Long-term development

  • We work with communities to tackle the causes of poverty through a combination of hands-on expertise, financial investment and education. In addition, we give people a voice to speak out against the laws, actions and policies that keep them in poverty.

The Importance of the European Elections

Posted by: Alice Reetham

 

The European elections which take place in May are your chance to ensure a more equal and fair society – not just in Europe, but around the world.  

Decisions made in the European Parliament extend far beyond the EU and directly affect countries worldwide. Global issues such as the threat of climate change, rising inequality, ongoing conflict and migration, and the need for aid for poorer countries means that the outcome of these elections is more vital than ever before.

Oxfam challenges EU policies to make them work for people in poverty, ensuring that they have a positive impact on the lives of those most in need. We must use this opportunity to ensure that major global challenges are addressed by MEPs and that they promote progressive, fair policies that benefit everyone.   

Elections are held every five years, giving European citizens the opportunity to decide who sits in the European Parliament, and to have their say on the future direction of Europe. This is an important moment in our fight against global poverty. You can read more in Oxfam’s manifesto for the 2019 European Elections here.

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Meet the Inspirational Women of Oxfam

Posted by: Alice Reetham

 

International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the amazing women we work with – and their incredible achievements.

These women work tirelessly in clever and innovative ways to make change happen and to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. They inspire us every day. 

Sobia, 26, teaches Urdu to students in the city of Multan, Pakistan, where Oxfam has set up Accelerated Learning Centres (ALC) to educate women and girls who never went to school. “Mothers of young girls come forward to appreciate the progress their children have made in my classes,” said Sobia, who was herself trained under the ALC programme. “It’s extremely heartening.”

Fifty-two-year-old Katembelwa is the only female brazier maker in Kenani refugee camp, Zambia. The widow and mother of three fled the Democratic Republic due to conflict and arrived in Zambia with nothing. She said she joined a male brazier-makers group because she wanted to make a living independently, adding: “I was very proud and happy when I had finished making my first tub.”

In Jordan, Oxfam is supporting female plumbers to teach other women the trade. Mariam, a mother of four from the town of Zarqa became a plumber five years ago and now has several male plumbers working for her. Last year, the 44-year-old former housewife, who was selected by Oxfam to train other women to be plumbers, expanded her growing enterprise by opening a hardware shop.

Iffat is an Oxfam public health promoter at the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where our emergency response team is providing vital aid to at least 266,000 people. Her job is to tell the refugees about the importance of hygiene which helps to prevent disease. When an elderly man recently thanked her for her help, she said: “That made me feel very happy. That is my reward.”

These are just some of the millions of women and girls who have worked hard to break the cycle of gender inequality and to achieve their full potential. Oxfam is on the ground helping women like Mariam to become leaders in their communities, to have the same rights as men and to free themselves from violence.

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5 things you need to know about climate change and hunger

Posted by: Ben Clancy
 
60 million people are facing a food crisis but the public has not heard about it. This is roughly the same as the number of refugees in the world, and is also a global phenomenon. But the crisis has not made the headlines because it was a slow, creeping disaster.
 
The 2015/16 ‘super El Niño’, combined with climate change, brought severe droughts and flooding to people in the Horn of Africa, Southern Africa, Central America, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.  31.1m people are currently food insecure in the Horn of Africa1.
 

But, what does hunger have to do with climate change? A lot.

 
Pascaline from Pissila community, in Burkina Faso, is growing sorghum. Burkina Faso suffers an extreme, variable climate: the same area can be affected by both flooding and drought within only a few months. Photo: Pablo Tosco/Oxfam 
 
 
1. Lost livelihoods:  Recently, harvests and livelihoods have faltered as drought has taken hold across equatorial regions. Right now, 39 million people in Southern Africa2  do not have enough to eat, after drought has devastated several cycles of crops. Without climate adaptation strategies suited to each reality, farmers, fisherfolks and pastoralist communities face a difficult choice: to migrate in search of other livelihood opportunities or to stay and face hunger. 
 
2. Food trade and prices spikes: Even where food exists, extreme events can block main roads, railway tracks, harbors, and food cannot reach markets. Besides, extreme weather events such as the recent “super” El Niño, can wipe out entire harvests and trigger dramatic food price spikes. In July this year, maize prices in Malawi were 192 percent higher than the five-year average, and are expected to continue increasing towards the end of 20163. By 2030, 95% of maize and other coarse grains consumed in sub-Saharan Africa could come from the region itself, meaning that local climatic shocks are likely to have dramatic impacts on local production, prices, and ultimately on consumption.
 
Women in search of water in Hadigala district, Siti Zone, Somali Region. 8th July 2015. Photo: Poon Wai Nang/Oxfam
 
3. Water resources: Ethiopia is suffering its worst drought for 30 years and the search for water has become more desperate: women walk for two to six hours a day just to get water, and people have to dig wells deeper and deeper to access water.
 
4. Nutrition-health: Increased water scarcity due to climate change reduces the capacity to produce food and its quality, which has serious implications for food security, nutrition and health. In Ethiopia alone 9.7 million people are currently in need of emergency food aid. People have no choice other than to cut down on the quantity and variety of the food they eat, leading to malnutrition. Tragically, children are the hardest hit: in particular, climate change is intensifying the threat from the three biggest killers of children – diarrhea, malnutrition, and malaria. 
 
Habodo Gele age 35, with her baby Habiiba* (3 ½ months), and her son Saffi* age 5, at their home in Bisle, Siti zone, Ethiopia. “Until now, the drought has mainly affected animals. Today it is affecting humans. It is scary. We don’t have enough food. We get a bit of help. We are supporting ourselves.“
 
5. Climate change as a driver of inequality: The impact of global warming and extreme weather events will be higher in the developing world. Many climate impacts will be greater in the Tropics and poor countries are least able to adapt to the changes. Women are often the hardest hit, as they are the ones left to tend small farms and families, and have fewer alternative livelihoods when crops are lost. 
 

You can help 

This food crisis shows clearly what happens when we fail to invest enough in helping communities adapt to climate change and to grow and buy enough food in a warming world. Acting early in a drought costs 40% less than acting late4. Funds are urgently needed now to support the most vulnerable communities to build their resilience to the changing climate, and to protect lives now and in the future.

 
Sources
1 - FSNWG monthly update: Food and Nutrition Security Situation as of September 2016.
2 - SADC, Regional Situation update on El Nino-induced drought, issue 3, 24 October 2016. 
3 - FEWSNET, Malawi Food Security Outlook Update, August 2016.
4 - DFID, ‘The Economics of Early Response and Resilience: Summary of Findings’, January 2013.
 
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In 2018, 43 people owned the same wealth as half the world – this year, 26 do.

Posted by: Ben Clancy

In 2018, 43 people owned the same wealth as half the world – this year, 26 do.

A report released by Oxfam this week highlights that our current global economy is rewarding those at the top - while hundreds of millions of people living in poverty are getting poorer. Last year, the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw their wealth decline by 11 percent while billionaires’ fortunes rose by almost the same amount. 
 
One of the main drivers of inequality is the failure of governments to clamp down on tax dodging by big businesses and wealthy individuals and ensure everyone is paying their fair share. Tax dodging by corporations and the rich is costing poor countries $170 billion a year. This means less funds for vital public services like healthcare and education, which are key to reducing inequality and helping people to build better lives for themselves. 
 

This just doesn't make sense

 
This human cost of inequality can no longer be ignored. Every day, 262 million children will not go to school and almost 10,000 people will die because they cannot access healthcare.
 
 
Nellie Kumambala, a secondary school teacher from Lumbadzi, Malawi tells us her experience of fighting inequality. “My father inspired my sisters and me to become teachers. I’ve taught at the community secondary school for my area for 19 years. Our children come from very poor families. Many walk long distances to get here. Many come with empty stomachs. We have a problem of too few textbooks, dilapidated classrooms and teaching materials. 
 
"Over the years, I have seen so many girls and boys who score highly despite coming from poor backgrounds. I remember Chimwemwe Gabisa – she was brilliant at mathematics, the best I have taught. She finished secondary school but could not proceed to college for lack of funds." 
 
The private schools in the city, for children from rich families, have very good facilities. It does not seem right that it is so much harder for children in a government school to be educated. I pay tax every month on my little salary. I don’t understand why the people that have everything are failing to pay their taxes. 
 
With more money a lot could be done at our school. We could provide students with breakfast. We could provide them with textbooks and basic necessities like school uniforms and exercise books. At least this would give them a better chance in life.”
 
Rising inequality is preventing us from beating poverty for good – but it doesn’t have to be this way. There is enough wealth in the world to provide everyone with a fair chance in life.
 
Dedicated teachers like Nellie are the lifeblood of great public services that benefit the poorest. Share her story to help fight inequality and beat poverty.
 
 
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Billionaires’ wealth grows by €2.2billion/£1.9billion per day as half the world lives on €5/£5 per day

Posted by: Ben Clancy
Almost half the world’s population live on less than €5/£5 per day while the wealth of the world’s billionaires increased by €2.2billion/£1.9billion per day in 2018 alone, reveals a new report from Oxfam today. 
 
 
The report – Public Good or Private Wealth? – highlights how the global economy rewards those at the top while people living in poverty get poorer. Last year, the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw their wealth decline by 11 percent while billionaires’ fortunes rose by almost the same amount (12 percent). 
 
As political and business leaders gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, Oxfam is calling on governments to address this rising inequality by tackling tax avoidance by corporates and wealthy individuals and providing quality, free universal public services that are key to reducing it. 
 
Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland Chief Executive, said: “Halving extreme poverty is one of our greatest global achievements over the last 30 years but this is being jeopardised by rising inequality. Our report shows how decades of progress in reducing global poverty has disturbingly slowed – the rate of reduction has halved since 2013 – with extreme poverty actually increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. 
“This is a direct result of inequality – the human cost of which can no longer be ignored – and is largely seen in a lack of access to quality public services. Tomorrow, as the elite convene in Davos, 262 million children will not go to school and almost 10,000 people will die because they cannot access healthcare.
 
“Tax avoidance by big businesses and wealthy individuals is depriving developing countries of US$170billion every year. By eliminating tax avoidance and agreeing a new set of rules to make the global tax system fairer, governments, including the Irish and UK governments, can ensure more money is spent on providing free universal public services that reduce inequality and enable people to thrive – and in many cases survive.”
 
Oxfam calls for the following actions to reduce the growing gap between the richest and the rest: 
 
• All governments should deliver universal free healthcare, education and other essential public services 
• To achieve this, everyone, including big businesses and wealthy individuals, need to pay their fair share of tax. This means ending tax avoidance and evasion by corporates and the wealthy. Ireland and the UK have an important role to play in this regard and needs to agree a new set of global rules and institutions to fundamentally redesign the tax system to make it fair, with developing countries having an equal seat at the table. These new rules would include increased transparency of multinational corporations (MNCs) tax affairs and implementing effective mechanisms to end profit shifting by MNCs at home and abroad. 
 
Clarken continued: “Unless our leaders at home and across the world act now to reduce inequality, the global goal agreed by world leaders to end extreme poverty by 2030 remains out of reach. But it doesn’t have to be this way – there is enough wealth in the world to provide everyone with a fair chance in life. This means working taps and toilets that don’t spread cholera and deadly disease; clinics with nurses, doctors, equipment and drugs; classrooms with teachers and supplies; a pension at the end of a hard-working life.”
 
 
ENDS
 
CONTACT: Spokespeople are available for interview. For more, please contact: Alice Dawson-Lyons at alice.dawsonlyons@oxfam.org or +353 (0) 83 198 1869
 
Notes to the editor: 
• The report, methodology document explaining how Oxfam calculated the figures, and the data set is available on request.
• Oxfam’s calculations are based on global wealth distribution data provided by the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Data book published in November 2018, which relate to the period June 2017-June 2018. The wealth of billionaires was calculated using the annual Forbes Billionaires list last published in March 2018. See the methodology for more details.
• Every year, Oxfam’s calculations about how many people own the same wealth as half the world are based on data available at the time. Credit Suisse has improved and expanded its data set, which means we can recalculate our figures for previous years. We can now calculate that last year 43 people owned the same as half the world. This year it’s 26. The year before last it was 61. 
• The World Bank report Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018 found that global poverty declined on average 1 percentage point per year between 1990 and 2015, but only 0.6 percentage points per year between 2013 to 2015, and may be further slowing.
• The UN estimates that tax avoidance by businesses costs developing countries $100bn a year.
Economist Gabriel Zucman estimates that the world’s poorest regions – Africa, Asia and Latin America – lose $70bn in annual revenue due to wealthy individuals’ use of tax havens.
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