Policy Papers

After the double tragedy of Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth, the people of Mozambique now face yet another crisis: a food security crisis. This joint agency briefing calls for urgent funding for emergency food assistance and longer term support to help affected women, men and children to rebuild their lives.

Oxfam’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index shows that governments in West Africa are the least committed to reducing inequality of any on the continent. If they do not radically increase their commitment to reducing inequality, the crisis is likely to worsen.

Despite its development potential, the Sahel faces an unprecedented crisis. Today, there is a multifaceted predicament on top of the pre-existing development challenges that the region has been tackling. The governments of the Sahelian countries and the international community must respond to these urgent problems, making the fight against inequality a top priority.

This paper outlines Oxfam’s position on the 19th Replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA19), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries. It calls on donors for a strong replenishment, and with that financial commitment, to agree on a strong programmatic and policy agenda for IDA19 across the agreed upon special and cross-cutting themes.

In an increasingly unequal world, advancing gender equality is fundamental to tackling inequality and poverty. Feminist aid has the potential to challenge us to rethink how aid is delivered and to truly transform systems of unequal power.

Governments need more domestic revenue to fund their own development goals, but it won’t come from squeezing the poor. It’s not only about collecting more. It’s about how that revenue is collected.

This paper argues that private finance blending should be used with caution in rural development until donors can demonstrate the merits of blending using evidence-based results, in particular the added value of blending for development impact.

A growing body of evidence shows that education public-private partnerships (PPPs) which support private schooling are too often failing the most vulnerable children and risk deepening inequality. Despite this, the World Bank has been increasingly promoting education PPPs in poor countries through its lending and advice.

Amid growing concern that the pharmaceutical industry’s pricing, tax and lobbying practices are undermining the health of millions of people in the US and across the globe, this briefing presents new findings on how the biggest corporate tax cut in a generation has benefited four of America’s pharmaceutical giants.

The deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is looming, and the poorest countries face significant funding gaps as well as growing economic inequality that stands in the way of poverty reduction.

No-one can escape the devastating grip of war. For women, it can mark a point of no return. But it can also be a door to new opportunities. Through examples from Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Yemen, this report analyses the impact war and occupation have had on the lives of women.

Small-scale producers grow most of the rice in Asia, playing a significant role in providing food security, jobs and income across the region. However, a combination of worsening inequality in food value chains and the crippling impacts of climate change is leaving rice farming systems at a critical juncture. These challenges threaten the future viability of rice production that underpins the livelihoods and primary food source for millions of people.

The crisis in Syria is entering its ninth year. With a reduction in active violence, there is a need to consider how the aid response is best meeting the needs of conflict-affected Syrians. This paper explores the changes that are needed to adapt the response to deliver the support Syrians themselves want.

The Oxfam guide to feminist influencing is designed to help Oxfam staff apply feminist principles and practices to campaigning, policy, advocacy and influencing. It will help us translate “putting women’s rights at the heart of all we do” into clear simple steps, ideas and actions.

Tax havens deprive governments around the world of billions of dollars each year, fuelling inequality and poverty. The EU blacklisting process was announced as an attempt to put an end to the era of tax havens. Unfortunately – according to Oxfam research – the EU is set to whitewash some of the world’s worst tax havens.

Oxfam assessed seven global agribusinesses against foundational indicators of its original Behind the Brands campaign scorecard to measure the strength of companies’ sustainability policies. This report introduces the “agribusiness scorecard” and presents the results.

Oxfam research presented in this report found that the rate of child, early and forced marriage in Nyal, South Sudan, is among the highest in the world. Action is urgently needed: including a long-term commitment and investment at community, national and international levels.

Food security in Yemen is critically dependent on imports and incomes. Both have been knowingly undermined by parties to the conflict over many months. For women, the impact of eating last and least is crippling, and coping mechanisms are becoming increasingly desperate.

This focused Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of SOK Corporation's Italian processed tomato supply chains is a pilot for the company's new approach to assessing human rights impacts in high risk supply chains that goes ‘beyond audits’.

We need to transform our economies to deliver universal health, education and other public services. To make this possible, the richest people and corporations should pay their fair share of tax. This will drive a dramatic reduction in the gap between rich and poor and between women and men.