Search

Begin New Search Topic Poverty Publishing Institution Oxfam Publishing

51. Minding the Money: Governance of climate change adaptation finance in Nepal

Author:
Katie Wiseman and Raju Pandit Chhetri
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate change is an urgent concern in Nepal. In recent years, the country has faced more than its fair share of extreme weather patterns. Increases in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall, drier winters and delays in summer monsoons have become quite common and are expected to get worse. In fact, a recent Climate Change Vulnerability Index, calculating susceptibility to impacts of climate change over the next 30 years, places Nepal 4th out of 170 countries. This report examines the national situation of climate change adaptation policy and programming, highlighting key areas of progress, weakness and challenges. The report notes that current initiatives have yet to deliver benefit to the marginalized and vulnerable communities in the country - the very groups that need it most. Based on the findings, the report presents a set of recommendations for the Government, donor community and civil society.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Environment, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Asia and Nepal

52. Ready or Not: Pakistan's resilience to disasters one year on from the floods

Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The floods that hit Pakistan in 2010 were the worst in the country's history. The humanitarian response achieved remarkable successes in minimising the immediate loss of life and providing relief to millions of people. However, it could have been better: more than 800,000 families remain without permanent shelter and more than a million people remain in need of food assistance. These unmet needs must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Topic:
Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia

53. Ethiopia's Sesame Sector: The contribution of different farming models to poverty alleviation, climate resilience and women's empowerment

Author:
Genia Kostka and Jenny Scharrer
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The key findings of this report are that sesame is a suitable crop for poverty alleviation for smallholders in Benishangul Gumuz and that the smallholder model is competitive versus the large-scale investor model in terms of productivity. Farmers can achieve high profits without significant up-front investments. With minimal expenditure for sesame seeds and some simple equipment for ploughing, weeding and harvesting, farmers can cultivate sesame on a family labor basis. Potential income is higher in the smallholder model than from either communal land management, or from the salaries from large-scale investors (see Figure 1) However, this potential is mirrored by the highest risk for farmers to receive the lowest income. Smallholders can mitigate this risk as well as increase their income further through membership of primary production co-operatives that offer higher sales prices and paid-out dividends.
Topic:
Agriculture, Gender Issues, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
Ethiopia

54. Community Assets First: The implications of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach for the Coalition agenda

Author:
Niall Cooper, Lucy Brill, Moussa Haddad, Rachel Newton, and Jenni Viitanen
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) is an analytical model that seeks to build on the existing assets and strategies that people living in poverty use to support themselves, and then to identify what needs to change in order for their livelihoods to become more secure and sustainable.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Political Economy, Poverty, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

55. The 'Right' Results: Making sure the results agenda remains committed to poverty reduction

Author:
Tariq Ahmad
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Donor governments are prioritizing aid 'results' in advance of the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HFL4) in Busan, Korea, due to take place at the end of 2011. But there is a real risk that their efforts will lead to a poorly designed results policy that could undo years of work to make aid more useful for fighting poverty.
Topic:
Development, Government, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Korea

56. Progressive Taxation: Towards fair tax policies

Author:
Deborah Itriago
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report focuses on tax policy in developing countries: who pays tax, what taxes are paid, and how. Tax policy can have a huge impact on inequality and poverty reduction, either positively or negatively, depending on what tax policies a country decides to implement. Taxation is also often at the heart of the social contract between citizens and their government, and progressive taxation is central to creating strong, democratic, and effective states.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, Poverty, Social Stratification, and Health Care Policy

57. Land and Power: The growing scandal surrounding the new wave of investments in land

Author:
Bertram Zagema
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
International investment plays a vital role in development and poverty reduction. Investment can improve livelihoods and bring jobs, services, and infrastructure, when it is managed responsibly within the context of an effective regulatory framework. Oxfam sees this every day in its work and, in some cases, is working collaboratively with businesses to promote investments that directly benefit poor communities. The recent record of investment in land is very different. It tells a story of rapidly increasing pressure on land – a natural resource upon which the food security of millions of people living in poverty depends. Too many investments have resulted in dispossession, deception, violation of human rights, and destruction of livelihoods. Without national and international measures to defend the rights of people living in poverty, this modern-day land-rush looks set to leave too many poor families worse off, often evicted from their land with little or no recourse to justice.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
Western Europe

58. Yemen: Fragile lives in hungry times

Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The promise of what came to be known as the Arab Spring, which dawned in North Africa, sweeping into the Arabian Gulf and up through the Middle East, has foundered in Yemen. Political turmoil has taken hold and reform has stalled, sparking renewed insecurity, devastating an already frail economy, and triggering a national fuel crisis that has in turn driven rising levels of hunger. Levels of child malnutrition in some regions are among the worst in the world. While billions of dollars have been donated to Tunisia, Libya, and to a lesser extent Egypt to rebuild their economies, Yemenis are facing chronic hunger and have few resources at their disposal. While the eyes of the world are on other countries experiencing major upheaval, Yemen must not be forgotten. Leaving the country to simmer and collapse in slow motion will lead to far greater humanitarian and security concerns.
Topic:
Poverty, Food, and Famine
Political Geography:
Middle East, Norway, Yemen, Arabia, United Nations, and Egypt

59. Medicine regulation – not IP enforcement – can best deliver quality medicines

Author:
Jennifer Brant
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Access to medicines at affordable prices is critical to the enjoyment of the human right to health. Lower prices require the implementation of pro-access policies that include the promotion of generic competition. However, medicines cannot be selected on the basis of price alone. To ensure that only safe, effective, and quality products are on the market, effective regulation is necessary.
Topic:
Development, Health, Poverty, and Third World
Political Geography:
Europe

60. Exploring BME Maternal Poverty: The financial lives of ethnic minority mothers in Tyne and Wear

Author:
Chris Warburton Brown
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report has grown out of Oxfam's commitment to tackling the poverty of black and minority ethnic (BME) women in the UK. It aims to improve our understanding of BME mothers' experiences of poverty, to address the way in which the poverty of BME mothers is hidden from conventional data collection, to raise awareness amongst policy-makers and practitioners of the material circumstances of low-income BME mothers, and to improve the ways in which poor BME women are supported to secure greater assets and resources.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe