News & Media

Oxfam reaction to attack on community center operated by Oxfam’s partner in Kharkiv

May 8, 2024

In reaction to Russia’s attack on a community centre operated by Oxfam’s partner “Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv” yesterday, Nicola Bay, Oxfam’s Organisational Lead for Ukraine, said:

“We are appalled by this attack. Community hubs run by our partner have supported over 60,000 people in Kharkiv region – including women, children and elderly people– with food, water and safe heated spaces.

“Attacking civilian infrastructure, including those of civil society organisations that provide lifesaving assistance to people, is against international humanitarian law.

“Our teams and partners continue to work under extremely difficult conditions. Constant bombardments on our operations, mean cutting the lifeline of aid for thousands of people.

“Oxfam urges all warring parties to respect international humanitarian law, including ensuring the protection of civilians and aid workers.”

Notes to editors

Oxfam is responding to this humanitarian crisis by primarily working with local civil society organisations who are already supporting communities impacted by the war. In both Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, we have supported 40 organisations and reached over 2 million people since the war escalated in February 2022
As of February 2024, Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv in partnership with Oxfam have reached over 61,000 individuals through their community hubs, based in multiple locations in the Kharkiv region, 71% were women and girls.
The community hub that was attacked was in city of Zolochiv, in the Kharkiv region.
Since Feb 2022, Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv have prepared 2.6m hot meals and distributed 170,000 food sets for adults and 10,220 food sets for children

Global dividend payouts to shareholders rise 14 times faster than worker pay since 2020

May 1, 2024

Global dividend payouts to rich shareholders jumped by 45 percent in real terms between 2020 and 2023, while workers’ wages rose by just 3 percent.
The richest 1 percent, simply for owning stock, pocketed on average $9,000 a year in dividends in 2023 —it would take the average worker eight months of hard work to earn this much in wages.

Global dividend payments to shareholders grew 14 times faster than worker pay in 31 countries, which together account for 81 percent of global GDP, between 2020 and 2023, reveals Oxfam’s new analysis ahead of International Workers’ Day (May 1).

Global corporate dividends are on course to beat an all-time high of $1.66 trillion reached last year, according to the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index, which covers the world’s largest 1,200 corporations, representing 90 percent of global dividends paid. Data for both dividends and wages for 2020-2023 are available for 31 countries, and Oxfam’s research shows:

After adjusting for inflation, global dividend payouts climbed by 45 percent ($195 billion) in 31 countries between 2020 and 2023, while wages grew by just 3 percent.
Excluding China, which accounts for most of this wage growth, global real wages in these countries fell by 3 percent during this period.

The trend of rising dividends has worrying effects on inequality. The ILO has recently warned that “income inequality has widened.”

Using data from Wealth-X, Oxfam estimates that the richest 1 percent, who now own 43 percent of all global financial assets, pocketed on average $9,000 in dividends in 2023. This is equivalent to eight months of hard work and wages for the average worker.

“Corporate profits and payouts to rich shareholders have gone into the stratosphere, while wages continue to go nowhere. Millions of people hold jobs that trap them in a cycle of working hard while still unable to afford enough food, medicine or other basics. The super-rich don’t amass their mega-fortunes by ‘working’ —they extract it from people who do,” said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

Oxfam’s analysis of Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) data from countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, found that:

Only 2 out of 37 countries have a minimum wage above the living wage —a pay rate the GLWC estimates allows workers to meet basic needs, such as housing, food, healthcare, clothing and transportation. Minimum wages on average provide just 38 percent of the wage needed for a living wage.
Bangladesh’s minimum wage provides a mere 6 percent of a living wage, and in Ghana it provides just 12 percent.

These findings reinforce warnings by the ILO of rising numbers of working people living in poverty ―skipping meals, getting into debt, and going without the basics. Using ILO data on in-work poverty, Oxfam found that:

Nearly 1 in 5 workers globally earns a wage below the $3.65 PPP poverty line.
66 percent of workers in low-income countries earn poverty wages —a level of pay that doesn’t clear the $3.65 PPP poverty line. This is a 1 percent increase since 2020, which marked the reversal of a long-term decline.
Afghanistan (22 percent) and Sri Lanka (9 percent) have seen some of the largest increases in in-work poverty at the $6.85 PPP poverty line

“No corporation should be shelling out to rich shareholders unless it’s paying a living wage to all its workers. Governments must cap payouts to shareholders, support trade unions and legislate for living wages. We should be rewarding work, not wealth,” said Behar.

Notes to editors

Download Oxfam’s methodology note.

May Day, celebrated by workers across the globe as International Workers’ Day, falls on May 1.

The Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index analyses the world’s largest 1,200 companies by market capitalization, representing 90 percent of global dividends paid. The next 1,800 only represent 10 percent, so due to their size, their effects on the results are negligible. Janus Henderson forecasts dividends will hit new record of $1.72 trillion in 2024.

According to the ILO, income inequality has widened.

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz | rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz | +64 27 959 5555

Oxfam reaction to the Global Report on Food Crises 2024

April 25, 2024

Today’s “Global Report on Food Crises” (GRFC), led by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), says that 281.6 million people across 59 countries are now experiencing acute hunger – 24 million additional people over last year.

Reacting to the report, Oxfam Global Food and Economic Security Lead, Emily Farr, said:

“The global hunger crisis is fundamentally a moral crisis. It is unforgivable that over 281 million people are suffering acute hunger while the world’s richest continue to make extraordinary profits, including the same aerospace and defence corporations helping to fuel conflict, the main-driver of hunger.

“The top 100 arms companies have hoarded nearly $600 billion in revenues just in 2022 – enough to cover the UN global humanitarian appeal almost 13 times.

“The number of people on the brink of famine has almost doubled since last year, the majority of whom are in Gaza where children are already dying of malnutrition and disease as a result of the Israeli government’s policy of using starvation as a weapon of war.

“We cannot drastically change course without a global awakening. States must prioritise justice and peace over politics, and radically reform global peace and security bodies to protect international law rather than perpetuate impunity.

“Governments must also rehaul our global food system, tax the rich to invest in the public majority – the small farmers, workers and vulnerable communities – and support green economies.”

Notes to the Editors

Read The Global Report for Food Crises (GRFC) 2024
The increase of 23.8 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC3+) is partly due to greater analysis coverage and country inclusion (1.1 billion population in 2022 to 1.3 billion population in 2023). The net increase is 17.5 million people in IPC3 (see Technical Notes for comparability issues). Source: GRFC 2024.
Over 705 000 people in five countries were projected to be in Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5) in 2023 – the highest number in GRFC reporting and almost double that of 2022. Source: GRFC 2024.
The Global Report on Food Crises is an annual report published by The Food Security Information Network and the 16 partner agencies of the Global Network Against Food Crises.
The top 100 arms-producing and military services companies have made a total revenue of $597 billion in 2022. Source: SPIRI 2023 The Global Appeal for Humanitarian Response in 2024 was $46 billion. Source: UNOCHA
The escalation of hostilities in Palestine (Gaza Strip) in late 2023 has created the most severe food crisis in IPC and GRFC history with the entire population of 2.2 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, and half of the population (about 1.1 million people) estimated to be experiencing catastrophic acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) Source: IPC report in December 2023 and March 2024.

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz | rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz | +64 27 959 5555

Oxfam Aotearoa Launches HAMRIIK Project to Strengthen Climate Change Resilience in Rural Timor-Leste

April 20, 2024

Oxfam launched the new HAMRIIK project in Oé-Cusse, Timor-Leste in April 2024. The project, named after the Tetum word meaning ‘to stand,’ aims to bolster the climate change adaptation capacities of households and communities in rural Timor-Leste and effectively address the intersections between gender, disability, and climate change.

This $1.76 million NZD initiative is fully funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme, through their Climate Finance for Community Resilience programme which aims to enhance community resilience and adaptation to climate change across the Pacific and Asia.

“Oxfam Aotearoa is delighted to be further strengthening our relationship with Oxfam in TImor-Leste and local partners in the area through the launch of HAMRIIK,” said Jason Myers, Executive Director of Oxfam Aotearoa.

“By working at a household level, HAMRIIK will complement existing work we are partnering to deliver in Timor Leste that sits at the intersection of climate and gender justice,” he added.

This initiative targets vulnerable rural households in Oé-Cusse and Liquiçá, areas that are particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Through a multifaceted approach, the project will:

Provide skills and materials to promote climate-smart agriculture and enhance water security.
Strengthen local partner organisations’ capacity to deliver climate change programmes that remove structural barriers and address injustices such as unequal rights between women and men.
Work with local authorities to incorporate equity considerations into climate adaptation planning and action

The project aims to directly engage with 652 women and 791 men, including 274 persons with disabilities, ultimately reaching a total of 7,800 individuals across 12 sucos (villages) in Oé-Cusse and Liquiçá municipalities.

“OXFAM’s HAMRIIK project aims to support these communities, especially women, in enhancing their resilience to climate change through collaboration with civil society organisations. This initiative seeks to empower rural communities, enabling them to influence and contribute to climate policies affecting their lives,” said Oxfam International Country Director for Timor-Leste, Mr. Fausto Belo Ximenes.

“I would like to thank the Government of New Zealand for its continued support to the Timorese people and the Government of Timor-Leste especially RAEOA authorities for their collaboration, as Oxfam reaffirms its commitment to fostering a just, sustainable, and inclusive Timor-Leste,” he added.

Through generating evidence and promoting inclusive practices, HAMRIIK seeks to equip decision-makers and civil society partners with the insights and skills needed to address the challenges of climate change adaptation in a way that effectively addresses gender justice, is inclusive of people with disabilities, and strengthens local partner capacity.

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz | rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz | +64 27 959 5555

People in northern Gaza forced to survive on 245 calories a day, less than a can of beans

April 4, 2024

People in northern Gaza have been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories a day – less than a can of fava beans – since January, as Israeli forces continue their military onslaught. Over 300,000 people are believed to still be trapped there, unable to leave.

The miniscule amount of food represents less than 12 per cent of the recommended daily 2,100 calorie intake needed per person, calculated using demographic data considering variations by age and gender. Last week, the Israeli government told UNRWA, by far the largest aid provider in Gaza, that its convoys would no longer be allowed into the north.

Oxfam’s analysis is based on the latest available data used in the recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for the Gaza Strip. Oxfam also found that the total food deliveries allowed into Gaza for the entire 2.2 million population – since last October – amounted to an average of just 41 per cent of the daily calories needed per person.

The Israeli government has known for nearly two decades exactly how many daily calories are needed to prevent malnutrition in Gaza, calculating this according to both age and gender within its Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – Red Line document. Not only did it use a higher calculation of 2,279 calories per person, it also took into account domestic food production in Gaza, which the Israeli military has now virtually obliterated.

A mother trapped in northern Gaza said: “Before the war, we were in good health and had strong bodies. Now, looking at my children and myself, we have lost so much weight since we do not eat any proper food, we are trying to eat whatever we find – edible wild plants or herbs daily just to survive.”

Oxfam also found that less than half the number of food trucks needed to reach the daily 2,100 calories intake for everyone are currently entering Gaza. Using IPC and UNRWA data, Oxfam’s analysis found that an absolute minimum of 221 trucks of food alone are needed every day, not accounting for wastage or unequal distribution. Currently just 105 trucks of food are entering Gaza daily on average.

The IPC report found that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and that almost all the population is now experiencing extreme hunger; with 1.1 million people experiencing catastrophic food insecurity. Horrifyingly, children are already dying from starvation and malnutrition, often worsened by disease.

Hunger and its impacts are exacerbated by the near-complete destruction of civilian infrastructure including hospitals, water and sanitation services and community health support by Israel, leaving people even more vulnerable to disease. In addition to the limited availability of food, the ability to find or buy a nutritious, varied diet is not feasible across Gaza. For the little fruit and vegetables still available, extreme price rises due to scarcity have put them out of reach for most people. Specialised nutrition products and centres to treat malnourished children are also difficult or impossible to find.

Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director said: “Israel is making deliberate choices to starve civilians. Imagine what it is like, not only to be trying to survive on 245 calories day in, day out, but also having to watch your children or elderly relatives do the same. All whilst displaced, with little to no access to clean water or a toilet, knowing most medical support has gone and under the constant threat of drones and bombs.

“Israel is ignoring both the International Court of Justice order to prevent genocide and UN Security Council resolutions. Only last week the ICJ ordered new provisional measures, stating famine is no longer looming, but ‘setting in’ in Gaza. All countries need to immediately stop supplying arms to Israel and do all they can to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire; only then can we stop this horrifying carnage for the 2.2 million people who have endured six months of suffering. Israel cannot weaponize starvation any longer.”

Oxfam is calling for a permanent ceasefire, the return of all hostages and the release of unlawfully detained Palestinian prisoners, for countries to immediately stop supplying arms to Israel and for full humanitarian aid access. The global response for Gaza must include both adequate and nutritious food for everyone, the full restoration of hospitals and health services, water, and sanitation infrastructure and for all reconstruction materials to be allowed across the border.

Notes to editor

Oxfam’s calculations are available upon request

2,100 kilocalories per person is the average daily energy requirement used in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report (18 March). It was calculated using demographic data considering variations by age and gender. The population of Gaza stated is 2.23 million people.

The average daily calories per person in northern Gaza was calculated using IPC data from 7 January to 20 February inclusive. The average daily calories per person for the entire population of Gaza, is from IPC data between 26 October to 20 February inclusive. IPC used an in-depth analysis of all food truck manifests allowed into Gaza from 26 October to 20 February, to generate approximate kilocalorie values per truck and per unit of analysis then distributed per area.

Oxfam calculated the average kilocalories per food truck using the IPC data of all food truck manifests allowed into Gaza from 26 October to 20 February.

UNRWA data shows that 3,781 food trucks were allowed to enter Gaza from 21 February to 27 March inclusive – an average of 105 food trucks per day. This excludes the 301 mixed items trucks over this period – 8 trucks a day – which may have included food as part of the consignment. Based on the 2,100 kilocalories per person daily energy requirement, across the 2.2 million population, Oxfam calculated that 221 food trucks per day minimum are needed each day.

The Israeli government was forced to release Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – Red Lines in October 2012, following a long legal battle by Israeli human rights organisation Gisha. The document included information about the policy of restricting the entrance of food to the Gaza Strip, which was in effect between 2007 and 2010, calculating the exact number of calories and the weight of various basic food items Gaza residents require, according to age and gender, to avoid malnutrition.

A 400g can of fava beans contains between 250 and 340 calories.

The UN and other agencies have reported children are dying of starvation in Gaza.

Oxfam reaction to the UN Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

March 27, 2024

In response to the UN Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Oxfam’s UN Representative and Head of New York Office Brenda Mofya said:

“We welcome the Security Council’s adoption of a ceasefire resolution so Palestinians in Gaza can have much-needed respite from the relentless and devastating Israeli violence and critical aid can reach them. However, this resolution, while a step in the right direction, falls short of the permanent ceasefire which is truly required and comes too late for the over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza that have been killed, and thousands more unaccounted for, while the Security Council wrung its hands over semantics.
“For nearly six months, the rest of the international community has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the provision of unrestricted aid into Gaza. It is long overdue for UN Security Council Member States to finally heed these calls with the moral leadership that is rightfully expected of them and to stop the killing and suffering in Gaza.

“Now this resolution has passed, it is imperative for Member States to fulfil their obligations to ensure that it is implemented so that Palestinians never endure violence such as this again. This includes immediately halting the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups.

“A mere two-week pause is not enough. This initial cessation in violence must lead to a permanent ceasefire that lasts and a sustainable peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike, so people in Gaza can mourn their loved ones and begin the long road of recovery and reconstruction.”

CONTACT DETAILS

oxfam@oxfam.org.nz