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51. Aid for Agriculture: Promises and the Reality on the Ground

Author:
Jean-Denis Crola
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Between June 2008 and July 2009, over 40 billion dollars were pledged by the main donor countries to provide emergency response to the food crisis and to sustainably invest in agriculture in developing countries. In addition, the donor and beneficiary countries, the United Nations, the World Bank and other actors called for better coordination of interventions on the ground, as well as increased investment in national strategies and policies. These two elements were identified as essential points for action in the joint statement on food security made at L'Aquila, during the last G8 summit.
Topic:
Agriculture, Humanitarian Aid, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United Nations

52. After the cyclone: lessons from a disaster

Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Late in the evening of 15 November 2007, Cyclone Sidr struck Mahmouda's home and thousands of other villages across Bangladesh's southern coastal areas, leaving around 4000 people dead and millions homeless. The initial response to the disaster was prompt and vigorous, but three months after the disaster the affected communities' needs – particularly in terms of housing and livelihoods – remain staggering.
Topic:
Development and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
Bangladesh

53. The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion

Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The situation for 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967. The current situation in Gaza is man-made, completely avoidable and, with the necessary political will, can also be reversed.
Topic:
Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

54. Falling short: Aid effectiveness in Afghanistan

Author:
Matt Waldman
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Increasing insecurity and criminality is jeopardising progress in Afghanistan. With low government revenues, international assistance constitutes around 90% of all public expenditure in the country, thus how it is spent has an enormous impact on the lives of almost all Afghans and will determine the success of reconstruction and development. Given the links between development and security, the effectiveness of aid also has a major impact on peace and stability in the country. Yet thus far aid has been insufficient and in many cases wasteful or ineffective. There is therefore no time to lose: donors must take urgent steps to increase and improve their assistance to Afghanistan.
Topic:
Security and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Asia

55. Rethinking Food Security in Humanitarian Response

Author:
Daniel Maxwell, Patrick Webb, Jennifer Coates, and James Wirth
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This paper serves as a background document to help frame discussion at the Food Security Forum in Rome, April 2008. It focuses on policy and institutional reform issues centered on the links between chronic and transitory crises. The first part of the paper provides an overview of trends and future challenges. The second considers effectiveness of the “humanitarian system” in addressing food insecurity and whether the current institutional set-up is fit for service. The third part examines links between “chronic” and “transitory” food insecurity, and whether current approaches to prevention and response appropriately bridge these two forms of vulnerability. A concluding section highlights key issues, raising questions on gaps in the humanitarian system's analytical capacity, its programmatic practices, and on food security policy more broadly.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Humanitarian Aid, and International Cooperation

56. The Time is Now: How world leaders should respond to the food price crisis

Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Global food prices are up 83 per cent compared with three years ago. The resulting food price crisis constitutes an unprecedented threat to the livelihoods and well-being of millions of rural and urban households who are net food buyers. Around the world, Oxfam International and many of its partners have seen soaring prices force people to eat less food or less nutritious food and drive poor households to cut back on health care, education, and other necessities. Women and children's nutritional levels are particularly vulnerable, as women often put men's consumption before their own.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, and International Trade and Finance

57. Out of Site: Building better responses to displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by helping host families

Author:
Katherine Haver
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Despite new peace agreements, continued conflict among and between armed militias and government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last year has seen thousands of new internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the east of the country, many of whom have poured into camps seeking shelter and safety. This is a new development in DRC. Unlike Darfur and Uganda, IDPs in DRC have usually stayed with host families, returning intermittently to their homes, rather than fleeing to refugee-like camps. Around 70 per cent of DRC's IDPs are still living with host families, but the unprecedented upsurge in the number of those heading towards camps raises difficult questions. Have humanitarian organisations done enough to help IDPs in host families, and the host families themselves? If they have not, have they in fact encouraged the drive to the camps? Most importantly, how can IDPs with host families (as well as those in camps) be adequately assisted?
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Aid, and Migration
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Darfur, and Democratic Republic of the Congo

58. Double-Edged Prices: Lessons from the food price crisis

Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The recent sharp increase in food prices should have benefited millions of poor people who make their living from agriculture. However, decades of misguided policies by developing country governments on agriculture, trade, and domestic markets - often promoted by international financial institutions and supported by donor countries - have prevented poor farmers and rural workers from reaping the benefits of higher commodity prices. As a result, the crisis is hurting poor producers and consumers alike, threatening to reverse recent progress on poverty reduction in many countries. To help farmers get out of poverty while protecting poor consumers, developing country governments, with the support of donors, should invest now into smallholder agriculture and social protection.
Topic:
International Relations, Humanitarian Aid, Non-Governmental Organization, and Poverty

59. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund one year on

Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Every year millions of people are affected by natural disasters and conflict. In 2006 alone, an estimated 46 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. Yet, despite continuing reform of the global humanitarian system and increases in humanitarian funding, for many people the help they received was too little, too late, resulting in increased poverty, suffering and death.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Non-Governmental Organization, and United Nations

60. Poverty in Palestine: the human cost of the financial boycott

Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In April 2006, key donors including the US A, EU, and Canada suspended international aid to the Palestinian Authority government (PA), following the overwhelming victory of Hamas in parliamentary elections. The Government of Israel had previously suspended the transfer of the tax and customs revenues it collects on behalf of the PA.
Topic:
Government and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine