, water, hygiene kits, shelter kits and lifesaving equipment.

Development Work for Nation Building

Oxfam India’s programmes and interventions are aimed at achieving overall development of the poorest states in India. Our work has presence in 109 districts of 6 states of India – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Jharkhand. Apart from humanitarian work, Oxfam India has worked with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities to ensure education to all, especially girl child and to provide multi-lingual education to tribal children. Our education programmes have helped more than 90,000 children to receive quality education in the last five years, and it continues to work towards bridging learning losses due to the pandemic and lockdowns.

We have worked with over 11,000 women to strengthen their livelihood; these include women farmers, fisherfolk and artisans many of whom have also set up producer companies. In the last five years alone, we have set up 11 Women Support Centres and reached out to 3.48 lakh women and girls through our campaign and programmes to address Violence Against Women. To improve public health, Oxfam India’s programmes are pushing for free medicines, patients’ rights and improving quality of healthcare for all. These programmes serve crucial public interests and serve communities which lag behind in development.

Oxfam India has worked for the forest rights of the tribal communities as well as other traditional forest dwellers. In the last 5 years, we have worked with over 40,000 tribes and forest dwellers in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and our work has borne fruit — 2975 Individual Forest Rights, 27 Community Forest Rights and 20 Community Rights titles were received. We have worked closely with the National and State Disaster Management Authorities to contribute to risk-informed development planning as well as draw up DRR Road Maps for states like Assam and Bihar.

Oxfam India has worked to bridge inequalities and end discrimination not just through its work on the ground but also through research and knowledge building. Our Inequality Reports over the years have covered a gamut of topics from the unpaid care work of women to the state of employment. Our latest Inequality Report this year, ‘India’s Unequal Healthcare Story’, took a deep dive into how access to healthcare and the health parameters varied for different sections of the society.

Legacy of Oxfam in India

While Oxfam India became a fully Indian organisation in 2008 with prominent citizens of India as its board members, Oxfam had been working in India since 1951. Throughout these seven decades, the organisation has always upheld Indian laws, propagated the country’s constitutional values and worked tirelessly for the people of India.

Oxfam came to India to provide famine relief in Bihar in 1951. Since then, we have been participating in India’s nation-building process in different ways and we are proud of it. Oxfam’s support to Amul, the dairy cooperative society based in Anand, Gujarat in the 1960s helped it to become the largest milk brand in India and one of the largest food products in the world. In 1971, it recruited doctors and medical students to provide medical assistance to refugees coming in India from East Pakistan.

During the Kargil war, Oxfam provided crucial relief material to communities on the Indian side of the border. Oxfam was at the forefront of the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts after Tsunami hit the Tamil Nadu coast in 2005. Oxfam India has in the last 70 years saved millions of people affected due to floods, cyclones, and earthquakes. And when the pandemic struck, we were on the ground with hot cooked meals for the migrant workers within days of the announcement of the lockdown in March 2020. We haven’t looked back since.

Oxfam India’s international affiliates have always joined hands whenever call for help has been sent out by the people of India. As recently as in May 2021, all Oxfam affiliates in 21 countries mobilised significant resources to combat the devastating second wave and mitigate the suffering of the people in India.

Typhoon Rai: Hundreds of thousands brace the new year cramped in evacuation centres, some confined in rooms taking up to four families at a time

December 29, 2021

Following Typhoon Rai, hundreds of thousands of families are spending the new year in cramped evacuation centres, some being confined in rooms hosting four families at a time, according to Oxfam.

“Typhoon survivors already spent Christmas in evacuation centres; let’s not keep them there for New Year’s Day too as we are still battling the COVID-19 pandemic”, said Oxfam Pilipinas Country Director Lot Felizco.

“Congested conditions raise major health risks as it is impossible for them to observe physical distancing. The lack of water and sanitation facilities also make frequent hand washing and proper hygiene habits more challenging for typhoon survivors,”” added Felizco.

The government reported that over 370 people have died and 4.5 million Filipinos across 10 regions have been affected and displaced by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai). Initial monitoring showed that at least 400,000 houses were damaged — 127,000 of which were completely destroyed.

In some areas affected by Typhoon Odette, residents are already staying in makeshift houses built from salvaged materials. “These are not sturdy or safe enough as rainfall continues in many parts of the country,” Felizco said.

Women and children’s safety are particularly at risk as there are no room partitions between families. In some evacuation centres, people are also forced to bathe in open areas due to the continuous low water supply. In some evacuation centres, people are also forced to bathe in open areas due to the continuous low water supply.

Oxfam Philippines calls on donors and the international community to prioritise funding for shelter repair materials on top of food and water for typhoon-hit communities. Providing construction materials to the community will allow typhoon survivors to repair and rebuild their homes, and help, in turn, decongest evacuation centres.

In Siargao, Oxfam and partner United Youth of the Philippines-Women (UnYPhil-Women) have already distributed 200 hygiene kits, 200 sleeping kits, and 200 water kits for the island barangay in San Fernando, Del Carmen town.

Oxfam and its partner “Community Organizers Multiversity” are also currently transporting 500 food packs, 500 hygiene kits, 150 sleeping kits, 300 water containers, 90 boxes of aqua tabs, and 50 shelter kits to island barangays of Caub in Del Carmen; Mabini and Dayahoay in Pilar town.

Moreover, Oxfam Pilipinas has deployed solar packs to support SIKAT and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices of Padre Burgos and Macrohon in Southern Leyte.

Notes

Oxfam Pilipinas is a humanitarian and development organisation that has been addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality in the Philippines in the last 30 years. It is part of an international confederation of organisations present in 90 countries.

While COVID-19 cases in the Philippines is much lower now compared to previous months, other countries are experiencing a surge in new cases due to the Omicron variant.

Oxfam is today greatly saddened at the loss of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

December 26, 2021

Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director of Oxfam International said: “All of Oxfam is united in grief at the death of Archbishop Tutu. We express our deepest condolences to the Archbishop’s wife Leah, their children and grandchildren. We express our condolences to the South African people”.

“Rarely does a name inspire so much courage as that of Archbishop Tutu. The flame that Archbishop Tutu carried against injustice lit millions more. The world is a better place because of him”.

“Archbishop Tutu was Oxfam’s former global ambassador – raising global attention and tackling issues with us, from global hunger to the climate crisis. He was a friend, and a critical friend when needed. Most recently he gave his support to tackling the issue of global vaccine inequality”.

“Oxfam’s own role in supporting the anti-apartheid movement forged our own connection with his generation of leaders, who continue to inspire us today. Oxfam will play its part in preserving his legacy by continuing the struggles that he fought for throughout his life.”

Rich countries have received more vaccines in run-up to the holiday season than African countries have all year

December 24, 2021

The EU, UK and US have received more doses in the last six weeks than African countries have received all year.
Global rollout at speed of UK’s booster programme could vaccinate the world by February.
At current rates vaccine manufacturers will fail to deliver enough doses to fully vaccinate everyone in Africa by next holiday period.

More doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered to the EU, the UK and the United States in the six-week run up to the holidays than African countries have received all year, new analysis from the People’s Vaccine Alliance reveals today.

As Covid-19 clouds a second Holiday season in uncertainty and fear in many countries, campaigners warn that governments risk trapping the world in an endless cycle of variants, boosters, restrictions and even lockdowns, if low vaccination rates are allowed to persist in the global south.

Low and middle-income countries must be allowed to manufacture vaccines themselves to end vaccine inequality and prevent variants from derailing future holiday seasons, campaigners warn.

Between 11 November and 21 December 2021, the EU, UK and US have received 513 million doses of vaccines while countries in Africa received just 500 million throughout the whole of 2021.

The UK government, facing a rapid surge in Omicron variant, has a target of administering one million booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines a day in response, equivalent to vaccinating 1.46 percent of the population every day. If every country was able to vaccinate at the same rate as the UK target, it would take just 68 days to deliver a first dose to everyone who needs one, leaving no one unvaccinated by the end of February 2022.

Just 8.6 percent of people in Africa have been fully vaccinated to date and at the current rate of delivery by vaccine manufacturers, it won’t be until April 2023 that everyone will receive their first dose. Recent research found that 78 percent of people in Africa are willing to get vaccinated, higher than in many rich countries.

G7 countries will have 1.4 billion surplus doses by March 2022, even after giving all adults a booster but are failing to deliver on donation pledges. The US has delivered just a quarter of the vaccines it promised to donate while the UK and Germany have delivered 15 percent and 14 percent respectively.

Anna Marriott, Health Policy Manager, Oxfam and the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said:

“Make no mistake rich country governments are to blame for the uncertainty and fear that is once again clouding the holiday season. By blocking the real solutions to vaccine access in poorer countries they are prolonging the pandemic and all its suffering for every one of us.

“Rich countries are banking on boosters to keep them safe from Omicron and future variants of Covid-19. But boosters can never be more than a temporary and inadequate firewall. Extinguishing the threat of variants and ending this pandemic requires vaccinating the world. And that means sharing vaccine recipes and letting developing countries manufacture jabs for themselves.”

Experts have raised concerns that low vaccine coverage in the global south created conditions where a variant like Omicron was likely to emerge. Nine months ago, a survey of leading epidemiologists warned that persistent low vaccine coverage in parts of the world increased the risk of vaccine resistant variants emerging within a year or less.

Nick Dearden, Director of Global Justice Now, said:

“If we ever want to have a normal Christmas again, we need to vaccinate the world. But right now, the UK and EU are holding back international efforts to use and expand manufacturing and distribution capacity in low and middle-income countries. It’s reckless and risks trapping us in an endless cycle of variants, boosters, restrictions and even lockdowns.”

In October 2020, India and South Africa proposed a waiver of intellectual property rules on Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments to allow low and middle-income countries to manufacture these life-saving tools. Despite most countries, including the United States, supporting a waiver, the UK, EU, and Switzerland have prevented progress.

Maaza Seyoum from the African Alliance said:

“Leaders in the global north have so far chosen the obscene profits of pharmaceutical companies over the lives of people in Africa. But the Omicron variant shows that vaccine inequality is a threat to everyone, everywhere. Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz, and European leaders need to finally support an intellectual property waiver and let Africa and the global south unlock its capacity to manufacture and distribute vaccines. Otherwise, humanity will never beat the race against the next variant.”

Human Rights Watch and Médecins Sans Frontières identified over 100 manufacturers that could produce mRNA vaccines if intellectual property barriers were removed and pharmaceutical companies transferred the technology and knowhow needed.

Despite already making billions in profit, Pfizer and Moderna continue to refuse to share the new generation of vaccine technology with the WHO’s mRNA hub in South Africa. WHO scientists are now attempting to reverse engineer Moderna’s US-taxpayer-funded vaccine, a process that could take two years longer than if the company shared its vaccine recipe.

Every major vaccine provider has boycotted the WHO’s Covid-19 technology access pool (C-TAP), a technology transfer programme established in May 2020 to share the recipe and knowhow needed to manufacture coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments.

In a video marking World Aids Day, Prince Harry called on governments to break vaccine monopolies, joining over 170 former world leaders and Nobel Laureates, the Pope and more than 13 million people in their support for the waiver.

Notes

Data on delivery from Airfinity, analysed by People’s Vaccine Alliance.
In total the EU and UK and US have received over 2 billion vaccine doses, including boosters, as well as first and second doses.
Our World in Data was used to calculate how many doses were needed to vaccinate people in Africa.
Over the last 40 days, African countries are receiving on average enough doses to fully vaccinate 3 million a day (fully vaccinates is 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson and 2 doses for all other vaccines). At this rate, it will take 438 days for everyone currently unvaccinated in Africa to be fully vaccinated.
While rich countries have cut bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies to secure dose, poorer countries have depended on Covax, the multilateral mechanism for equitably distributing Covid-19 vaccines, which has repeatedly cut delivery forecasts, as well as a trickle of donations from wealthy countries which are often close to their expiry dates.
Numbers of doses donated by rich countries https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Airfinity_COVID-19_Intel_Report_16December2021.pdf page 7
Pharmaceutical monopolies will net Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna $34 billion this year in pre-tax profits.

Oxfam: local officials call for urgent aid in typhoon-hit areas in Visayas

December 22, 2021

Oxfam Pilipinas on Monday echoed local officials in Eastern Visayas calling for immediate assistance for survivors of Super Typhoon Rai (local name: Odette).

Super Typhoon Rai, which is the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, has resulted in the deaths of 208 people as of December 20, according to the Philippine National Police. Most of the deaths come from Central Visayas, followed by Caraga, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Eastern Visayas.

The latest report of the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed that 1.8 million people across 9 regions in the Philippines were affected by the super typhoon.

Oxfam Pilipinas staff located in Eastern Visayas said that in Matalom, Leyte, 90% of the infrastructure and properties in the town have been destroyed, affecting 36,000 people. Photos of the community posted by Oxfam showed that residents have resorted to bathing and doing laundry in the river because electricity and water supply have yet to be restored.

In Brgy. Matapay in Hilongos, Leyte, 210 houses were totally damaged while 700 families were affected. Residents of the two mentioned areas are now calling for food, water and shelter kits.

The mayor of Maasin City, Southern Leyte, where 47,030 residents were affected, is also seeking donations of food, water, hygiene kits, sleeping mats, tents and materials to repair houses.

“It is our first time to experience such strong winds brought by the typhoon and it devastated almost all of the households, almost all of the barangays,” Maasin City Mayor Nacional Mercado told Oxfam.

Mercado said their city only had one casualty since most residents evacuated before the typhoon made landfall but 1,677 houses were totally destroyed and 2,182 were partially damaged.

Oxfam Pilipinas’ Resilience Portfolio Manager Leah Payud, who hails from Eastern Visayas, likened the impact of Super Typhoon Rai to that of Super Typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) in 2013, especially since it caused widespread damage to property and agriculture, which in turn affected the lives and livelihood of people. Payud said she was also reminded about how many areas are unable to receive adequate resources.

“Many areas here in Leyte and Southern Leyte are badly hit by the typhoon and need immediate attention. People are struggling to find food, water, and other necessities. People who had cash had to line up for more than three hours to withdraw,” Payud said.

She pointed out that far-flung and remote areas should be prioritized, especially since they are farthest from city centres and sources of relief goods.

Oxfam Pilipinas Lot Felizco said they are hoping that the national government, private sector and non-government organizations can work together to make the relief and recovery process quicker and more efficient.

“Besides the loss of shelter and livelihood due to the typhoon, residents also have to worry about the risks of COVID-19 in evacuation centres. The sooner we disseminate aid such as shelter kits and repair materials, the safer it will be for our kababayans,” Felizco said.

“It is also important to ensure the dignity of typhoon survivors. They should not be made to beg for aid,” she said, pointing out that there are already reports and photos of residents holding up signs on the street, asking for food and aid.

Last week, Oxfam and partner humanitarian groups distributed P4 million to 2,650 families in Eastern Samar as pre-disaster financial aid before Typhoon Odette struck. The anticipatory action was meant to help families prepare food, water, medicine, transportation to evacuation centres and even shelter repair materials in advance.

Notes

Oxfam Pilipinas (Philippines) has been distributing food, water, medical help, livelihood, sanitation facilities and other forms of support to communities affected by conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic and other calamities in the Philippines for the past 30 years.