conflict

South Sudan: More than 300 people share a single water tap, as transit centres hold four times their capacity

February 29, 2024

South Sudan: More than 300 people share a single water tap, as transit centres hold four times their capacity, increasing risk of cholera outbreak – warns Oxfam

The influx of over half a million people fleeing Sudan’s conflict meant that transit centres in Renk – a border town in neighbouring South Sudan- are swelling with people four times their capacity, with more than 300 people sharing one water tap. The lack of clean water and sanitation is increasing the risk of cholera, warned Oxfam today.

Over r 15,000 people stay in two centres designed to host only 4,750 people. Up to 5,000 more people are living in the open with no access to any clean water or proper hygiene.

Even prior to the recent conflict, there were 1,027 cases of cholera in South Sudan. The rains, together with a lack of proper water or sanitation, increase the risk of diseases outbreak. Currently, 100 people are share just one latrine – more than double the minimum standard.

Oxfam in South Sudan Country Director, Dr. Manenji Mangundu, said:

“I just came back from Renk where people are crammed in shelters in horrifying conditions. Many have to queue for hours just to use clean water or a toilet. Without an immediate injection of funds, the situation will explode into a full-blown catastrophe, leaving many more people at risk of diseases and going hungry. The upcoming rainy season in April will cut off major roads hampering vital aid and further limiting people’s transportation to shelters.”

Over 80% of the population in South Sudan – four out of five people- are already in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Overlapping crises including five years of floods and conflicts in some parts of the country have already devastated the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

Bibiana Peter, a mother of five who was forced to flee her home in Sudan and now living in transit centre 2 in Renk, said:

“The hunger is unbearable. My children eat only once a day if they are lucky. Their meal is a small bowl of lentils for the entire day, as I watch them suffer from malnutrition. I need to walk deep into the forest for firewood, facing multiple hazards such as snakes and the risk of being attacked. If I’m lucky I sell firewood to buy little food and if not, we sleep hungry and in the open leading to diseases and insecurity.”

The upcoming lean season (April to July 2024) will force food stocks to hit their lowest level, compounding the already dire situation for the host community. Over 7 million people in South Sudan face extreme hunger – including 79,000 facing catastrophic levels of hunger. This number has increased by 22% percent while people experiencing catastrophic hunger has more than doubled.

Despite a surge in the number of people fleeing the conflict in Sudan, and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe, funding has dwindled to an unprecedented low. The UN appeal for South Sudan in 2023 has been slashed by half compared to previous years. Since the beginning of this year, less than 4% of $1.79 billion UN appeal has been raised. This low level of funding has severely curtailed humanitarian efforts.

“With major global crises attracting attention, the crisis in South Sudan is forgotten. But the world must not turn a blind eye. We are racing against time but funding cuts at this time are stretching our capacity to the limit and are a recipe for disaster. Every day of delayed action means irreversible harm to a population that already suffered years of devastation and destitution,” added Manenji

Oxfam, together with partners, has provided clean water and proper sanitation to over 70,000 people in the transit camps, but urgently needs $7 million to ramp up its operations and reach 400,000 people with lifesaving food, clean water and sanitation.

Note to editors:

The current capacity of Renk Transit Centres (Both Old and Extension – commonly referred to as TC1 and TC2 respectively) is 4,750. TC Extension with a capacity of 2750 individuals currently host over 15,000 individuals (over 4 times its design holding capacity)
The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for South Sudan indicates that 9 million people will need humanitarian aid in South Sudan including more than 1.6 million children who are at risk of acute malnutrition.
The IPC South Sudan Acute Food Insecurity Malnutrition Sep2023 July2024 report confirms 5.83 million people (46% of the population) are currently facing crisis and worse levels of hunger (IPC 3+) which is set to go up to 7.1 million during the lean season starting in April 2024.
South Sudan’s Humanitarian Response Plan was 4% funded in 2023 according to OCHA FTS. In 2024, to date, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 3.6% funded (as at 27 February 2024).
UNOCHA FTS funding levels for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 show that 2023 was comparatively the lowest funding provided in proportion to the needs and even in light of the amount raised.
In 2023, the $ 1.05 billion raised is less funding than raised in any single year between 2014 and 2022.

CONTACT DETAILS

Rachel Schaevitz/ Head of Communications, Media, and Advocacy / rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Israel’s blockade of Gaza hits 15 years with no diplomatic resolution in sight

June 21, 2022

The United Nations and all other humanitarian actors have spent 15 years delivering humanitarian support to 2.1m Palestinians blockaded inside Gaza, and yet, there is still no sustained collective political action or will to resolve it.

In those 15 years, the international community has spent an estimated US$5.7 billion in Gaza just to help keep an incredibly resilient population afloat, in impossible conditions.

“The humanitarian relief effort has long become a permanent operation. We are collectively forced into being de facto enablers of an open-air prison,” said Oxfam International Executive Director, Gabriela Bucher, on marking 15 years of the blockade.

“Today, seven out of ten people in Gaza depend on aid. This must change. We look to the UN Secretary-General personally to make the immediate lifting of the Gaza blockade a priority,” Bucher said. “Israel’s control is total, extending down to levels that are frankly ridiculous and punishing – like banning Gaza’s export of tomatoes unless they have had their green tops removed, so they can’t be kept as fresh”.

This month, Oxfam joins a civil society campaign, #OpenUpGaza15. “We need to stop the tragedy of Gaza from continuing to drain all the joy and aspiration of its youth, year upon year. It is imperative that we help the next generation not to be lost to the blockade. Over 800,000 young Palestinians have spent their entire lives trapped within Gaza. They have known nothing else,” she said.

These young people face a 63 percent probability of having no job. For girls it’s even worse – four out of five won’t find paid work. Gaza has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.

“Most all of Israel’s restrictions are motivated by politics, not security. Palestinian families in Gaza are being collectively and illegally punished,” said Oxfam’s Country Director, Shane Stevenson. “Israel bans the export of date paste, cookies, and French fries. It has forbidden 3G and 4G phone data and there’s no PayPal. This is not a place where a young person can be expected to flourish and find happiness.”

#OpenUpGaza15 will feature the everyday stories from 15 young people about their daily deprivations, curbs, and constraints with which they have to deal just to pursue their lives and their interests.

Ahmad Abu Dagga, 15, excels in sciences but fears that he will finish his 12 years of school without ever seeing a microscope in his school laboratory.

Alaa Abu Sleih, 23, was born with a physical disability. A few years ago, the control panel of his wheel chair broke down and he cannot get a new one. The chair tyres are wearing out and he worries how he will get around.

Oxfam’s humanitarian and development efforts in Gaza are all constantly undermined by Israel’s suffocating restrictions on services and the movement of resources and people. 97 percent of Gaza’s piped water is not fit to drink and electricity supply is restricted to 12 hours per day.

“The UN and its member states must become the diplomatic power brokers needed to end this blockade now,” Stevenson said. “All sides must commit to a time-bound plan with actions and strong accountability mechanisms. We refuse to accept that all the effort made to maintain the blockade for 15 years can’t instead be harnessed for good and to consign it to history.”

Burkina Faso: Second biggest spike in displacement since crisis began

March 11, 2022

The military coup in Burkina Faso late January made headlines. The registration that same month of over 160,000 newly displaced Burkinabé, a near-record high figure, did not. The jump marks the second biggest monthly increase since the humanitarian crisis started in the country over three years ago, say the Norwegian Refugee Council, Action Against Hunger, Médecins du Monde France and Oxfam.

“Flashing around big figures at high-level meetings doesn’t mean anything to people who lack decent shelter, clean water, and can’t feed their children three meals a day. We call on donor countries to make good on the promises made at the Central Sahel Conference in October 2020,” says Hassane Hamadou, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Burkina Faso. “The crisis in this region should not be addressed only when strategically convenient, or when a Sahel country is in the media limelight. The international community has a duty to alleviate human suffering, whether they hit close to home or not.”

Since January 2019, the displaced population in Burkina Faso has grown by 2,000%, with over 1.7 million people now uprooted. More than two out of three are children. While a growing portion of this generation gets raised away from home and with little access to schools, education funding remains harrowingly low. Overall funding for the humanitarian response is less than half of what is needed. It is vital the crisis in Ukraine does not divert funds and attention away from the Sahel region this year, warn the signatories.

“Some donors have already indicated that they would proceed to a 70% cut of our funding to support operations in Ukraine. We are very concerned that this will become a trend, making access to healthcare and other basic services even scarcer for displaced people in Burkina Faso,” says Safia Torche, General Director for Médecins du Monde in Burkina Faso.

“The crisis in Ukraine is also likely to impact soaring grain prices, making an already bad situation worse,” says Grégoire Brou, Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Burkina Faso. “An estimated 3 million people are facing food insecurity in Burkina Faso and this number is likely to increase significantly this year during the lean season. Now is the time for the mobilization of all, not disengagement.”

As part of this step-up in effort, the newly-formed government must urgently respond to the humanitarian emergency in the country, not just the military and security dimensions of the crisis. We hope the appointment of the former Secretary General of the Burkinabé Red Cross as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs will mark a renewed and robust cooperation with all humanitarian partners.

Notes

As of January 31, 2022, 1,741,655 IDPs were registered in Burkina Faso according to 1,579,976 IDPs were registered as of December 31, 2021 (Source: CONASUR)
In January 2019, the country counted a total of 87,000 displaced people (Source: OCHA)
September 2019 was the only month that recorded a bigger increase in new displacements (+197,366), with a total of 288,994 IDPs registered as of September 6, 2019 (Source: UNHCR) and 486,360 registered by October 4, 2019 (Source: WFP/CONASUR)
44% of the Humanitarian Response Plan was funded in 2021. Only 6.5% of the education needs were covered (Source: OCHA, FTS)
More than US$1.7 billion was pledged by donor countries to scale up lifesaving humanitarian aid in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger at the Ministerial Round Table for Central Sahel in October 2020 (Source: MRT Press Release). Last year, the three countries combined received US$708 million according to the FTS
5 million people in Burkina Faso are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022 according to the Humanitarian Response Plan (Source: OCHA)
155 health facilities in the country do not operate due to insecurity and violence (Source: Health Cluster January 2022). 43 reported incidents of violence or threat of violence against health care in 2021 (Source: Insecurity Insight)

One year on from conflict – dream of a better Mosul remains distant for many

July 11, 2018

One year after Mosul was retaken from ISIS, thousands of people are still unable to return home as parts of the city remain severely damaged and lack running water or electricity, Oxfam said today.

Thousands more don’t feel safe to return – including families whose houses have been completely destroyed in the fighting or are still to be cleared of unexploded bombs.

Across the country more than two million people have yet to return to their homes.

The densely-populated Old City of Mosul was extensively damaged in the last days of fighting and was left littered with unexploded bombs. More than 3,000 houses, schools and shops were destroyed and water networks damaged. Today, it remains one of the last areas in the city without running water.

Andres Gonzalez, Oxfam’s Country Director in Iraq said: “Parts of Mosul have been completely destroyed. Reconstruction has started but rebuilding Iraq’s second largest city will take time.

“We must not just rebuild what was there before – we have to do better than that. We need to prioritise the most vulnerable people who lost everything in the battle against ISIS, young people who missed out on years of education, and women and men whose freedom was severely curtailed.

“For there to be stability and peace in Iraq everyone must be allowed to return home or set up a new home, rejoin society and have a stake in the future of the country.”

Oxfam is working in the Old City fixing the damaged pipelines, repairing pumping stations, and providing water pipes and machinery to bring running water to the 130,000 people who have already returned.

Gonzalez said: “It is vital that people have access to clean drinking water, especially as it is now summer in Iraq with temperatures already reaching over 45 degrees Celsius.”

Abdulaziz Aljarba, Chief Executive of Oxfam’s partner Al Tahreer Association for Development said: “Alongside Iraqi authorities the international community should support projects that reduce poverty in Mosul and across Iraq. Communities must be consulted in the rebuilding process to ensure the poorest and most vulnerable families benefit.”

Oxfam has been working in Mosul since the first parts of the city were retaken from ISIS in 2016 – repairing damaged water pipelines, pumping stations and school bathrooms, bringing back clean drinking water to people returning home and ensuring children can go back to clean and safe schools.

International community yet again falls short of meeting Yemen’s dire need

April 26, 2017

In response to the US$1.12 billion pledged to Yemen during the high-level event today in Geneva, Oxfam says the international community has fallen short in its support for the Yemeni people. Despite wide recognition of the dire level of need in the discussions, only about half of the US$2.1 billion UN appeal for Yemen was raised – which even if fully funded would only have met the basics needs of 12 million of the 18.6 million Yemenis in need of humanitarian aid.

Isabelle Moussard Carlsen, Action contre la Faim’s Operations Director, said: “Governments need to stop undermining the humanitarian response by fuelling the conflict with arms and violence. Starvation is not an acceptable strategy or consequence of the conflict. Donors must step up immediately and fully fund the Humanitarian Response Plan and actively engage with every stakeholder to facilitate the delivery of aid before Yemen reaches tipping point and we witness large scale starvation. ”

“The pledges made today mean the difference between life and death for millions of people. But donors are leaving Geneva without having committed enough funding to meet the needs of just the 12 million most vulnerable out of 19 million in need. I fail to grasp how the international community can see this crisis unfold without doing its outmost to limit the suffering that Yemenis are facing,” said Mutasim Hamdan, Yemen Country Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Shane Stevenson, Oxfam’s Senior Programme Manager for Yemen, said: “However much money has been pledged today, the best way to prevent famine in Yemen is for weapons to fall silent and for the parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table. Preventing famine must be the priority – not military gains. Diplomatic engagement is needed with all sides of the conflict and pressure must be applied immediately to suspend all military operations that block access or safe movement of food supplies.”

Yemeni civil society activist, Nabil Al-Kumaim, said: “Ultimately, Yemen needs peace. The international community must engage with all parties to the conflict to address the root causes. There must be a political, not military, solution to this crisis. We need a comprehensive and nationwide cease-fire and an inclusive political process with meaningful participation of women, youth and other marginalized groups. The international community has a responsibility in seeing that this achieved.”

Furthermore, Yemeni humanitarian Non Governmental Organisations who are delivering much-needed aid to those in need and who came to Geneva specially for the conference were not allowed a meaningful role in the high-level discussions.

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Threat of four famines in 2017 “a catastrophic betrayal of our common humanity”

February 23, 2017

The world stands on the brink of an unprecedented four famines in 2017 due to a catastrophic failure of the global community to uphold its obligations to the most vulnerable of people. Oxfam today calls on donors to take immediate action to help as many as 20 million people now at risk of starvation.

Famine was declared this week in parts of South Sudan. In northern Nigeria it is likely that some 400,000 people living in areas cut off from aid are already suffering famine. Both Yemen and Somalia stand on the brink. The primary driver of these crises is conflict, though in Somalia it is drought.

Donor countries have failed to adequately support efforts to resolve these conflicts and, in Yemen, are actually fuelling the conflict through arms sales. They now have a moral obligation to meet the $2.1 billion needed for a humanitarian response at the required scale. They need to find political answers to the causes of the collapse of these countries into such catastrophic levels of suffering.

Oxfam International’s Humanitarian Director Nigel Timmins said: “Famine does not arrive suddenly or unexpectedly. It comes after months of procrastination and ignored warnings. It is a slow agonizing process, driven by callous national politics and international indifference. It is the ultimate betrayal of our common humanity.

“Half-hearted responses to UN appeals have short-changed the aid effort to save people’s lives. This must not continue. Governments need to act now to fully fund the aid effort.

“The famine already gripping parts of South Sudan will spread across the country if not more is done. Famine may be imminent in Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria but it is not yet inevitable If we act now with a massive injection of aid, backed with diplomatic clout and driven by the imperative to save lives, we can prevent a catastrophic loss of life. Without an urgent injection of cash, the humanitarian system will not be able to cope and many more people will die.”

Money is needed now because a hunger crisis can rapidly deteriorate. As a crisis unfolds malnutrition and mortality rates rise exponentially, rather than steadily. After a certain tipping point, further rapid deterioration becomes likely. Assistance must be given now before people become dangerously hungry and have exhausted the last of their efforts to feed their families.

Responding to severe malnutrition requires significant humanitarian infrastructure, such as feeding and health centers. They cannot be spirited out of nowhere. People at the sharp end of these crises cannot wait.

Oxfam is calling for immediate humanitarian and political action including:

More food and life-saving support
Opening the areas that people can move safely to reach aid – and for humanitarian agencies to reach them in turn – including suspending all military operations that block this kind of access and safe movement
Protection of civilians in all military action.
Committing to respond earlier to warning signs of future crises before they escalate
Building people’s ability to cope better with future crises. Even without conflict, these countries will remain vulnerable to future food crisis
In Somalia, 2.9 million people face acute food security ‘crisis’ and ‘emergency’ levels. This could tip into famine if the April-June rains fail, their ability to buy food declines and people do not receive humanitarian support.

In Nigeria, over 5 million people are in food crisis, and this is projected to reach 5.7 million by June 2017. There is a strong likelihood that at least 400,000 people could already be experiencing famine-like conditions and that this could rise to up to 800,000 over the course of 2017 if humanitarian assistance cannot be delivered.

In South Sudan, 100,000 people are facing starvation now and a further 1 million people are classified as being on the brink of famine in Unity State.

In Yemen, 7 million people are just one step away from famine, and 10 million people are severely hungry. This is largest hunger emergency in the world. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization is reporting that wheat stocks for the country will run out in April.

Oxfam is already helping over a million people in Yemen, more than 600,000 in South Sudan, over 200,000 in Nigeria and an assessment mission has just returned from northern Somalia where it plans to begin a response to the drought.