Content Type: Policy Brief / Publishing Institution: Oxfam Publishing

201. Out of the Bunker: Time for a fair deal on shipping emissions

Author:: Tim Gore and Mark Lutes
Publication Date:: 09-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: International shipping is a major – and rapidly growing – source of greenhouse gas emissions. Agreement to apply a carbon price to shipping can both reduce emissions and raise funds for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. This paper shows that doing so is possible while ensuring developing countries face no net costs. COP17 in Durban, South Africa at the end of 2011 provides an opportunity to agree the key principles of such a deal.
Topic:: Climate Change and Energy Policy
Political Geography:: Africa

202. Power to the People? Reactions to the EU's response to the Arab Spring

Author:: Jamie Balfour-Paul
Publication Date:: 11-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The EU has a long history of co-operation with the Arab region. Its economic and security interests in the region are considerable. In line with the European Consensus on Development, respect for human rights and democracy have been explicit values within EU development policies. Past EU co-operation in the region, especially in health and education, has achieved successes and enabled people to claim certain rights.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Human Rights, Regime Change, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, and Arabia

203. My Land, My Right: Putting land rights at the heart of the Pakistan floods reconstruction

Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In the aftermath of the 2010–11 floods, the path to recovery and reconstruction in Pakistan will be long and full of challenges. However, there is also an opportunity to tackle crucial structural issues such as crippling inequalities in people's rights and access to land. A failure to do so would not only condemn millions of Pakistanis to continued and deepening poverty, it would also undermine the scope and sustainability of the country's recovery from this disaster and its ability to cope with the next.
Topic:: Agriculture, Political Economy, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

204. Averting Tomorrow's Global Food Crisis: The European Union's role in delivering food justice in a resource-constrained world

Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Why, in a world that produces more than enough food to feed everybody, do so many – one in seven – go hungry? Oxfam's new global campaign, GROW, seeks answers to this question. GROW aims to transform the way we grow, share, and live together. GROW will expose the failing governments and powerful business interests that are propping up a broken food system and sleepwalking the world into an unprecedented and avoidable reversal in human development.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Food
Political Geography:: Europe

205. No Time to Lose: Promoting the Accountability of the Afghan National Security Forces

Author:: Rebecca Barber
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: By the end of 2014, the Afghan national army and police – under the authority of the Ministries of Defence and Interior, respectively – are expected to assume full responsibility for the protection of Afghan civilians. But, as international military actors prepare for withdrawal, there are serious concerns regarding the professionalism and accountability of the security forces they will leave behind..
Topic:: Security and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:: Afghanistan

206. Getting it Right from the Start: Priorities for Action in the New Republic of South Sudan

Publication Date:: 09-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Amidst jubilant celebration in July 2011, the new Republic of South Sudan entered the international stage albeit as one of the least developed countries in the world. One in eight children die before their fifth birthday, the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world and more than half the population lives below the poverty line. Against a backdrop of chronic under-development, the country is acutely vulnerable to recurring conflict and climatic shocks. More than 220,000 people were displaced last year due to conflict and more than 100,000 were affected by floods; and already this year, fighting in the disputed border areas, clashes between the Sudan People‟s Liberation Army (SPLA) and militia groups, disputes over land and cattle, and attacks by the Lord‟s Resistance Army, have forced nearly 300,000 people from their homes. The situation is exacerbated by a continuing influx of returnees, restricted movement across the northern border, high fuel prices and regional shortages in food stocks. South Sudan is a context that challenges normal development paradigms and fits awkwardly in the humanitarian relief–recovery–post-conflict development continuum. This complexity has not always been reflected in the strategies of either donors or implementing agencies.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Civil War, Ethnic Conflict, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Africa and South Sudan

207. 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

208. Six months into the floods: Resetting Pakistan's priorities through reconstruction

Author:: Shaheen Chughtai and Helen McElhinney
Publication Date:: 01-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Six months after the flood disaster began, this briefing paper evaluates the humanitarian response so far, the continuing crisis, and the challenges that lie ahead. It looks at the immediate reconstruction task, as well as the underlying socio-economic and political issues that need to be tackled by the Government of Pakistan, backed by the international aid community, in order to help vulnerable Pakistanis rebuild stronger, safer communities and a more equitable and self-reliant country.
Topic:: Development, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, and Asia

209. From Relief to Recovery: Supporting good governance in post-earthquake Haiti

Publication Date:: 01-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 had a devastating impact on the already vulnerable island nation, leaving more than 200,000 people dead and over one million homeless. In October 2010, Haiti was struck by a second disaster: as of mid December 2010, a cholera outbreak has affected more than 122,000 people, leaving at least 2,600 dead.
Topic:: Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:: United Nations

210. Girls' Education in Afghanistan

Publication Date:: 02-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Female education has faced significant obstacles in Afghanistan, yet there have been enormous gains since 2001. Under the Taliban, the majority of girls‟ schools were closed and gross enrollment fell from 32% to just 6.4%.In the early years after the fall of the Taliban, education was a top priority for the Afghan government and donors. Much of this donor focus was on getting children back into school, with a particular emphasis on primary level. The Back to School campaign, launched in 2002, significantly ex-panded enrollment, which has increased nearly seven-fold, from approxi-mately 900,000 in 2000 to 6.7 million in 2009.For girls, the increase has been even more dramatic: official enrollment figures have increased from an estimated 5,000 under the Taliban to 2.4 million girls currently enrolled.
Topic:: Education, Gender Issues, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Taliban

211. Including Ethnic Minority Women in Policy Making

Publication Date:: 03-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Oxfam knows that ethnic minority women's organisations are proud, persistent, and passionate. Activists, members of management committees, staff, and volunteers bring a range of commitment, knowledge, and skills. They know their community and the women they work with, and the issues particular to both. This knowledge is vital to their organisations' success. And, using it, they achieve results.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Poverty, and Political Activism

212. The dangers of militarized aid in Afghanistan

Author:: Ashley Jackson
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Every half hour, an average of one Afghan woman dies from pregnancy-related complications, another dies of tuberculosis and 14 children die, largely from preventable causes. Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, the humanitarian and development needs in Afghanistan remain acute.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, War, Armed Struggle, and Insurgency
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Asia, and Taliban

213. Reconstructing Haiti

Author:: Aimee Ansari
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: All actors should ensure that the people of Haiti have a central role in the process of reconstruction and that reconstruction is equitable. Those delivering assistance on the ground should immediately work to coordinate within the UN established system and with the Haitian government The UN and the US government are trying to ensure that there is adequate fuel to support the relief effort. Fuel supply will remain a concern for humanitarian agencies in the near term. In consultation with NGOs, the UN should establish a system to determine who receives fuel, for what purposes and in what priority. The Haitian government, UN and international military actors must work together to improve the security situation, pre-empting a potential deterioration of the situation, with increased patrols, transparency in operations and clear conjoined rules of engagement and chain of command. Protection, particularly for women and children, should be mainstreamed into the design of all programmes, including any camps for affected people or expansion of patrols, in consultation with affected people and local civil society. The government, UN, donors and other actors must ensure that efforts to restore and improve public services, infrastructure and economic activity prioritise poorer communities. In a socially divided society such as Haiti, there is a real danger that the better off and politically influential will secure their needs first. It is not too early to lay a new foundation for Haiti's reconstruction and development with complete debt forgiveness, aid in the form of grants not loans and a “pro-poor” approach that prioritises livelihoods and sustainable development led by Haitians from the start.
Topic:: Corruption, Development, and Disaster Relief
Political Geography:: United States and United Nations

214. Bridging the Digital Gender Divide in Africa

Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: African Heads of States and Governments gather in Addis Ababa for the 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union at a time when the continent faces a huge digital divide. African women are disproportionately affected by this divide.
Topic:: Gender Issues and Science and Technology
Political Geography:: Africa

215. Rescuing Education for All: How reform of the Fast Track Initiative should lead to a Global Fund for Education

Author:: Katie Malouf Bous
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The first decade of our new millennium was poised to go down in history as a hopeful turning point for the world's children. Remarkable progress was being forged across the developing world, spurred by a new global commitment to the Education For All (EFA) goals. These goals were answered by substantial increases in aid during the first half of the decade, extensive debt relief, and a growing political commitment to education in developing countries. The EFA Fast Track Initiative was also establ ished in 2002 as a global partnership to support national efforts to reach universal primary education.
Topic:: Development, Education, Globalization, and Financial Crisis

216. Better Jobs in Better Supply Chains

Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This paper is intended for senior managers in all companies that source goods from developing countries. Examples are drawn mainly from the garment and agriculture industries but the learning is transferable to other industries, including electronics, construction, and services.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Poverty, and Labor Issues

217. Haiti: A Once-in-a-Century Chance for Change

Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: No disaster is completely natural. The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 was no exception. Haiti's extreme levels of poverty and inequality exacerbated the devastation and determined who was vulnerable.
Topic:: Development, Poverty, Foreign Aid, and Reconstruction
Political Geography:: Caribbean and Haiti

218. 21st century aid: Recognising success and tackling failure

Author:: Jasmine Burnley
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In Mozambique, the government has a national plan to tackle poverty and inequality, but it cannot finance this plan from national resources alone. Despite this, Mozambique – just 20 years ago the poorest country in the world – has increased its spending on health care by over half, and in the past decade the number of children who die before their fifth birthday has come down by almost 20 percent.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:: Georgia

219. Something for nothing: Challenging negative attitudes to people living in poverty

Author:: Clare Cochrane
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: People living in poverty in the UK make a vital contribution to the economy and society through unpaid caring and community work. But public attitudes prevail that people on low incomes – and particularly those on benefits – are 'scroungers' who are to blame for their own poverty. These attitudes are exacerbated by a widespread assumption that opportunities to earn a reasonable income are readily available.
Topic:: Poverty, Social Stratification, and Public Opinion
Political Geography:: United Kingdom

220. Think big. Go small. Adapting business models to incorporate smallholders into supply chains

Author:: David Bright, Don Seville, and Lea BorkenHagen
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Incorporating smallholders into the supply chain allows a company to tell consumers how their purchasing choices can improve the lives of men and women farmers. Companies that incorporate smallholders equitably into their supply chains – and communicate their action through their brands – can capture new customers and gain greater loyalty from existing ones.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Third World, and Food
Political Geography:: United Kingdom

221. Promises, Promises: A briefing paper for the Kabul Conference on Afghanistan

Author:: Ashley Jackson
Publication Date:: 07-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The Kabul Conference marks the ninth international conference on Afghanistan in nearly as many years. The conference aims to present a new set of development programs and shore up international support for civilian efforts. It will also follow up on commitments made on anticorruption and reconciliation during the London Conference in January 2010. Yet much of the hope and optimism that marked the earlier conferences such as the Bonn Conference in 2001, which set out the parameters for the interim government, and the Paris Conference in 2006, which outlined a strategy for reconstruction and development, is now gone.
Topic:: Security, Development, War, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Asia

222. Women and Children First: On the frontline of war in the Kivus

Publication Date:: 06-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2009, the government of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with international backing, launched military offensives against the FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda) and other militias in eastern DRC, with devastating humanitarian consequences: an estimated 900,000 people displaced and over 1,400 documented civilian deaths attributed to militia and government forces. In 2010 a new offensive, Amani Leo ('peace today'), continues efforts to disarm the militias, with some additional safeguards for civilian safety linked to UN peacekeeping support for the operations. However, while some areas have become safer as a result, ongoing population displacement (over 164,000 January- April 2010) and protection cluster monitoring of human rights violations (up 246% January-February in South Kivu after the launch of Amani Leo) are indications of continuing fallout for civilians. A survey conducted by Oxfam and partners in North and South Kivu in April 2010 enquired into the experiences of people in areas affected by the military operations. It found that, for 60% of respondents this year, things are worse than in 2009.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Gender Issues, Genocide, and War
Political Geography:: Asia and Democratic Republic of the Congo

223. Aid to Haiti, 6 months on: A long way to go

Publication Date:: 07-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The outpouring of global public support in response to the earthquake enabled Oxfam and other agencies to get aid through to the Haitian people and make a real difference. However, recovery in Haiti is one of the most complex humanitarian and development challenges in modern times. There are no short-term solutions for Haiti.
Topic:: Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:: United Nations

224. How reform of the Fast Track Initiative should lead to a Global Fund for Education

Author:: Katie Malouf Bous
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Remarkable progress has been made in the last ten years toward achieving the education-related Millennium Development Goals. Many more girls are in school and enrolment rates are on the rise, due to higher-quality aid and to political commitment in developing countries. However, these achievements could be derailed by the global economic crisis, newly falling aid levels, and educational challenges. With 72 million children still out of school, the world's poorest countries urgently need a global financing initiative that can deliver the resources to scale up to Education For All.
Topic:: Development, Education, and Gender Issues
Political Geography:: Africa

225. Rescuing the Peace in Southern Sudan

Author:: Maya Mailer and Lydia Poole
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The next 12 months will be critical for the future of Sudan. As the country marks the fifth anniversary of the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a devastating civil war, southern Sudan has seen a major upsurge in violence. In 2009, some 2,500 people were killed and 350,000 fled their homes. With landmark elections and a referendum on the horizon, the peace deal is fragile and the violence likely to escalate even further unless there is urgent international engagement.
Topic:: Political Violence, Civil War, Ethnic Conflict, Peace Studies, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: Sudan and Arabia

226. Climate Finance Post-Copenhagen: The $100bn questions

Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Climate change is the single greatest threat to development – making the battle to overcome poverty ever harder and more expensive. Finance is urgently needed to help vulnerable communities adapt to a changing climate. Last year the World Bank estimated the costs of adaptation in poor countries were $75–100bn per year if global warming was kept to 2°C. The non-binding pledges from rich countries to cut emissions offered since Copenhagen would steer a course towards a catastrophic 4°C.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: United Nations

227. Halving Hunger: Still Possible? Building a rescue package to set the MDGs back on track

Publication Date:: 09-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Ten years after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by world leaders became the greatest-ever commitment for a 'more peaceful, prosperous and just future', progress is slow and many hard-won achievements have been undone after the global food, fuel and economic crises. Unless an urgent rescue package is developed to accelerate fulfillment of all the MDGs, we are likely to witness the greatest collective failure in history.
Topic:: Development, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Poverty
Political Geography:: United Nations

228. The Making of a Seoul Development: Consensus The essential development agenda for the G20

Author:: Jasmine Burnley and Elizabeth Stuart
Publication Date:: 10-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: When the G20 meets in Seoul in November 2010, it has a big choice to make. It can either retreat into a narrow focus on its own interests, or it can prove it is capable of genuine global leadership in the face of the interlinked economic, food, and climate change crises. The G20 must adopt a Seoul 'development consensus' that confronts the challenges of the 21st century: reducing inequality and tackling global poverty through sustainable, equitable growth that gives poor women and men, and their governments, the tools they need to overcome poverty.
Topic:: Development, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:: Israel, Asia, and South Korea

229. Righting Two Wrongs: Making a new Global Climate Fund work for poor people

Author:: Tracy Carty
Publication Date:: 10-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Climate-related shocks are negatively affecting the lives of millions of poor women and men with increasing frequency and severity. The non- binding pledges made in Copenhagen put the world on track for a catastrophic temperature rise of 3-4°C. If developed countries fail to set much more ambitious emissions targets, the cost of damages will increase dramatically. There is an urgent need to set up a proper system of finance for adaptation to help developing countries avoid the worst impacts.
Topic:: Civil Society, Climate Change, and Development

230. Agricultural challenges and opportunities for Haiti's reconstruction

Author:: Marc Cohen
Publication Date:: 10-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The massive earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 devastated rural areas as well as urban, destroying crops, farm buildings, equipment, and infrastructure. Indirect effects touched almost every corner of the nation, as 600,000 people migrated to the countryside, increasing pressure on already stretched food and fuel resources. Internal displacement worsened food insecurity, which affected six out of ten people even before the disaster.
Topic:: Development, Disaster Relief, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:: Caribbean

231. Hunger in the Sahel: A permanent emergency? Ensuring the next drought will not cause another humanitarian crisis

Publication Date:: 12-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2010, more than 10 million people, mainly women and children, were victims of the food crisis in the Sahel. Nearly 500,000 severely malnourished children were taken into care between January and November 2010 in Niger, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso. Most livestock in the Sahel was decimated. The images and the stories of hunger harked back to the food crisis of 2005 and the famines in 1973-1974 and 1984-1985.
Topic:: Agriculture, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Food
Political Geography:: Africa

232. Ghosts of Christmas Past: Protecting civilians from the LRA

Author:: Ellie Kemp and Verity Johnson
Publication Date:: 12-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: On Christmas Eve 2008 and over the following three weeks, 865 women, men and children were savagely beaten to death and hundreds more abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in a remote corner in the north-east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in southern Sudan. The attack was a murderous backlash in response to Operation “Lightning Thunder”, a military offensive launched some 10 days before against the LRA by Uganda, DRC and southern Sudan. Less than a year later, between 14 and 17 December 2009, LRA commanders oversaw the killing of more than 300 people, again shattering communities in a remote corner of northern DRC.
Topic:: Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:: Uganda, Africa, and Sudan

233. Engaging with Communities: The next challenge for peacekeeping

Author:: Clea Kahn
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The protection of civilians from the worst ravages of war is a dilemma that international bodies have sought to address for decades. However, despite lessons learned from the atrocities of Rwanda and Srebrenica, among others, civilians are still not only adversely affected by armed conflict; they are too often directly targeted.
Topic:: Humanitarian Aid, Intelligence, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:: Sudan

234. Band Aids and Beyond: Tackling disasters in Ethiopia 25 years after the famine

Author:: Nick Martlew
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 1984, one million Ethiopians died during a catastrophic famine. The government at the time hid the scale of hunger until a shocking BBC television report ignited a massive relief effort, supported by the Band Aid movement. Though this was too late for too many, thousands of lives were saved.
Topic:: Foreign Aid, Food, and Famine
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

235. Trading Away Access to Medicines: How the European Union's trade agenda has taken a wrong turn

Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Access to medicines poses a critical challenge in developing countries, largely because prices are high, and new or adapted medicines and vaccines to address diseases of the developing world are lacking. More than 5 million people in low and middle income countries still lack access to the anti-retroviral medicines needed to treat HIV and AIDS. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have unleashed a new epidemic of suffering across the developing world. Pandemics are a serious threat in rich and poor countries alike, but while rich countries can stockpile medicines, these are often unaffordable for poor countries. Most people in developing countries pay for medicines out-of-pocket, so even a slight price increase can mean that life-saving medicines are unaffordable.
Topic:: Development, Health, and Third World
Political Geography:: Europe

236. Civil Society and UNITAID: An introduction

Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: An international financing mechanism, intervening for market impact to scale up access to treatment of HIV and AIDS, TB, and malaria in developing countries.
Topic:: Development, Health, and Poverty

237. What Happened to the Seasons? Changing seasonality may be one of the major impacts of climate change

Author:: Steve Jennings and John Magrath
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The timing of rain, and intra-seasonal rainfall patterns are critical to smallholder farmers in developing countries. Seasonality influences farmers' decisions about when to cultivate and sow and harvest. It ultimately contributes to the success or failure of their crops. Worryingly, therefore, farmers are reporting that both the timing of rainy seasons and the pattern of rains within seasons are changing. These perceptions of change are striking in that they are geographically widespread and because the changes are described in remarkably consistent terms. In this paper, we relate the perceptions of farmers from several regions(East Asia, South Asia, Southern and East Africa, and Latin America) of how seasons are changing, and in some cases, how once distinct seasons appear to be disappearing altogether, and the impacts that these changes are having. We then go on to ask two critical questions. Firstly, do meteorological observations support farmers' perceptions of changing seasonality? Secondly, to what extent are these changes consistent with predictions from climate models? We conclude that changing seasonality may be one of the major impacts of climate change faced by smallholder farmers in developing countries over the next few decades. Indeed, this may already be the case. Yet it is relatively unexplored in the literature. We also suggest some of the key adaptation responses that might help farmers cope with these changes.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:: Africa, East Asia, and Latin America

238. Dying for Action: Decision time for an urgent, effective Arms Trade Treaty

Author:: Edmund Cairns
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2006 the United Nations voted to start work towards an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This was recognition by a majority of nations that the current patchwork of laws, regional agreements, and embargoes is ineffective, and insufficient to limit the catastrophic effects of easily available weaponry.
Topic:: Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, United Nations, and War

239. Missing pieces? Assessing the impact of humanitarian reform in Pakistan

Author:: Nicki Bennett
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In May 2009, Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became the site of the world's biggest and fastest human displacement in over a decade – and the largest internal displacement ever witnessed in Pakistan's history. Within the space of only a few weeks, an estimated three million Pakistanis fled their homes to escape their army's military offensive against armed insurgents.
Topic:: Human Welfare and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

240. Harnessing Agriculture for Development

Author:: Arabella Fraser
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Harnessing Agriculture for Development is the result of a process of research and consultation conducted within Oxfam International from the end of 2007 to mid 2008, before the full impact of the current financial crisis was felt across the developing world. It is being published at a time when we face a particularly uncertain and unstable future, with heightened perceptions of risk, but when we also have a unique opportunity to generate the kinds of policy change required to achieve a new global balance.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, and Food

241. Climate change: time to get down to business

Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Climate change affects poor people first and worst. It is a major obstacle to development and poverty alleviation, as well as a serious threat to business supply chains and markets in developing countries.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, and Poverty

242. Beyond Aid: Ensuring adaptation to climate change works for the poor

Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2000, at the UN Millennium Summit, the international community agreed a historic set of goals aimed at freeing a significant proportion of the world's population from poverty, disease, hunger, and illiteracy. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) marked a turning point for international development and brought rich and poor countries together in a shared endeavour to end poverty and suffering.
Topic:: Climate Change, International Organization, Poverty, and United Nations

243. Your Money or your Life? Will leaders act now to save lives and make health care free in poor countries?

Author:: Anna Marriott
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: User fees for health care are a life or death issue for millions of people in poor countries. Too poor to pay, women and children are paying with their lives. For those who do pay, over 100 million are pushed into poverty each year. This month will witness a global opportunity for world leaders to really make a difference to poor people by backing the expansion of free health care in a number of countries. The opportunity marks a true test of leaders' commitment to save lives and accelerate progress towards health care for all in our lifetime. The question is, will they pass it?
Topic:: Development, Health, and Poverty

244. Money for Nothing: Three ways the G20 could deliver up to $280 billion for poor countries

Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This weekend the finance ministers of the G20 nations will meet in London. Whilst the rich world feels that the worst of the economic crisis may be behind it, the poorest countries are being hit hardest, with those living on the margins of the global economy paying for the bankers' folly with their lives.
Topic:: Development, Education, Health, Poverty, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: United States and London

245. Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal

Publication Date:: 08-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In February and March 2009, Oxfam conducted interviews in rural communities in three ecological zones (Terai, Hills and Mountains) and in the Mid and Far Western Development Regions to capture a snapshot of how climate change is already affecting people living in poverty. The results were remarkably consistent with regional climate change projections, and deeply worrying.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Poverty

246. From Closed Books to Open Doors: West Africa's literacy challenge

Publication Date:: 08-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2009, the world is faced with a dire economic situation. No one hesitates to call this situation a crisis, most governments have rushed to prioritise it, and, in response, wealthy countries have pledged $8.4 trillion in bank bailouts.
Topic:: Education and United Nations
Political Geography:: Africa and United States

247. How best to protect workers employed by gangmasters, five years after Morecambe Bay

Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2008, Oxfam commissioned the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, based at Hull University, to conduct an independent evaluation of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA). The research team found that the GLA and its licensing regime were considered effective by many labour providers, unions, retailers and representatives of vulnerable workers, for its significant work in improving labour rights standards for workers and creating a more level playing field for employers. However, a significant number of unlicensed gangmasters continue to operate, and exploitation, though reduced, is still reported. Workers' fear of the consequences of blowing the whistle – loss of job, loss of accommodation, violence, and deportation – fundamentally thwarts intelligence-led enforcement. There are clear indications that some gangmasters have switched their operations to sectors beyond the remit of the GLA in which enforcement is scarce. Exploitation is endemic in the sectors of construction, hospitality, and care.
Topic:: Corruption, Crime, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis

248. Waking the Devil: The impact of forced disarmament on civilians in the Kivus

Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The military operations launched against the FDLR since early 2009 have been presented as a bid for the unity (Umoja Wetu) and peace (Kimia II) that have so long eluded eastern DRC. In that light they have received considerable international acclaim and support, particularly through the UN peacekeeping force, MONUC. Warnings of potentially devastating consequences for civilian protection over recent months have repeatedly met with the response that this is 'the price to pay for peace'. In May 2009, Oxfam and a number of its partners interviewed residents in some of the areas of North and South Kivu where that price is being exacted.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:: United States

249. Empty Promises: What happened to 'development' in the WTO's Doha Round?

Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Multilateralism is central to the global effort to overcome poverty and inequality. All countries stand to benefit from the stability and confidence that a rules-based global trade system can provide. Developing countries stand to benefit most, as they lack the economic and political power to pursue their demands outside such a system.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Third World

250. Who Cares?: How best to protect UK care workers employed through agencies and gangmasters from exploitation

Author:: Krisnah Poinasamy
Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: There are an estimated 1.5 million workers in the adult social care workforce in the UK, working in residential care homes or providing care to people in their own homes. And with an ageing population the number of care workers is set to rise in the next two decades.
Topic:: Labor Issues and Sociology
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

251. Haiti: "A Gathering Storm"

Author:: Anita Swarup
Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: ''The situation was bad before the hurricanes in 2008 – there was a drought - but after them it got worse and more complicated people lost what little they had – houses, crops, livestock – which creates a catastrophe of hunger in this area. We feel ashamed, we have to beg from the state and other international agencies'' Lissage Geneus, a local government official (CASEC) in Baie d'Orange.
Topic:: Climate Change and Poverty
Political Geography:: Caribbean and Haiti

252. Climate Change, Poverty and Environmental Crisis in the Disaster Prone Areas of Pakistan

Author:: Zehar Abbass
Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This study was commissioned by Oxfam GB to review the impact of climate change on Pakistan's rural communities. The findings of the study are remarkably consistent with global, regional national climate change projections, and alarming.
Topic:: Climate Change and Environment
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

253. The Cost of War: Afghan experiences of conflict, 1978-2009

Author:: Ashley Jackson
Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The past three decades of war and disorder have had a devastating impact on the Afghan people. Millions have been killed, millions more have been forced to flee their homes and the country's infrastructure and forests have all but been destroyed. The social fabric of the country is fractured and state institutions are fragile and weak.
Topic:: Human Rights, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan

254. Bridging the Divide: The reform of global food security governance

Author:: Chris Leather
Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Another World Food Summit is being held in Rome to discuss world food security, in the midst of a chronic global food crisis in which one billion (one in six) people go to bed hungry every day of their shortened lives. During the two-and-a-half days of the Summit, more than 60,000 people, 70 per cent of them children, will die of hunger-related causes.
Topic:: Security, Agriculture, Food, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Rome

255. Resilience: Working with vulnerable farmers towards climate change adaptation and food security

Author:: Jules Siedenburg, Kimberly Pfeifer, and Kelly Hauser
Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Worldwide, 1.7 billion small-scale farmers and pastoralists are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. They live on marginal rural lands characterised by conditions such as low rainfall, sloping terrain, fragile soils, and poor market access, primarily in Africa and Asia. Such farmers are vulnerable because their farms depend directly on rainfall and temperature, yet they often have little savings and few alternative options if their crops fail or livestock die.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, and Food
Political Geography:: Africa and Asia

256. Bolivia: Climate change, poverty and adaptation

Publication Date:: 11-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Bolivia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change for six basic reasons: It is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and suffers from one of the worst patterns of inequality. Low-income groups in developing countries are the most exposed to climate change impacts. It is the country in South America with the highest percentage of indigenous people, where much of the poverty and inequality is concentrated. It is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, with a wide variety of ecosystems that are vulnerable to different impacts from climate change. More than half of the country is Amazonian, with high levels of deforestation which adds to the vulnerability to flooding. Located in a climatically volatile region, it is one of the countries in the world most affected by 'natural' disasters in recent years. It is home to about twenty per cent of the world's tropical glaciers, which are retreating more quickly than predicted by many experts.
Topic:: Climate Change and Development
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Bolivia, and Amazon Basin

257. Climate Shame: Get back to the table Initial analysis of the Copenhagen climate talks

Author:: Kate Raworth
Publication Date:: 12-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Copenhagen was a unique opportunity to turn the world's course away from climate disaster, towards a safe future for all of us on this small planet. Massive global public mobilization demanded it. But leaders of the major powers negotiated for their national interests, instead of safeguarding our shared destiny.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Poverty, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: United States

258. Getting Women into Local Strategic Partnerships: Knowing your community, improving public services

Author:: Sue Smith, Antonia Bance, and Louie Fooks
Publication Date:: 12-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This paper, based on two pilot projects conducted by Oxfam with LSPs in Sunderland and Thurrock in 2008-9, looks at how local authorities can increase the representation and participation of women in LSPs, and how needs differ by gender. The evidence from the pilot projects clearly shows that LSPs can, and must, take concrete steps to involve women more effectively in local decision-making – and take their particular needs into consideration in setting targets for services such as transport, unemployment, and housing – in or der to improve their economic and social well-being and tackle the poverty and social exclusion they face. The paper makes a series of recommendations to those involved in LSPs as to how to do this, and gives examples of good practice.
Topic:: Economics and Gender Issues
Political Geography:: Europe

259. Tackling climate change, reducing poverty

Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Despite being a wealthy country, in the UK poverty is an ongoing problem. According to Oxfam GB today 1 in 5 people in the UK don't have enough to live on. There were 2.9 million children and 2.5 million pensioners living in poverty in the UK in 2006/2007. Children go to school hungry, or to bed without enough food. Poor communities are in poorer health and have shorter life expectancy.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and Poverty
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

260. Towards a Sustainable Cocoa Chain: Power and possibilities within the cocoa and chocolate sector

Author:: Jan Cappelle
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The cocoa tree is an important source of income for millions of farming families in equatorial regions. Cocoa originates in the river valleys of the Amazon and the Orinoco in South America. Its discoverers, the Maya people, gave it the name 'cocoa' (or 'God's food'). Cocoa was introduced to Europe in the fifteenth century. Cocoa imports were heavily taxed, and as a result it was consumed as a drink only by the wealthy. Investment from Great Britain and The Netherlands, combined with the launch of the chocolate bar in 1842 by Cadbury, resulted in a greater demand for chocolate. This led to the gradual expansion of cocoa production, spreading to Africa in 1870.
Topic:: Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Britain, Africa, Europe, South America, Netherlands, and Amazon Basin

261. A Billion Hungry People: Governments and aid agencies must rise to the challenge

Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The food price increases of 2007 and 2008 focused attention on a global food crisis that was already affecting more than 850 million people. Even before the 2008 food riots, some 16,000 children were dying every day from hunger-related causes – one every five seconds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that by the end of 2008, rising prices had added 109 million to the ranks of the hungry. Today, about one in six of the world's population goes short of food, almost a billion people.
Topic:: International Relations, Humanitarian Aid, Third World, Foreign Aid, Food, and Famine

262. Blind Optimism: Challenging the myths about private health care in poor countries

Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The stakes could not be higher. Every minute a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth for want of simple medical care; every hour 300 people die of AIDS-related illnesses; and every day 5,000 children are killed by pneumonia. The world is badly off-course to achieve the internationally agreed health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To get back on-course and achieve universal and equitable health care for all requires a massive expansion of health services. To fail in this endeavour will be to abandon hundreds of millions of people to an early death and a life blighted by sickness. The critical question is how can such a massive scale up be achieved?
Topic:: Health, Humanitarian Aid, Third World, and Foreign Aid

263. 4-a-week: Changing food consumption in the UK to benefit people and planet

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Food shopping may seem an innocent, even mundane, chore. But the food we buy every week can have huge impacts on people and environments seemingly worlds away from our regular dash round the shops. The futures of some of the world's poorest people and of the global environment are intimately linked to the contents of our shopping baskets.
Topic:: Environment, Political Economy, and Food
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

264. Caught in the Conflict: Civilians and the international security strategy in Afghanistan

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The intensification and spread of the conflict in Afghanistan is increasingly affecting civilians. In 2008 there were over 2,100 civilian casualties, 55% of which were caused by militants. Despite steps to reduce civilian casualties, international military forces (IMF) caused 552 civilian deaths through airstrikes in 2008, which is up by 72% on 2007. IMF have also carried out or supported raids and search operations, a large number of which have involved an excessive use of force, including loss of life, physical assault, dam age to property and theft, as well as aggressive and improper treatment of women. Such conduct not only generates anger and mistrust towards foreign troops, but is steadily eroding popular support for the international presence in the country. Furthermore, many individuals detained by Afghan and US forces are held for long periods without charge or trial, and there are allegations of mistreatment and torture.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Human Rights, and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

265. What Happened at the G20? Initial Analysis of the London Summit

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: G20 leaders met for the second time in London on 2 April, as the global economic crisis began to crash across the borders of poor countries with ever-greater severity. Oxfam's research shows rising human impacts in the shape of job losses, falling remittances to the families of migrant workers and a particularly severe impact on women workers in global supply chains. Based on the latest forecasts, published on the eve of the summit, Oxfam estimates that the crisis could push 100 million people into poverty in 2009 alone.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, Globalization, International Organization, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:: London

266. Close to Home: UK poverty and the economic downturn

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The major social policy challenge of the current economic recession is how to prevent a precipitous rise in poverty in the UK. In addition to limiting the numbers of people plunged into poverty because of the recession, government must also mitigate the impact on people already living below the poverty line. But, this paper will argue, response s to the recession present an opportunity to make a step-change, ensuring that actions taken also help build a fairer, more sustainable society in which poverty is ended in the long-term.
Topic:: Economics, Globalization, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:: Europe

267. A Business Case for Fighting Poverty

Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Even in hard times, it can make commercial sense for companies to develop markets that include poor people, and business models that address poverty. Businesses that create decent jobs, access to markets or goods and services that benefit low-income groups in emerging economies help to build healthier, wealthier, and more highly skilled communities. Those communities will provide the customers, suppliers, and employees that companies need for sustainable growth.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Markets, Poverty, and Non State Actors

268. Making Pooled Funding Work for People in Crisis

Author:: Tanja Schuemer-Cross
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: International humanitarian aid provides relief to tens of millions of people each year: in 2007 to more than 43 million people through UN humanitarian appeals alone. However, it is also often too little, too late, and unpredictable, or inappropriate to the needs of communities, including specific groups such as women and girls. The UN-led reforms since 2005 to improve humanitarian aid have begun - but only begun - to make a difference to this variable performance.
Topic:: Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Aid

269. Assessing the Alternatives: Financing climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries

Author:: Stephen Spratt
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The global climate is changing, fast. And this is the direct result of human activity. It is broadly accepted that we need to restrict global temperature increases to as far below 2°C as possible if we are to avoid triggering runaway, irreversible and catastrophic climate change. This is very probably the greatest challenge and danger that mankind has ever faced, and evidence is mounting that time is rapidly running out if we wish to “preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted.” (Hansen, et al, 2008).
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, and Third World

270. Sectoral Solutions or Carbon Cartels: Will global industry proposals result in a fair and safe climate deal?

Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Climate change is already affecting the lives of people in the developing world. Increased floods and droughts, rising sea levels, changing patterns of rainfall and falling crop yields are making it harder and harder for poor people to escape poverty. Oxfam is projecting that, on current trends, the average number of people affected by climate-related disasters each year may have risen by over 50 percent by 2015 – to 375 million people – potentially overwhelming the humanitarian system.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Industrial Policy

271. Global Sectoral Industry Approaches to Climate Change: Helping or harming?

Author:: Jonas Meckling
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The World Business Summit on Climate Change provides an example of the leadership role that the global business community has assumed in paving the road to a post-2012 climate regime. Among various proposals from the business lobby for the creation of a policy for concerted action on climate change, the concept of co-operative sectoral approaches has risen to the top of the agenda. The Bali Action Plan of December 2007 put sectoral approaches officially on the negotiating table, with its proposal for 'cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions' as a means to 'enhance implementation of' articles in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC 2007: Art. 1 (b) (iv)).
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Industrial Policy

272. EU Leadership or Losership? Time to beat the impasse on climate talks

Author:: Kirsty Hughes and Sarah Best
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The world, and most of all, its poor people, desperately needs a fair and safe climate deal to be agreed in Copenhagen in December. But currently, negotiations are proceeding at a snail's pace, hamstrung by a yawning deficit of trust between developing and industrialised countries, and crucially lacking a global leader – one that can bridge this divide by leading by example with commitments to cut its own emissions and to finance adaptation and mitigation in the South.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, and Regional Cooperation

273. Rebuilding Gaza: Putting people before politics

Author:: Sara Hamood
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In June 2009 the blockade on the Gaza Strip enters its third year. The intense closure policy, coupled with the government of Israel's recent military operation 'Cast Lead', has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of one and a half million Gazans, pushing them further into poverty and aid dependency. Parties to the conflict and the international community have, to varying degrees, prioritised their own political objectives over people's rights and needs, leaving Gazans sitting on the ruins of their homes. By attempting to isolate Hamas, the government of Israel and key international donor governments and institutions have in fact isolated the people of Gaza, thereby reducing chances of securing a peaceful, just and durable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution and War
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and Arab Countries

274. Hang Together or Separately? How global co-operation is key to a fair and adequate climate deal at Copenhagen

Author:: Antonio Hill, Julie-Anne Richards, and Richard King
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: A fair and adequate global climate regime requires a massive effort across the board to reduce the risks to lives and livelihoods that poor people face first and most. Rich countries must reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions first and fastest, with ambitious targets at home. High levels of rich-country pollution over the last century mean that even ambitious emissions-reductions targets will not be enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. Deep emissions reductions in rich countries are still critical, but climate security will now be won or lost as a result of co-operative efforts in which rich countries finance large-scale reductions in emissions in developing countries. Establishing a Global Mitigation and Finance Mechanism could achieve these reductions while respecting principles of equity, and delivering tangible development gains for poor people. This must be a centre piece of the Copenhagen deal in December 2009. But much greater political attention and support is needed for this vital part of the deal to be developed in time.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Cooperation

275. Health-Care Reform in Georgia: A Civil-Society Perspective

Author:: Tobias Hauschild and Esmé Berkhout
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This report aims to identify key challenges arising from reform of the health-care system in Georgia, especially in primary health care, and to present some possible strategies to address them. It will be a useful reference document for Oxfam, our partners, and all those concerned with improving the provision of health care in Georgia.
Topic:: Civil Society, Health, and Reform
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe, Asia, and Georgia

276. Delivering Education For All in Mali

Author:: Caroline Pearce, Sébastien Fourmy, and Hetty Kovach
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has been democratic since 1991, and the international community considers it to have, overall, a well-performing government and economy. But this should not mask the huge scale of the challenges facing Mali in realising even the most basic rights of its citizens. This challenge is increased by the country's vulnerability to shocks, such as the food and fuel crises.
Topic:: Education and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa and Mali

277. Too Little, Too Slow: Why more must be done to assist Pakistan's displaced millions

Author:: Arif Azad and Shaheen Chughtai
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: It is the world's biggest and fastest human displacement in over a decade. The offensive launched by the Pakistan army against armed militants in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) at the end of April 2009 has resulted in a massive exodus requiring an enormous humanitarian response. Although exact numbers are difficult to verify, at least two million women, men, and children fled their homes in the districts of Swat, Dir and Buner, mostly during May. In late May, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) was registering 126,000 newly displaced people per day.
Topic:: War, Armed Struggle, and Refugee Issues
Political Geography:: Pakistan

278. The Winds of Change: Climate change, poverty and the environment in Malawi

Author:: John Magrath and Elvis Sukali
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: A wind of climate change is blowing through the southern African nation of Malawi, bringing confusion to fisherfolk and farmers alike.
Topic:: Climate Change, Gender Issues, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa and Malawi

279. Investing in Poor Farmers Pays: Rethinking how to invest in agriculture

Author:: Emily Alpert and Melinda Smale
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In July 2008, world food prices reached their highest peak since the early 1970s. Food stocked on grocery store shelves was out of reach. Riots ensued. Millions were afflicted. Another 100 million people were pushed into the ranks of the hungry, raising the total to nearly one billion worldwide. And these numbers could climb again as food prices remain high, and continue to rise in many local markets.
Topic:: Agriculture, Poverty, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: Africa and Asia

280. Suffering the Science: Climate change, people, and poverty

Author:: Alex Renton
Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Climate change is a reality and its effects are apparent right now. The scientific predictions are shifting continually – they almost always look bleaker. But Oxfam's experience in nearly 100 countries is definitive: hundreds of millions of people are already suffering damage from a rapidly changing climate, which is frustrating their efforts to escape poverty. This paper is the story of the 'affected'.
Topic:: Climate Change, Poverty, Natural Resources, Food, and Famine

281. Five years of illegality: Time to dismantle the Wall and respect the rights of Palestinians

Author:: Valérie Féron
Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The Green Line: Term used following Israel's occupation of the West Bank and GazaStrip in 1967 to refer to the post-1948 war ceasefire line (Armistice Line of 1949). The demarcation line (laid down in the cease fire agreements of 1949) is the internationally recognised border between Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory (Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem).
Topic:: Imperialism, International Law, and Power Politics
Political Geography:: Middle East, Palestine, Arabia, and Gaza

282. For a Safer Tomorrow: Protecting civilians in a multipolar world

Publication Date:: 09-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: One night in March 2007, soldiers arrived in the village of Buramba in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By the time they left at least 15 people were dead. 'At 5.30 in the morning', one survivor said, 'I saw the soldiers coming to our house...They kicked down the door, and killed eight people inside. Only my four grandchildren survived. [They] continued firing in the village. I fled into the bush. I returned three days later to see the bodies of my children and my mother. The bodies were in latrines; I could see the feet of my mother sticking out.'
Topic:: Political Violence, Human Rights, Post Colonialism, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:: Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

283. The forecast for tomorrow: the UK's climate for change

Publication Date:: 09-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The forecast for tomorrow is a snapshot of a country deeply torn by good and bad climate policies and actions among business, public and government - with each group inextricably bound by the actions of the others. Whether the UK succeeds in achieving its emissions reduction targets and in becoming a leader in international climate negotiations depends on whether good or bad policies prevail. At stake are the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people around the world, who will suffer first and worst from climate change despite being the least responsible for it.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and International Affairs
Political Geography:: United Kingdom

284. How irresponsible arms transfers undermine development goals

Publication Date:: 10-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Irresponsible arms transfers are undermining many developing countries' chances of achieving their Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. This paper shows new evidence of how this is happening in parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa - either by draining governments' resources or by fuelling armed violence or conflict.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Treaties and Agreements, War, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:: Africa, Asia, and Latin America

285. 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

286. Drought Management Considerations for Climate Change Adaptation

Publication Date:: 10-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Cambodia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in East Asia, with its vulnerability to annual floods and droughts. One of the reasons why it is vulnerable to natural disasters is that the livelihoods of the majority of people depend directly upon natural resources, with a large proportion of its population occupied in agriculture and related sectors, including animal husbandry. Extreme poverty, which limits access to food, water, and other basic amenities, increases vulnerability. These characteristics heighten Cambodia's exposure to the impacts of climate change too. The Mekong region has recently been showing signs of climate change, as illustrated in our previous report on VietNam ('Drought-Management Considerations for Climate-Change Adaptation: Focus on the Mekong Region – Report (VietNam)', October 2007). There is evidence of greater climatic extremes: both declining rainfall in the dry season and more violent rainfall in the wet season, causing flash floods. Increasingly powerful typhoons also appear to be occurring.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, Environment, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:: East Asia, Asia, Vietnam, and Cambodia

287. Responsible investment: a force for poverty alleviation

Author:: Rory Sullivan and Helena Viñes Fiestas
Publication Date:: 11-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The unprecedented turmoil in the world's financial markets has resulted in a significant loss of trust in the global financial system. Financial institutions and the market as a whole have been criticised for short-termism, for lacking transparency, and for not being properly accountable to regulators or to wider society. The credit crisis has also raised wider questions about the proper role of investors in society, both in terms of the specific investments that they make and the manner in which they use their influence to ensure that the positive social and environmental impacts of their investment activities are maximised, and the negative impacts minimised.
Topic:: Corruption, Economics, Globalization, and Poverty

288. If Not Now, When?

Publication Date:: 11-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The world's poor must not pay the price for the collapse of financial markets. Without immediate action, millions will suffer. Poor women and children will pay for the financial folly, failed ideology and crude self-interest that led to this crisis. Much of the burden will be borne by those least able to cope, whether it is poor families evicted from their homes in Detroit, or poor children dying in Mali for want of basic medical care. As the leaders of 20 industrialised and emerging economies convene in Washington for their G20 Emergency Summit on 15 November, small-scale tinkering and limited financial regulation is not good enough. The world leaders gathered for the G20 meeting must heed the call of many around the world, including Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan1 and others, to have the ambition and will to act now to help the poorest. The decisions cannot all be taken now, but an ambitious vision can be articulated and followed by work with the UN in the coming months to rapidly build from the ashes of this crisis a new 21st century political and economic system that is just and equitable.
Topic:: Economics, Globalization, Political Economy, Poverty, and United Nations

289. Vietnam: Climate Change, Adaptation and Poor People

Publication Date:: 11-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. The government's impressive achievements in pulling millions of people out of poverty are seriously jeopardised by the likely increase in extreme weather events such as severe rainfall and drought, and by slow climate changes like sea level rises and warming temperatures. Poor men and women are particularly at risk.A team of Oxfam researchers travelled to the two provinces of Ben Tre and Quang Tri in May 2008 to take a snapshot of how poor families are experiencing the changing climate, and how they might deal with this in the future.
Topic:: Climate Change and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: Asia and Vietnam

290. Climate, Poverty, and Justice: What the Poznan UN climate conference needs to deliver for a fair and effective global deal

Publication Date:: 12-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: For the poorest and most vulnerable people in today's world, climate change is a 'triple whammy': they didn't cause it, they are most affected by it, and they are least able to afford even simple measures that could help protect them from those damaging impacts that are already unavoidable.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and Poverty

291. Turning Carbon into Gold: How the international community can finance climate change adaptation without breaking the bank

Publication Date:: 12-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Poor communities in the developing world are hit hardest by the impacts of climate change, while they are least responsible for the problem and most vulnerable to climate impacts, such as severe floods, drought, and storms. At the climate change negotiations in Bali in December 2007, governments recognized that adaptation should be central to the negotiations. In the Bali Action Plan, adaptation is one of the four building blocks besides mitigation, finance, and technology transfer, and the Plan provides a mandate to negotiate on 'new and additional resources' and the use of 'innovative finance mechanisms' to address urgent and compelling climate adaptation needs.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Bali

292. Afghanistan: Development and Humanitarian Priorities

Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This paper outlines urgent action necessary to address immediate challenges in Afghanistan and to avert humanitarian disaster. It does not seek to address all issues of concern but focuses on essential policy change in development and humanitarian spheres. While aid has contributed to progress in Afghanistan, especially in social and economic infrastructure – and whilst more aid is needed – the development process has to date been too centralised, top-heavy and insufficient. It is has been prescriptive and supply-driven, rather than indigenous and responding to Afghan needs. As a result millions of Afghans, particularly in rural areas, still face severe hardship comparable with sub-Saharan Africa. Conditions of persistent poverty have been a significant factor in the spread of insecurity.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Africa, and Asia

293. 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

294. Climate Wrongs and Human Rights: Putting people at the heart of climate-change policy

Publication Date:: 09-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In failing to tackle climate change with urgency, rich countries are effectively violating the human rights of millions of the world's poorest people. Continued excessive greenhouse-gas emissions primarily from industrialised nations are – with scientific certainty – creating floods, droughts, hurricanes, sea-level rise, and seasonal unpredictability. The result is failed harvests, disappearing islands, destroyed homes, water scarcity, and deepening health crises, which are undermining millions of peoples' rights to life, security, food, water, health, shelter, and culture. Such rights violations could never truly be remedied in courts of law. Human-rights principles must be put at the heart of international climate-change policy making now, in order to stop this irreversible damage to humanity's future.
Topic:: Climate Change, Human Rights, and Human Welfare

295. Community Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: The Case for a National Strategy

Author:: Matt Waldman
Publication Date:: 02-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Existing measures to promote peace in Afghanistan are not succeeding. This is not only due to the revival of the Taliban, but also because little has been done to try to ensure that families, communities, and tribes - the fundamental units of Afghan society - get on better with each other. War has fractured the social fabric of the country and, in the context of severe and persistent poverty, local disputes have the potential to turn violent and to exacerbate the wider conflict. But there is no effective strategy to help Afghans deal with disputes in a peaceful and constructive way.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Development, International Cooperation, Non-Governmental Organization, and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Asia, and Taliban

296. Programme Insights: The Africa Women's Protocol -- Policy, Advocacy and Programming on the Africa Women's Protocol: Overview of Oxfam GB's Support to Women's Rights Organisations and Government Stakeholders in Southern Africa

Publication Date:: 02-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This series of programme insights papers highlights some of the work undertaken by Oxfam GB's partners in Southern Africa to popularise and lobby for the ratification, domestication, and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women (the Africa Women's Protocol).
Topic:: Gender Issues and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

297. Programme Insights: The Africa Women's Protocol -- Integrating the Africa Women's Protocol in the Zambia National Legal Policy and Processes: Example from WLSA

Publication Date:: 02-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This paper illustrates one example of how Oxfam GB Southern Africa Region supports the efforts of women's-rights organisations to popularise and lobby for the ratification, domestication, and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Africa Women's Protocol) in Zambia.
Topic:: Security, Gender Issues, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Zambia

298. Programme Insights: The Africa Women's Protocol -- Popularising the Africa Women's Protocol: The Experience of Malawi

Publication Date:: 02-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Oxfam's mission is to work with others to overcome poverty and suffering. Our interpretation of poverty goes beyond lack of finances to encompass lack of capabilities, powerlessness, and inequality. Our fight to overcome poverty and suffering focuses on the right to a sustainable livelihood, water, education, health, protection and security, a voice in public life, and freedom from discrimination. The promotion of gender equality and women's rights is therefore at the heart of our efforts.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Government, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:: Africa and Malawi

299. Programme Insights: The Africa Women's Protocol -- Monitoring the Implementation of Women's Human- Rights Instruments: The case of the Africa Gender Monitor

Publication Date:: 02-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This paper illustrates the efforts of women's-rights organisations to monitor the domestication and implementation of women's human-rights instruments such as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Africa Women's Protocol) in Africa, using the example of the Africa Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Monitor (known as the Africa Gender Monitor or AGM). Oxfam GB Southern Africa supports the Africa Gender Monitor (AGM) .Oxfam GB works with others to overcome poverty and suffering and firmly believes that overcoming gender equality is critical to this endeavour.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Government, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

300. Programme Insights: The Africa Women's Protocol -- Popularising and Implementing the Africa Women's Protocol in Mozambique and South Africa

Publication Date:: 02-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This programme insights paper highlights some of the work supported by Oxfam GB Southern Africa to popularise and lobby for the ratification, domestication, and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women (the Africa Women's Protocol) in South Africa and Mozambique.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Government, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Mozambique

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS