Emergencies

  • When an emergency hits, Oxfam is there. We work with local partners on the ground so we can save lives during times of crisis and reduce future risks. We help people caught up in natural disasters and conflicts by providing clean water, food, sanitation and protection. At any given time, we’re responding to over 30 emergency situations, giving life-saving support to those most in need.

Heavy monsoon rains hit Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Posted by: Oxfam Media Team

Thursday 26th July

The situation:

Urgent action is needed to help Rohingya refugees who are today being hit by monsoon rains in camps in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. The heavy rains and widespread flooding have already caused over 130 landslides, damaged 3,300 shelters and affected 28,000 people, Oxfam has said.

Outside of the camp in Cox’s Bazar, reports claim that up to 5 children have been killed in a landslide elsewhere in the town. Fallen trees and landslides are blocking some of the roads. There are predictions of up to 100mm of rainfall per day for next few days.

A survey of Rohingya refugees carried out by Oxfam before the monsoon season found that more than half were almost completely unprepared for the floods, landslides and disease that accompany the monsoon weather, with women most at risk.

The UN warns that 200,000 refugees are at risk from flooding and landslides, with around 24,000 of those considered at high risk. So far nearly 25,000 refugees have been relocated to newly flattened ground that should be safer.

What is Oxfam doing?

  • Oxfam is working with the government of Bangladesh and the UN to relocate refugees to safer areas and to make the remaining areas as weather-proof as possible.
  • To help keep disease at bay, Oxfam is supporting the UN to build water and sanitation infrastructure in two of the new, safer zones in the Ukhia mega-camp.
  • Oxfam teams are also cleaning and replacing full latrines, drilling deep wells that won't be polluted by dirty ground water, and working with refugee communities to promote good hygiene.
  • Oxfam teams are assessing the impact of the current heavy rains. They will provide further information on the numbers of households affected, landslide locations, and these teams will also be prepared to distribute some humanitarian items if necessary.
  • As part of Oxfam’s emergency plan, trained and identified Emergency Response Team members in Dhaka are available to rapidly deploy.

·         Since the start of the crisis, Oxfam has helped more than 180,000 Rohingya refugees with clean drinking water, emergency toilets and food rations.

Spokespeople and media materials

Oxfam has spokespeople available in Ireland and on the ground to discuss the humanitarian situation.

Oxfam media materials will also be available, including to mark the forthcoming first anniversary (August 25th) of the violence in Myanmar which sparked the current Rohingya refugee crisis.

CONTACT:

For interviews or more information, contact:

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Alice Dawson-Lyons, Oxfam Ireland, on +353 (0) 83 198 1869 / alice.dawsonlyons@oxfamireland.org

NORTHERN IRELAND: Phillip Graham on 0044 (0) 7841 102535 / phillip.graham@oxfamireland.org

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Thousands of Syrians out of reach of aid

Posted by: Ben Clancy
Thousands of Syrians forced from their homes due to the recent fighting in Dar’a are unable to get the help they desperately need, Oxfam said today. 
 
Amid scorching summer temperatures, families need shelter, water, food and medical care but access for humanitarian agencies is limited and not enough assistance has been able to cross the border into Syria from Jordan. 
 
Recent clashes had seen the largest and fastest displacement of civilians since the Syria conflict began, with more than 330,000 people fleeing their homes during the two-week Syrian government offensive. 
 
A ceasefire agreed on Friday, between the Syrian government and local armed opposition groups, has provided a temporary halt to the violence, but there remains uncertainty over the future of Dar'a and how long the ceasefire will hold.  Many of those now returning home will find their houses have been destroyed while others don’t feel it is safe enough to return or are moving elsewhere. 
 
The Oxfam team in Dar’a reports that in many towns and villages, wells and other water supplies are not functioning, and back-up power systems are currently out of service. 
 
Moutaz Adham, Oxfam’s Country Director in Syria, said: “Thousands of families have been displaced and their communities wrecked by recent fighting across Dar’a province. Their struggles will get worse unless they receive the water, food and medical care they urgently need.”   
 
There are also concerns for approximately 100 people from Dar’a who remain at the Jaber/Nasib crossing on the border with Jordan, the UN confirmed. Those 100 have joined tens of thousands of others already sheltering close to the border in need of protection and assistance. 
 
Many of those displaced, including Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, have expressed concerns about returning home, fearing insecurity, detention, conscription, and other potential threats to their safety. 
 
Nickie Monga, Oxfam’s Country Director in Jordan said: "Jordan is already bearing an immense burden in hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees but we urge it to once again provide a safe space for those fleeing the violence and continue to facilitate cross-border assistance. The international community too must play its part by providing more aid to Jordan and increased resettlement of Syrian refugees." 
 
Oxfam is calling on all parties to the conflict and those with influence over them to work to stop the violence, which has led to civilian deaths and the destruction of medical facilities and schools in Dar’a. 
 
Oxfam is providing water and sanitation in an emergency shelter in Al-Sanamayn and has identified other areas in need of support across the Dar’a province.
 
ENDS 
 
Oxfam spokespeople are available for interview. For interviews or more information, contact: 
• ROI – Alice Dawson-Lyons on +353 83 198 1869 / alice.dawsonlyons@oxfamireland.org
• NI – Phillip Graham on 07841 102535 / phillip.graham@oxfamireland.org
 
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Yemen: Hodeidah cannot be allowed to become a graveyard, warns Oxfam

Posted by: Ben Clancy
Food and water shortage – cholera threat – 80,000 forced to flee their homes
 
Conditions for over half a million people in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah are steadily deteriorating with food in short supply and seriously damaged water and sewage systems increasing the risk of cholera, Oxfam said today. 
 
Ahmed's family and other families were forced to flee their homes because of the conflict in Al-Hudaydah. Photo: Ameen Al-Ghaberi/Gabreeze Yemen
 
More than 80,000 people have fled their homes, despite a recent reduction in the intensity of the fighting, while preparations continue for a bloody onslaught. In the city troops are being deployed, trenches are being dug and barricades erected. From the air the city outskirts are being bombed and leaflets are being dropped calling for insurrection. 
 
Oxfam is calling on world leaders – including the UN Security Council, which will discuss the crisis today – not to allow Hodeidah to become a graveyard and to exert maximum diplomatic pressure on the warring parties to agree an immediate ceasefire and return to peace talks.
 
Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland’s Chief Executive, said: “The fate of 600,000 people hangs in the balance. Slowly but surely the city is being squeezed and the real fear is that this is merely a precursor to an onslaught that will lead to widespread loss of life. 
 
“Hodeidah cannot be allowed to become a graveyard. There is still time to stop this destruction. The Irish and UK governments can play their part by continuing to press for international action to end the conflict. 
 
“One of our biggest fears is an outbreak of cholera. Hodeidah was a cholera hot spot last year and a repeat would be devastating for the people there. 
 
“The backers of this war – including those in Western capitals – need to stop fuelling the conflict and put maximum pressure on all sides of this war to agree an immediate ceasefire. Failure to act now will leave them culpable.” 
 
The city’s streets are empty and many shops, bakeries and markets have closed, according to Oxfam contacts in the city. People have been panic buying, while food is scarce. Essential items such as flour – the main staple – vegetable oil and cooking gas are in short supply. Prices have increased with a sack of rice up 350 per cent, wheat up 50 per cent and cooking oil up by 40 per cent. At the same time, many families’ incomes have been hit by the closure of dozens of factories and businesses. 
 
Hodeidah Governorate is one of the worst affected areas of Yemen with a quarter of children suffering from malnutrition. Last year it was just one step away from famine, with nearly 800,000 suffering from severe hunger and the situation remains desperate. 
 
Water is in short supply. Parts of the city’s water supply and sewage system have been cut due to the digging of defensive positions. This raises the threat of cholera as people are forced to start using unprotected shallow wells or surface water. Hodeidah was hit hard by last year’s cholera outbreak which was the world’s largest since records began. 
 
At least 35,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the fighting around the southern outskirts of Hodeidah. They have settled in parts of the city further away from the fighting and many have sheltered in schools. Getting aid into the city is already challenging and will be increasingly difficult if fighting intensifies. 
 
Some 46,000 people have managed to flee the city but escape is perilous with the threat of bombing, fighting and landmines. The city’s poor cannot afford the high cost of leaving the city. It can cost 60,000 riyals (€200/£180) to take a family out of the city to the relative safety of the capital Sana’a. Even if they could afford the travel costs they would then have to pay at least 200,000 riyals (€685/£600) for rent and food a month. 
 
Oxfam is helping 10,000 people who have fled north of Hodeidah but helping those outside the city is also proving difficult due to the ongoing conflict. 
 
The port of Hodeidah is key to providing the bulk of all the food imported into the country and the majority of its medicines. If this vital life line is cut for a significant amount of time then the lives of more than 8 million people who are already on the verge of starvation will be further put in jeopardy. 
 
Oxfam has been in Yemen since 1983. Since 2015, Oxfam has reached more than 2.8 million people in nine governorates of Yemen, providing water and sanitation services – including as part of a cholera response to prevent and contain the disease. Oxfam is also trucking water as well as providing cash assistance and food vouchers. 
 
ENDS 
 
Oxfam spokespeople are available for interview. For interviews or more information, contact: 
• ROI – Alice Dawson-Lyons on +353 83 198 1869 / alice.dawsonlyons@oxfamireland.org
• NI – Phillip Graham on 07841 102535 / phillip.graham@oxfamireland.org
 
NOTES TO EDITORS
 
Oxfam’s latest briefing document, The World Must Back Peace, Not War: Putting An End To Civilian Suffering In Yemen, is available here. 
 
Footage is available of a family forced to flee their home.
 

Yemen: Hodeidah cannot be allowed to become a graveyard

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The world has turned its back on South Sudan

Posted by: Jim Clarken

Oxfam has been working in South Sudan for over 30 years. Since 2017, we have been responding to a deepening emergency, reaching over 500,000 people across South Sudan with life-saving aid. We also implement long-term development projects to advance gender justice and support people to build resilient livelihoods to help beat poverty now and into the future. In this blog, Chief Executive of Oxfam Ireland, Jim Clarken, reflects on his recent trip there.

South Sudan - A Country in Crisis

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South Sudan is a country in crisis – a country on the brink of what could well become the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. Yet tragically, for the people of this young nation, their ongoing plight has failed to make the headlines.

For more than four years, the people of South Sudan have been caught up in a brutal civil war. The violence has had a devastating impact on the country’s citizens, millions of whom are suffering from extreme hunger as a result.

More than 4 million people have fled their homes since war broke out in December 2013. And last year alone, some 700,000 people fled South Sudan to neighbouring countries – that means that in 2017, more than one person fled the country every minute.

When I visited South Sudan earlier this month, I met many people whose lives have been turned upside down by the ongoing conflict. I spoke to women grieving for their dead children, families who have had to flee their homes and farmers forced to abandon their land – ordinary people, who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves caught up in the crisis.

Oxfam Ireland CEO Jim Clarken speaks with local fisherman in Nyal, South Sudan. Credit: Ben Clancy/Oxfam Ireland

People can no longer protect themselves and their families from the destabilising impact of war. There are battles on every front. Inflation rates are so high that the price of even basic foodstuffs is beyond the reach of families. Meanwhile, farmers who have had no choice but to leave their land are missing out on harvests – leaving the country’s food stocks at dangerously low levels.

In February of last year, famine was declared in two counties – Leer and Mayendit. At that time, 100,000 people were facing famine, and one million more were on the brink. A strong humanitarian response has undoubtedly kept famine at bay but the need for aid is more urgent than ever. In fact, an estimated 1.6 million more people are now more at risk than when famine was declared in 2017. And while the United Nations World Food Programme has been carrying out food drops in South Sudan, the supplies aren’t enough for the population which finds itself in a race against time.

During my visit I travelled to the islands around Nyal in Unity State, which have seen a large influx of people fleeing the violence. There I met many people who have been displaced and are now in a dire situation. Many arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs, joining countless others with shared experiences. It had taken one group of women I spoke to seven days to reach safety. Having endured the harrowing and terrifying journey, they finally got the chance to grieve the children they had lost along the way.

With the support of Irish Aid, Oxfam Ireland is on the ground in Nyal, providing canoes to bring the sick and vulnerable from the islands to access life-saving aid and health care. We have also set up community gardens in the region, which enable people to grow their own food, or sell it to earn an income. And our protection teams are working with girls and women to ensure their safety in a new and unfamiliar environment.

Villagers of RAFONE island gather to meet Oxfam staff and discuss the progress they’ve made since receiving aid. Credit: Ben Clancy/Oxfam Ireland

Yet, despite our best efforts, the humanitarian situation remains dire – and it’s getting worse by the day. With other stories dominating the global headlines, I fear that South Sudan will be forgotten.

There is an onus on all of us to make sure the plight of this young nation is no longer ignored.

Learn more about our work in South Sudan

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Helping the People of Syria

Posted by: Ben Clancy

Deir-Ez-Zor, Syria

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The human suffering caused by seven years of civil war in Syria is overwhelming. Thousands of lives have been lost and over 13 million are living in extreme poverty, and in desperate need of humanitarian aid. We are helping those affected by the crisis across Syria with life-saving clean water, sanitation and vital food supplies. We have also been campaigning and advocating for an end to the fighting, and a sustainable and inclusive political solution since the beginning of the crisis.
 
Deir ez-Zor, the largest city in eastern Syria, gets really cold in the winter. At the beginning of the year, with the help of a local partner, we distributed over 25,000 packs of warm clothing and 400,000 bundles of bread to the families that had come back. The city of Deir-Ez-Zor was under ISIS control for the last 3 years. The civilians who remained in the war-torn city lived under besiegement with little access to food, water and medical supplies. 
 
"Before and during the besiegement, there was no food or water, people were dying. There was no medical supplies, there was nothing." 
 
It is only since late 2017 that the people of Deir-Ez-Zor have begun to return to the city. The people of the city have lost everything, their homes and their livelihoods. Due to the devastation of the city, many people had no protection from the harsh conditions of the extremely cold winter months. 
 
Since the liberation of the city, Oxfam has been providing thousands of families with warm coats for the winter and distributing bread,
 
"Thank God we can get bread and water, the water is pumped everyday, bread is available everyday, and now we are more comfortable. "
 
"Now we are warm, after being cold for a very long time me and my brothers and sister, we all feel warm now."

Learn more about Oxfam's work in Syria

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