Oxfam GB Southern Africa
2009/10
Angola
n
Malawi
Annual Review
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Mozambique
n
South Africa
n
Zambia
n
Zimbabwe
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Economic justice
14
climate change 16
agriculture policy 18
livelihoods in crisis 20
rights in crisis emergency response 24
22
disaster risk reduction 26
gender justice gender-based violence 30
28
women’s leadership 32
income and expenditure acknowledgments
34 36
contents
Oxfam GB southern africa annual report 2009/10
Essential Services health and HIV services 6 education 10 water and sanitation 12
Regional director’s message At the dawn of the 21st century, with all its groundbreaking advancesin various aspectsof human life, poverty stands out as an anomaly. In spite of voices both big and small, as well as local, nationaland global efforts to fight this great anomaly, it persists. Ten years after the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Africa lags behind the world in every aspect of human development. Only five of the continent’s 53 states have managed to halve the deaths of children under the age of five. In six countries child mortality has actually increased, while maternal mortality rates have risen in 23 of the 49 countries where data is available. The threat of food insecurity and hunger looms over many millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. This great failure, which is holding millions of poor people, particularly women, children and minorities in the shackles of untold suffering, is not a result of the failure of a single actor. Rather it is the cumulative failure of global institutions, donorsand developed countries that have reneged on many of their commitments, as well as African governments that suffer from corruption, maladministration, tyranny, tribalism and gross inefficiency. Oxfam believes that there is no short cut to dealing with poverty, and that we must work on multiple fronts to mobilise citizens, organisations and institutions to empower those affected and strengthen their ability to fight poverty and injustice. During a review workshop that assessed the effectiveness of the Fair Play Campaign, one of the participants said to me: “This is a very importantinitiative that created new energy and momentum in advocatingfor the implementation of the Abuja declaration and MDGs. But without Oxfam’s active involvement and continued support the momentumwill quickly die out.” Though this statement atteststo Oxfam’s vital role in supporting development efforts in Africa, it also highlights the need for greater collaboration and support from many people and institutions to create the platforms for people to engage with policy makers in more coherent, structured and consistent manner. Amartya Sen in his foreword to Duncan Green’s From Povertyto Power stressed that “if the evil of poverty and the crime associated with it can come through the actions and inactions of a great many persons, the remedytoo can come from the cooperative efforts of people at large”. This annual report shares Oxfam’s experiences and achievements ranging from saving lives affected by cholera, floods and displacement to networking, advocacy and campaign for pro-poor policy agenda in Southern Africa. It is a glimpse of what we are doingin the region, but also highlights the overall commitment, effortand programme drive that Oxfam is undertaking to fight against poverty and injustice. The stories not only reveal poor people’s realities but also invite for active interaction. I am glad to acknowledge our donors, supporters, volunteers and staff who made it possible for Oxfam to work as an organisationand make a differencein the lives of poor people in Southern Africa.
A woman dries wild fruit on the roof of her house in Mongu district, Western Zambia. (Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam)
Fikre Zewdie
Regional Director, Southern Africa
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programme highlights Our work in SouthernAfrica is becoming distinctlymulti-countryand regional — particularly around climatechange, access to services and water, our approachto humanitarianpreparedness, and our work with regionalinstitutionssuch as the SouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity, the Pan AfricanParliamentand the African Union. n
We launched the Fair Play for Africa and Red Light 2010 campaigns, scaled up our essential servicescampaigningin Malawi, and increased climatechange campaigningin both Malawi and South Africa. We have also increased our advocacycapacity-buildingeffortsin countries such as Zimbabwe, Angolaand for staff in our regional centre. n
In Angola we moved towards a governance approachand developeda programme that would influencethe deliveryof our variousaims, particularlyessential services.
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Zimbabwe is in transition and there has been a shift from a humanitarianto a recoveryapproach. In the coming year we need to ground the programmein a long-term development approach. n
n We scaled up our engagement with climate change as part of the global process, particularlyin our South Africa and Malawi programmes.
Following the xenophobic violence in South Africain 2008,the team moved towardsa rightsbased advocacy programmethat supportsthe constitutional rights of migrantsand non-nationals in the country. n
Malawi has been working on improving smallholder farmers’ and producers’access to the markets. Work is being done to improve offseason production through irrigation as a means of mitigatingand adaptingto climate change. Smallholderhoney producershave also been supported to engage in the market. The Malawi programme is now shiftingto focus on economic empowerment, climate change, humanitarian preparednessand response, HIV and AIDS and work around violence against women and girls (VAWG) for the next five years (2011-2015). n
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From top: Elderly people collect water from a borehole in Matabeleland足, Zimbabwe足. Children on the shores of the Zambezi River, Zambia. (Photographs Nicole Johnston/Oxfam) Men transport water in Zambezia Province, Mozambique. (Photograph足: Neo Ntsoma/Oxfam). Left: A girl takes care of her younger sibling in Zambezia Province足, Mozambique. (Photograph: Neo Ntsoma/Oxfam)
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essential
services
School children in Gurue district, Mozambique. (Photograph: Neo Ntsoma/Oxfam)
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The essential services足programme足 focused on health and HIV services, education足, and water and sanitation.
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health and The essential services progeammehas made great strides over the last year in its campaigns across the region and the continent, building momentumfor change.
In May, English Premier League football giants Liverpoolteamed up with Oxfam and Fair Play for Africato hold coachingclinicsfor young people in South Africa in the run up to the 2010 World Cup. The LFC’s Community Outreach department shared its football skills with hundreds of young people and coaches in Rustenburg (top), Mamelodi (below) and Soweto (main photograph). They also visited Let Us Grow, a community-based organisationfounded and run by Mama Rose Thamae (above). Let Us Grow is an Oxfam partner in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, that provides support to survivors of rape and sexual violence as well as to peopleinfected with and affected by HIV and AIDS. The home-based care project is a lifeline for many peoplewho might otherwise die alone or neglected. Photographs: Neo Ntsoma/Oxfam
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The Fair Play for Africa health campaign was launched in Angola in January and subsequentlyin South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi,Kenya, Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso. More than 200 organisations have joined the campaign, which aims to ensureaccess to qualityhealthcare for all. The key call is for an AU-led acceleration plan for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and for African governments to meet their health commitments and targets. Fair Play for Africa, togetherwith the MaternalMortality Campaign, White RibbonAlliance, 15% Now! Campaign, Save the Children and Oxfam, managed to put enough pressure on governments, finance ministers and the AU to ensure that the health, education and agriculture commitmentsmade by heads of state remainon the table. A resolution was passed for governments to stick to their commitments in terms of health financing. The campaignalso ensured key resolutionswere passed in terms of maternaland child health, with the AU launching a Campaignfor the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortalityin Africa. The Fair Play campaign has also ensuredthat the Africa Common position on the MDGs reflects key priorities around health and the need for an accelerationof implementationto meet the MDG health goals. The mobilisation in country is providing the necessarymomentumto ensure that messagesare reaching the leaders. The campaign has several ambassadors, includingBotswana’s former health minister Sheila Tlou as well as musicians and footballers.
HIV services
Time to meet healthcaregoals Fair Play for Africa campaign
Ten years ago, in New York, world leaders committedto the United Nations’ MDGs, promising to halve povertyand increase accessto healthcare. Nine years ago in Abuja, Africanleaderspromised to spend 15% of their budgets on health, and to take personal responsibility and provide leadership on HIV/Aids and other preventable diseases. Every year since 2001 Africa’s leaders have committed the AU and their governmentsto the promotion and protectionof the right to health in a series of international and continental declarations. These commitments providea comprehensive package for addressingmaternal mortality, child mortality, HIV/Aids, TB and malaria. Africa accounts for 22% of the world’s births, but for half of the 10-million child deaths that occur globally every year. A woman in sub-Saharan Africa has a onein-16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth, comparedwith a one-in-4,000 risk in developed countries. But all is not doom and gloom: some countries are on track to ensure that people have access to quality healthcare. Botswana, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda and Zambia have all met the Abuja target of 15% of government spending going to health. But they are the exception. Most African countries are way off target and 14 countries are actually moving backwards. Only five of the continent’s 53 states have managedto halve deaths of children under the age of five. In six countries, child mortality has increased. MDG number five aims to reducematernalmortality by threequarters. Yet maternal mortality rates have risen in 23 of the 49 countries where data is available. Some strides have been made in the fight against malaria, as well as in TB detection and treatment. But HIV prevalence remains high and continues to rise in many countries, and there is an increasing need for antiretroviraltreatment. African governments have described health conditions as a “continental state of emergency” — now they must move beyond rhetoric and adopt an accelerated plan of action, with a timetable and firm policy and programme interventions. Fair Play is callingfor a realistic plan for the next five years that is well resourcedfrom government allocations and supported by donor countries. In a resource-scarce environment, AU governments must review healthcare delivery systemsto ensure they are cost-effective. We cannot afford “business as usual” any longer.
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From left: Patients queue for medical attention and medication at Kanyama hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. (Photographs: Nicole Johnston and Oupa Nkosi/ Oxfam). Opposite: Nurse Lucy Chilinda tends to a baby at Bwaila Bottom Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. (Photograph: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam)
health and HIV services CIVIL SOCIETY HEALTH FORUM In Zambia the Civil Society Health Forum (CSHF) is gaining momentum and participated in the 2010 health budgeting process. Both donors and government regardthe forum as a fully-fledged partner in monitoringhealthcare delivery in the country. The CSHF and Zambia’sRadio Phoenix launched a radio programme on the rights of Zambians to healthcare. The programmegives the CSHF a platform to raise awareness and foster dialogue with citizens about their right to health services and how they believe problems in the health system could be addressed.
processes. Lobby efforts have resulted in the establishment of five static antiretroviral therapy clinics in existing health centres (one in Blantyre and four in Phalombe). The programme in South Africa has contributed to the dialogue on the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, for which a White Paper has been prepared. It has also supported the development of a mass public campaign for governmentsupport for implementation of the NHI. Joint Oxfam Supportfor Campaigningon Health (JOSCH) partners continue to have a positive effect on advancing the implementationof the National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS. In Angola gender and HIV training is a key aspect of ACCESS TO MEDICINES CAMPAIGN the essential services programme. The Fair Play for As part of the Access to Medicines Campaign in Africacampaignand other advocacy efforts such as Malawi, a strategy was implemented in 2009 around the Know Your Status Campaign resulted in a strong the country’s elections and successfully profiled health network of organisationsworking jointly on advocacy as a critical issue. Strong campaigningcapacity was built with key partnerssuch as the Malawi Health Equity and policy influencing. Training of traditional birth attendants has resultedin Network (MHEN), which has undertaken a seriesof lobby and advocacy processes. MHEN and the National health personnel in Bie reporting an increase in referrals of antenatal cases from birth attendants. Trainingof Organisation of Nurses and Midwives in Malawi have traditionalleaders has also helped challengesome of lobbied government to reverse its decisionto suspend the harmful beliefs and practices that drive infectionsand funding for training of nurses in a number of colleges. violence against women. A strong alliance with women With the district roll-out of the Access to Mediparliamentariansis being developedto ensure more cines Campaign, the focus is on the District Heath gender-sensitive budgetary allocation. ImplementationPlan and budget development
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education ZAMBIA
In Zambia some creative advocacy work resultedin the District Education Board releasingsmall grants to 17 community schools and making a commitment to deploymore teachersto improve the qualityof education. School sanitationactivitieshave also been successful in supportinglearning, retaining teachersat communityschools and encouraging teenage girls to remain in school.
MOZAMBIQUE
In Mozambique our work around education has kept the issue of school councilshigh on the agendaof the Ministry of Education. A national symposium on school councils was held in December2009 in Maputo, where government made a commitmentto enforceregulation aroundthe functioningof these councils. Civil societyis engagingthe Ministry of Education to include in its structures a body
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that will focus on the operationalisationof school councilsand follow up on decentralisationreforms at national, provincialand school levels. Parents, guardiansand communities are more aware of their roles and rights in education, and there is growing evidenceof improved dialogue betweengovernment institutions and civil societyorganisations(CSOs) and a greater involvementof CSOs in advocacy.
MALAWI
In Malawi Oxfam is supporting partnersin the implementation ofan advocacy project around increased access to qualityeducation for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). After various lobbying meetings with officials, Kasungu district allocated fundingfor bursaries. Lobby efforts with 44 school management committeesresulted in these schools removinguser fees, and almostall districts established OVC bursarycommittees.
Where apathy is not an option
Children attend classin Gurue district, Mozambique (oppositeand top). Girls walk to school(above centre) and parents attend a school council meeting in Gurue district (above). Childrenat MontesNamuli Primary School (below) crowd around their teacher to have their work marked. Children at play in Gurue district (bottom). Photographs: Neo Ntsoma/Oxfam
Mozambique has made huge strides in improving accessto basic education since the end of the civil war, but it is an uphill battle. For parents and teachersin rural towns and villages, this is one they are determinedto win. Each school, no matterhow impoverished, has a school council elected by members of the community and dedicatedto ensuringits children get a good education. Schools in affluent cities would admire the zeal with which they approachthis task: apathyis not an option here. “This school was built by the community — they collectedstones and made bricks to build the walls and then they lobbied government for the timber and iron sheets for the roof,” explainsPedro Namagila, director of the ErregoPrimary School in Ile. But the lack of basic amenities is not the only challengethe school council faces: ensuringchildren stay in school is a major concern, with about 60% dropping out before completingGrade 5. For families struggling to grow enough food to survive, every child in school is a pair of hands lost in the fields. And as the HIV pandemic spreads, large numbers of children drop out of school to work or care for sick relatives and younger siblings. “If a child drops out, we will go and ask the family why,” says Ferraz Lugeira, chairperson of the school council. “If they say it is becausethey don’t have books or stationery, we use money from a fund for orphanedand vulnerable children.” This determination by parents that their children get a better chance in life than they have had is echoed at the Namaripe Primary School near Gurue. The children walk long distances to school, and there is often not enough space to accommodate them once they get there. The province has a ratio of 91 pupils to each teacher and the roads are bad or non-existent, making it difficult for the EducationDepartmentto deliver school books or do inspections. Americo Vaela, the chairperson of the school council, is determined that no child be turned away. “Lots of children don’t come to school because we don’t have enough classrooms. So we build classrooms with thatch walls and roofs until we can make the bricks we need.” “Each year we receive more and more students, so the school council will get togetherand figure out how many bricks each family should make,” says school council member Padania Henriques. “We ask people with building skills to lend us their expertiseand others help us with the physical labour of building.” Other members of the council ensure that children who have been orphaned by Aids are still able to come to school. “We try to help by makingsure the orphanshave books and stationery,” says Manuele Mutocorowa. But even with the best will in the world, the school councils — run by community members who are themselves living in poverty — can only do so much. And ironically, this self-help spirit can serve to maintain the status quo, as it is often easier for communities to do it themselves than to lobby government officials for action. The councils are meant to ensure transparency and accountability around funds allocated from national level through the provinces, then the districts and on to the schools. But often these funds arrive late or not at all, and textbooks and teachers’ salaries are delayed. Local and international NGOs have been able to make some impact through initiativessuch as the Zambézia Education Project, which provides basic classroom materials, safe housing for female teachers in ruralareas, and builds and equips teacher resource centres and libraries. But this is not a sustainable solution, so Oxfam and its partner organisations Kukumbi and the Association for Mozambican Women and Education (AMME) are working in communities and with school councils to help citizens demand accountability from their government, and ensure resources designated for education reach their children. It is a long, slow process but active citizenship — in which communities demandtheir due — is the only way that Mozambique’s children will be ensured their right to an education, and a way out of poverty.
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water and sanitation Our water, sanitationand hygiene (WASH) programmeis shiftingfrom short-term emergencywork to strategic, longer-term thinking.
Strong partnerships are beingdeveloped with regionalstakeholders such asNAWISA (the Network for Advocacyon WaterIssuesin SouthernAfrica) to support civil societyvoices and share lessons from our countryprogrammes. Our Zambia WASH programme, which is fundedby the European Commission, successfully introduced community-led total sanitation (CLTS). Socialmobilisationsand hygieneoutreachsessions resulted in the constructionof 1,428 household toiletswith zero subsidies, which surpasses the originallyplanned 1,080 facilities. It is anticipatedthat the programmewill achieve far greatersanitation coveragethan originallyenvisioned. CLTS is provingvery effective in Zambia and led to the revision of the NationalRuralWater Supply and SanitationProgramme.
A woman draws water from a well in Mongu district, Western Province, Zambia. (Photograph: Oupa Nkosi/Oxfam)
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The case of Nyuta Community School Nyuta Community School in Mongu district, Zambia, was establishedin 2003 when the communitysourced teachers who were willing to work without pay. The teachersprovidethe local children — many of whom are orphans and vulnerable— with basic education. Before Oxfam launched a WASH project at the school, pupils would draw water from scoop holes located about 500m from the school. There were three scoop holes — two for pupils and one for the teachersand theirfamilies — but there was not enough water to cater for everyone and so the holes quickly dried up. Other problems included the younger children muddying the water by stirring it too quickly, and some children defecatingnext to the scoop holes, making the water unsuitable for drinking. Also, the children took a long time to draw water from the scoop holes, resulting in a loss of valuable learning time. A water point was installedat the school, providingpupils and the teachers and their familieswith good access to water. Teacherswho had been threatening to leave the school because of the poor water situation were now encouraged to stay on. Musole Chipango and Mwakamui Mulonda, who are in grade 6 and 7 respectively, are direct beneficiaries of the project. For them the installation of the water point means they no longer have to worry about findingtoads or dirt in their drinkingwater. They said the open scoop holes were cause for concern because faeceswould run off the ground into the holes and they would drink the water without it having receivedany form of treatment. They said they have shared the knowledge they have gained from the hygiene and sanitation lessonsat their school with communitymembers and friends attendingother schools.
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economic
justice
Picking tea in Gurue, Mozambique. (Photograph: Neo Ntsoma/Oxfam)
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Our work in economic justice足 focused on climate足change, agriculture policies and livelihoods in crisis.
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climate change
A flooded water point in Western Zambia. (Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam)
“I am afraid that other women, especially young girls will turn to sex work to feed their families. Because we are not getting good crops any more girls are under pressureto find food. This pressureis only on girls, not boys, because girls are seen as useless and we are not valued.” QUEEN KAYIRAis from Malawi. She is a widowwith five children. Her husbanddied in 2000, leaving her with nothing. Queen turned to sex work to try to earn a living, but stopped when she discoveredshe was HIV-positive.
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Oxfam produced and launched a report on climate change in Malawi in June 2009 entitled Winds of Change. The launch brought together policymakers, government officials, communities, donors and civil society organisations – and opened the door for civil society to input into the national position at the climate change negotiations. An Oxfam Malawistaff member was also co-opted into the Malawidelegation for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 15) held in Copenhagen in December. Similarly, the programme in Zambiaused the global launch of two Oxfam International reports to do media work that opened doors to engage the Zambian presidency and to work with other civil society actors to influencepolicy and national budget decisions. Oxfam worked with national civil societyto provide a briefing for the Zambian ministerof environment before COP15. The climate change and poverty hearings were a significant feature of our campaigning in SouthernAfrica in 2009, providingan opportunity to raise awarenessabout climate change and allowing the voices of those affected to be heard. Hearings were conductedin seven districts in Malawi and in three provincesin South Africa (bringing together about2,300 people in total in South Africa). The Pan African hearing in Cape Town, South Africa, was the main highlight of the series. It brought together about 400 people, including climate witnesses from Mali, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Malawi, who gave compelling testimonies of how climatechange has affected their lives and livelihoods. In South Africa a network of partners came togetherfor a number of campaign activities in the final build-up to Copenhagen. Events included stunts, vigils, marches and street theatre and helped raiseawareness across a broad spectrum of society. Oxfam provided policy and campaigningsupport to the Pan African Climate Justice Allianceat key influencingmoments — such as in Copenhagen, and at the African MinisterialConference on the Environment(AMCEN) meetingin Nairobi in April 2009, where the common African negotiation positionwas agreed. In the build-up to Copenhagen Oxfam supported the chair of the Least DevelopedCountries Group, Lesotho. This has led to importantopportunities to influence the group.
Seasonal flooding in Mongu district, Zambia. (Photograph: Oupa Nkosi/Oxfam)
‘It’s a woman’s job to feed the children so we do whatever we have to’ Caroline Malema’s story Caroline Malema Is a widowwith six childrento supportand is HIV-positive. She Lives in Karongain the north of Malawi. Carolinetestifiedat Oxfam’s Pan Africanhearings in Cape Town, where she told the story of how climate change has affected her life.
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We used to survive from farming my plot of land on the banks of the Rukuru River. It is about 15km from Karongaand I would walk there every day to tend my bananasand vegetables and also to catch fish. But then the problem of floods started in 2001. I think it is because of deforestation. Peoplewere not harvestingenough food so they started selling firewood and charcoal. They cut the trees down on the riverbank, so now when the water comes it moves very fast and washes everythingout. Last year it wasn’t even raining here but it rained in Mwesha, about 35km upstream. It was at night and we heard a big noise from the river and people were crying “water! water is coming!” It kept coming for three days and our fields were totally flooded. There was so much waterthat people were catching fish with their bare hands in the fields ... I used to have a big garden of banana trees growing along the river, but they were all washed away. Now I have only one or two trees left. The flood also washed away our rice seeds and cassava, so we had to find money for more seeds and plant again, but by then it was too late and the crops gave a very small yield. If we don’t have rice or bananas we only eat once a day, and then it is only nshima (maize porridge). Before we used to catch fish from the Rukuru and mix it with bananas to make a dish called mbalaga. But since the floods the river is very shallow and the sands are too hot so the fish don’t come here anymore. As HIV-positive people we are supposed to eat six times a day and have a variety of foods, but that is impossible. I am on antiretroviral treatment and they say nutrition is very important, but what can I do? Now I support my children by selling tea and crocheted doilies in the market, but I am still suffering. I have three children in secondaryschool and it is reallydifficult to pay school fees for all of them. This problem of climate change is affecting girls and women a lot. In the past girls had ways of having money to be a woman, and they would use this to buy toiletries and clothes. We would sell banana fritters at the market, but now there are no more bananas so the girls just go for prostitution. Our men don’t support their families — it is a woman’s job to feed the childrenso we do whatever we have to ... Some women do sex work and others do piecework in other people’s fields — and this is after they have worked a full day in their own fields and then collectedfirewood, and fetched water and cooked, and taken care of the children.
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Women selling their produce at a market in Malawi. (Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam)
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agriculture policy Farmers in Malawi are increasingly managing agriculture as a business. Seed multiplication is one of the many agro-based incomegeneratinginitiatives supported by Oxfam’s economic justiceprogramme, and has proven to be an effectivemeans of increasing household incomes. In Phalombe the programme supportedthe establishmentof the Waruma Farmers’ Association, which is in the process of registration. The 31-memberassociation, comprising10 men and 21 women, has been successful in multiplyingopen-pollinated varietiesof seed maize, cassava, groundnuts, pigeon peas and soya beans, ensuringthe availabilityof quality seeds and generating incomethrough sales to local markets. In October Oxfam and Honey Care Africa undertook a market study for the honey value chain, and identified start-up resources for work focusing on marketsto promote products such as honey, pigeon peas and livestock. With Oxfam support, the Malawian Civil SocietyAgriculture Network continued to engage with the government around its new agriculture policy, with a particular focus on the roll-out in which civil society organisations are expected to play a policy monitoring role. Similarly, CISANET in Malawi has continuedto push for the governmentto adopt the socialmarketing functions of the AgriculturalDevelopmentand Marketing Corporation(ADMARC). Our new partnership with the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) is growing and Oxfam is formalisingthis with a memorandumof understanding. Next year SACAU will play a role in the Oxfam International Pan African Economic Justice initiative on large-scale land acquisitions and the global economic justice campaign. An additional partnership has been developed with PLAAS and CARE International to work on the issue of land-grabbing.
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Above, from left: A woman in Gutu, Zimbabwe, takes her maize to be milled; a man fills in a voucher in Zimbabwe (Photograph: Annie Bungeroth/Oxfam); and a young girl sells mangoes in Kasungu district, Malawi. Below: Teenagers help to support their families by selling fruit and vegetables in Zambezia Province, Mozambique. Opposite: Dried fish (usipa) from Lake Malawi for sale in Karonga district. (Photographs: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam)
livelihoods in crisis In Malawi Oxfam supported more than 31,000 households with a range of interventionsaimed at increasingthe availabilityof food and generatingincome. These interventions includedirrigation farming, seed multiplication, post harvest crop management, livestock production, fish farming, and mushroom and honey production. Households involved in intensiveirrigation farming, for example, were able to reducetheir annualfood gap by three months. In Zimbabwe, our work with vulnerable communitieshelped reducefood-insecure households from about five million in 2008 to two million in 2009. Programmes focusedon irrigation schemes, urban food assistanceand low-input gardens, and providedsupport with agricultural inputs, cash transfers, and income-generating projects. Oxfam supported about 52,000 households with seed and fertilizer. In Masvingo we promotedtraditional small grains like sorghumas a drought-resistantalternative. Despite initial resistance to these alternative crops, 90 percent of farmers in the district witnessedbetter yields, contributing significantly to food securityin the area. Oxfam was one of four organisations in Zimbabwethat piloted a voucher system that beneficiaries could use to buy seeds and fertilizer. The learning from this pilot has convinced donorsto advocate for a cash-based distribution system that will stimulate the local economy.
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Doing wonders with agroforestry Oxfam partner Circle for Integrated Community Development Mayi Ethel Sandikonda (left) lives in Mpeni village, Traditional Authority Bvumbwein Thyolodistrict, Malawi. She is a single mother of six children and the sole breadwinner for her household. Mayi receivedfertility enhancingtrees from Oxfam partnerCircle for IntegratedCommunityDevelopment(CICOD) and says they have doubled maize productionfrom her 0.3 hectaresof land. “I received 1kg of pigeon pea seeds and half a kilogramof ‘ombwe’ seeds [tephrosia vogelli] soon afterI was trained in agroforestry. Before I started using the agroforestry technologyon my piece of land I used to harvest about four bags of maize. Now, after I started using the fertilizer-enhancingplants, especiallythe ‘ombwe’shrubs, I have just harvestednine bags of maize from the same piece of land.” Mayi planted the ‘ombwe’ seeds between her maize plants and as the shrubs grew they shed their leaves, improvingthe fertility and texture of the soil. After harvesting the maize, Mayi left the ombweshrubs to grow more leaves. As she prepared her land for the next planting season, she pruned the shrubs and mixed the cuttings with the soil to produce a high-quality manure that improvedthe soil’s fertility. “I did not apply any other fertilizer in the field, but still I was able to harvest more. The coming year I will try to add a little [inorganic] fertilizer from the government subsidyprogramme. I believethe combination of the ombwe leaves with some fertilizer will do wonders on this small piece of land and help me get away from the problem of hunger.” Mayi believes that agroforestry has helped reduceher food gap by two months. “This year, despitethe dry spell, I have been able to get nine bags, what if there was no dry spell … my maize yield would have even been better.”
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rights in crisis Our work in rights in crisis focused on working with communities and different levels of governmentto better predict, manage and mitigate the effectsof disasters and we respondedto eight local emergencies.
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Kanyama hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. (Photograph: Oupa Nkosi/Oxfam)
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emergency response Within the past year Oxfam responded to humanitarian emergencies in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola and South Africa. In Zimbabwehumanitarian response work was a continuation of the ongoing responseto prevent outbreaks of cholera. Interventionswere primarily in public health and contributed to a significant reduction both in the number of cases and mortality. As compared to 2008 there were 120 recorded casesagainst 90,000 and three reported deaths as against 4,000. A successful innovationwas the inclusionof a nutrition component within the humanitarianresponsework. In Malawi a series of earthquakesthat hit Karonga over Decemberand early January were unexpectedand a first for the region, as were the hailstormsthat caused substantial crop lossesin Zimbabwe. In Angola and South Africa there was displacement of mostly non-national populations because of forced migration and xenophobicviolence. These emergencies and responses have contributedto learning and innovation on many fronts. Oxfam will continue to increasethe levels of humanitarianexpertiseboth within the regionand in the countries, work more closely in partnership with local organisationsand strengthen our advocacy approaches. Oxfam is also committed to making sure that we continue to be accountableto those affected by humanitariancrises and ensure that they participate in decisions with regard to the assistance provided to them and are able to influence nationallevel humanitarianactors, includinggovernments to better respond to their needs. Over the past year there has been considerable
progress within the Southern Africa region in disaster preparedness and contingency planning. Oxfam has continued to invest in developing a strong Emergency Response Team (ERT) and trained a further complement of team members, increasing the level of humanitarian expertise that could be mobilised in times of emergencies. The training also placed emphasis on diversifying skills and included modules such as gender, media and communications, advocacy, human resource management and financial management. During this current year the scope of the ERT will be expanded to include Oxfam affiliates and staff from local organisations. Practical contingency plans have been developed for all six countries within a regional emergency management plan. These contingency plans anticipate possible emergency scenarios within the countries and outline possible responses by Oxfam. They are in line with Oxfam’s commitment to ensure that the country offices are able to respond to humanitarian emergencies as best able and meet the necessary standards and principles. A humanitarianlogistics supply review was conducted and a proposal for maintain a supply of non-food contingency stocks in the region has been developed. This will reduce the dependence on emergency relief supplies from outside the region, and will speed up delivery of assistance to disaster-affected populations. Work also continues on the development and finalisation of “triggers” for making decisions on responding to slow onset of crises such as food insecurity and outbreaks of cholera and seasonal flooding.
Reporting on xenophobia In July 2010 foreign nationals living in South Africa reported that they were receiving threats that xenophobic violence would erupt as soon as the final whistle blew on the Fifa World Cup. The threats came two years after the country experienced horrific xenophobic attacks in which 62 people were killed and more than 100,000 displaced. As part of its contingency plan the Oxfam programme in the country worked closely with the media to address and arrestoutbreaks of xenophobic violence. Oxfam and programme partners held a workshop in Johannesburg with journalists from various media houses to raise awareness about xenophobic violence. The workshop provided guidelines and training to the mediaon the important role they can play to ensure balancedreportingin line with the Press Code, which itself contributesto preventing outbreaks of violence. It also challenged popular perceptions of foreign nationals, and highlighted the responsibilities of the government, police and justice officials in protecting foreign nationalsand prosecutingperpetrators. Oxfam also worked in conjunction with news website Mail & Guardian Online to produce a series of interviews with foreign nationals highlighting their experiences of living in South Africa. Other possible responses in Oxfam’s contingency plans for South Africa included preparations for direct advocacy work in an emergency situations where it urges the government to play its role in meeting the protection and assistanceneeds of displaced people.
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Quakes leave Malawians in limbo A woman and child build a tent in Karonga after a swarm of earthquakes hit the area. Photo: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam GB While the world was fixated by the horror unfolding in Haiti, there was little or no media attention paid to at least 30 earthquakes that rocked Malawi in December 2009 and early January2010, the largest measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale. Scientists called the series of quakes in Karonga — situated along the Great Rift Valley and near the border with Tanzania — an “earthquake swarm”. The town of Karonga told the story: collapsed houses, roofs fallen in and huge gashes in the road where the earth had split apart. Children were taught under trees instead of in classrooms and most homes had a makeshift shelter of straw and plastic outside: the prolonged intensity of the string of earthquakes meant that people were too afraid to stay indoors. “The first one came at night on 6 December, but we didn’t know what an earthquake was, even our old women didn’t know, they have never experienced this before,” said Rachel Kasambala. “The house was shaking like it was being carried on a big lorry,” said Caroline Malema. “I had such a fright I rushed out of the house and forgot my grandchild inside.” The second quake struck on 8 December, destroying Monica Muhango’s house. Luckily she and her family had been sleeping outside since the first quake or they would undoubtedly have been killed. Just as people were beginning to hope it was over and starting to rebuild and move back to their homes, the big one — measuring6.2 — struck on 20 December. “It was quarter past one in the morning and we were all asleep. We had moved back inside because it was raining very heavily and we couldn’t keep the children outside in the rain. When it came we were so confused, it was like we were in the sea and the waves were pushing us up and down and we couldn’t get out. It lasted for half an hour, but it was shaking so hard we couldn’t even find the door. The houses were cracking and the bricks were falling down. Some people even ran out of their houses naked.” Once the tremors stopped, the families had to sit outside in torrential rain all night, too afraid to try to move in the dark,
too afraid to go back into their houses to collect clothes and blankets. Farmers in Karonga have seen the seasons change in recent years and have been battling an alternating cycle of flood and drought as the rains either come late and crops wither in the fields, or arrive as floods that wash everything away. “The rains didn’t come in November as they were supposed to, but they came very heavily after the earthquakes. Our maize harvest will be very poor, and then what will we eat?” asked Muhango. The Malawian government and NGOs set up a camp for displaced people catering for about 7 000 people. But many refused to move and desert their homes. “People don’t want to leave their land,” said Colins Kamuloni, the camp manager from the Ministry of Health. “They will tell you ‘our parents died here and their graves are here, so where should we go?’” Most need to stay and tend their croplands to ensure they have a harvest to show for months of backbreaking labour. “If they don’t work in the fields now, there will be hunger next year.” Those who did move faced overcrowding, a shortage of water and sanitation facilities, and ran the risk of malariaand dysentery. Karonga has an HIV prevalence rate of 17% (as compared to 12% in the rest of Malawi) and HIV-positive people in the camp are at risk of opportunistic diseases. Oxfam accessed money from the Catastrophe Fund to install water tanks, water points and toilets in the camp. We worked with partner organisations and the Malawian Ministry of Health on education around safe hygiene practices, and to distribute soap, water containers and mosquito nets. Kossam Munthali of Focus — a community-based Oxfam partner organisation — said living in the camp was not a long-term solution: “We need accountability and transparency about this response to the earthquake. We don’t want people to become dependent on aid. We need to be clear on how decisions will be made if people are to be relocated. These decisions need to be made quickly and with a clear plan of how people will survive if they have to leave their lands.”
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disaster risk reduction
An increasingly important aspect of Oxfam’s humanitarianwork is disaster risk reduction. Disaster risk reduction helps the communities and households that Oxfam works with to be better able to anticipate, prepare for and manage natural disastersand humanitarian crises. Over the past year disaster risk reduction work has been implementedin Zambia and Mozambique. This work has included improving coordination, planningand dialoguebetween communities and local government officials and offices. Work has also been done on providing information and trainingso that communities have increased knowledge and awareness of ways in which to reduce risk. The use of a trainingmethodology called “Participatory Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment” has been very effectivein imparting this training and knowledge to communities that are vulnerable to natural disasterssuch as floods and food insecurity. This work will continue with an emphasison understandingand adapting to climatechange and replicatinggood practice on community-based
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disasterpreparedness approaches. The Oxfam regional centre has also made investments in the development of a joint programme between its Essential Services and humanitarian work. This programme will build on the perspectives of poor communities and households of access to safe water and how they are able to participate in decisions with regard to how water is made available to them and its use. Initially this programme is being managed by the Network Associationof Water Institutions in Southern Africa, which is undertaking a series of “water hearings” across the region to understand the perspectives of the poor and marginalised with respect to issues around accessto and use of safe water. The South Africa programme has strengthen its partnership with the Humanitarian Network of South Africa (HANSA) towards strengthening accountability, governance and the managementof disasters and protection of human rights in South Africa. A significant grant from the European Commission has been secured to furtherthese efforts.
Ancient custom affected by changingclimate For the Lozi people of western Zambia the end of summer traditionally means packing their household belongings, livestock and farming implements onto a boat and leavingtheir houses and fields to the encroachingwaters of the Zambezi floodplain. The Lozi practise wetland farming in the floodplains where the soil is rich in nutrients, and their annual migration is an ancient tradition heralded by the ceremonial relocationof the king from his summer palace in Lealui village to his winter palace in Limulunga in the uplands. The ceremony is called the Kuomboka, meaning “to come out of the water”, and is the cultural highlight of the year. The Lozi rely on indigenous knowledge handed down over generations to predict when the floods will come and when they should prepare to move. But the increasing unpredictability of the seasons means that many of the omens traditionally used cannot necessarilybe relied on any more. “This changing of the climate is really impacting on the Kuomboka ceremony,” says Fine Nasilele, a proud Lozi man who works for Oxfam partner organisation People’s Participation Services. “It is becomingdifficultto predict the time when we should move. In the olden days the ceremony would be held in March, but for the past few years it has been in April. We would look at signs like the colour of the sand beaches — when it turns brown we know the flood is coming. We would look at the position of the moon and at the water levels to predict when to move. Now it is becoming difficult for people to plan to move, especially with their livestock becausethe flood waters come late but very quickly. Their fields get flooded before they can harvest and peoplehave to be evacuated. Boreholes and latrinesget flooded and diseases can spread.” When people are evacuated they often have to leave behind their harvests and seed for replanting, losing their belongings such as clothes and cooking utensils, which can be devastatingfor subsistence farmers alreadylivingin poverty. As the seasons grow ever more changeable the Lozi will have to face difficultchoices — move permanently to the arid high ground, or try to adapt and continue to live their migratory lives on a rich but increasingly unpredictable floodplain. To support communities to cope better with increasedlevels of flooding in Western Province and droughts that are becoming more common in SouthernProvince, Oxfam is implementing a community-led Disaster Risk Reduction Project. Ann Witteveen, the country director for the Oxfam Zambia programme, explains that “the project helps people develop strategies to reduce risks caused by disasters with the aim of helping community members to identify ways to diversify their livelihoods — so that a drought or flood has less impact — and also to be betterprepared when such an event happens. “Climate change is already having an impact in Zambia,” says Witteveen, “but this project will build the skills of local men and women and their leadersto take control of prevention, preparedness and response actions, rather than to just be passive The Kuomboka ceremony and celebrations in Mongu district, Zambia. recipientsof aid year after year.” (Photographs: Oupa Nkosi/Oxfam)
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gender justice
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Our work in gender justice has continuedto focus on gender-based violence and women’s leadership.
A young woman tends her fields. (Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam)
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A woman in a busy market place in Mozambique. Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam
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gender-based violence In 2009/10 Oxfam’s gender justice programme worked with partners Southern Africa Network Against Trafficking and Abuse of Children (SANTAC) and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) on the Red Light 2010 Campaign, which is lobbying for anti-trafficking legislation and creatingawareness around the issue. In South Africa the campaign was acknowledgedas a key anti-traffickingstakeholder within 2010 SoccerWorld Cup initiatives, and its engagementwith the government helped fast-track a comprehensive new law against human trafficking. The Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in PersonsBill was put to Parliament before the start of the World Cup in June, but has not been passed to date. The campaign’s engagement with South Africa’s Department of Education and Social Work also led to the inclusion of human trafficking in the curriculum and practical work of students. In Zambia WLSA secured a commitment from the country’s leaders to take action against human trafficking. WLSA is a player in the formulation of Zambia’s AntiTrafficking Plan. In South Africa, Oxfam partner the One in Nine Campaign— a collective of organisations and individuals working for social justice for women — achieved some major successes. After tireless campaigningby One in Nine, “Buyisiwe”, who was gang raped in October 2005, finallyreceived justice when the seven accusedwere sentenced to terms of imprisonmentof between17 and 20 years. Her case had been postponed more than 20 times. With the increased numbers of rape cases, the One in Nine Campaign trained five court monitors, who
were present throughout Buyisiwe’scase to monitor proceedings. The campaign also pursued and won a case against the president of the African National CongressYouth League, Julius Malema, for hate speech against rape survivors. The case was launched against Malema after he told a gathering of 150 university students in May 2009 that South African President Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser must have enjoyed having sex with him. One in Nine is continuing to pursue cases that are denied justice in the courts. In Mozambique, the Raising Her Voice project led a campaign that resultedin the passing of a Bill on domestic violence. The Mozambiqueprogramme has also supported the Ministry of Women and SocialAction in designing user-friendly procedures to report cases of gender-based violence, and the draft will be submitted to government for approval. There has also been increased mobilisation of men in the fight against gender-based violence. During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, 500 men who are members of PADARE Men’s Forum on Gender were mobilised in Harare, Zimbabwe, to participate in a march, while a men’s forum Gender for Equality Now (MEGEN) was launched in Malawi. At Oxfam’s regionalcentre in Pretoria, the In Her Shoe For A Day Campaign mobilised male staff to experience the life of women for one day and becomemore aware of what they go through. In Balaka, Oxfam Malawi’s project area, gender-based violence awareness has seen an increase in the number of reported cases from 30% to 62%.
women’s leadership We have continued to support women’s organisations in various countries. In Malawi the 50:50 campaign has seen an increase in women’s representation in Parliament from 14% to 22%. The campaign has continued to mobilise elected women parliamentarians to engage on issuesaffecting women. In the run-up to the 54th session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW) in March, Beijing+ 15,
women’s organisations in the region were mobilised and carried out research on the progress of the four themes of the Beijing Platform for Action: economy; safety and security; education; and health. They produced policy briefs for lobbying at the CSW. The messagewas that leaders in this regionneed to go “beyond the signatures” and start to take action so that women can enjoy their rights. Follow-up actionis being planned in the form of a campaign.
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Clockwise, from top left: A boy sells fish from a traditional dugout canoe in Mongu district; a little girl in Western Zambia; a woman participates in a meeting for members of Oxfam’s WASH project in Mongu; women chat in Matobo district, Zimbabwe; a young boy with his homemade soccer ball in WesternÂZambia; a woman sells her produce in Matobo district, Zimbabwe. Photographs: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam
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income and expenditure SAFR Total income GBP20 million
Unrestricted funds are funds that are not given for a specific project. They include general donations from the public, income raised by Oxfam’s 750 shops, money raised by Oxfam groups in the United Kingdom, legacies and major donations. Restricted funds are given for a specific purpose and used strictly in line with a set of agreed requirements. We raised restrictedfunds from a variety of sources including Oxfam International affiliates, bilateraland multi-lateral institutions, governments, trusts and foundations as well as from the UK public through direct appeals and marketing initiatives. The Catastrophe Fund is a centrally held source of money that is available to the Southern Africa region for unplanned emergencies.
SAFR Total Programme Expenditure by Aim GBP16 million
Top Projects are specific Oxfam projects that donors can choose to support. The projects in Southern Africa that were involved in this fund-raising initiative in 2009/10 were HIV and AIDS in RSA, Irrigationand Livelihoodsin Zimbabwe, and Education and WATSAN in Zambia. Oxfam’s work is rights-based and is divided into five broad areas: economic justice; essentialservices; rights in crisis; the right to be heard; and gender justice. In the fiscal year 2009/2010, Oxfam SouthernAfrica spent GBP20m (includingOxfam Unwrapped and Top Projects) as compared to GBP31m from the previous year. Of this year’s figure, GBP16m was spent on programmes, the balance of GBP4m was spent on non-programme activitiesand core management as well as fund-raising activity costs, with both restrictedand unrestricted funds contributingGBP14 and GBP6m, respectively. Total spend on Oxfam Unwrapped and Top Projects was GBP0.9m for the year.
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SAFR total expenditure by country
Expenditure comparison 2009 and 2010
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acknowledgements Oxfam’s work is made possible thanks to the contributions and efforts of many individuals and organisations. We would like to acknowledge and thank to the communities that we work with, who contribute so much and give us reason and hope as we persevere in our goals, and to all the people, partners, donors and Oxfam International affiliates, without whose support we would not be able to continue our work. We also thank our staff, who continue to strive for the highest standards as we work with others to overcome poverty and suffering in Southern Africa.
Women fishing in Western Zambia. (Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam)
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Our sincere thanks to the following organisations that have funded our work in Southern Africa in 2009/10: Angolan Ministry of Health Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Co-operative Group Development Bank of Southern Africa Embassy of Finland in Zambia Entwicklungshilfe KLUB European Commission (EC) European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) Government of Mozambique Government of the Netherlands GRM International Ltd Mercy Corps Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) Procter & Gamble Company Save the Children (UK) The Garden Trust The Scottish Executive The States of Guernsey Overseas Aid The States of Jersey Overseas Aid The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation UK Department for International Development (DFID) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) US Agency for International Development (USAID-OFDA)
Our thanks also for the generous support of Oxfam International affiliates and their donors around the world: Oxfam America Oxfam Australia Oxfam Germany Oxfam Hong Kong Oxfam Intermon Oxfam Ireland Oxfam Japan Oxfam Novib
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COVER: A school child at her desk in Gurue, Mozambique. Photograph: Nicole Johnston/Oxfam GB
Oxfam works with others to overcome足poverty and suffering足in Southern足Africa
For more information www.oxfam.org.uk www.oxfamblogs.org/southernafrica/ Oxfam GB Southern Africa Regional Centre 195 Allcock Street Colbyn Pretoria South Africa 0083 Tel: +27 (0)12 423 9900 Fax: +27 (0)12 342 3484
Oxfam is a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 202918) and Scotland (SCO 039042) and a company limited by guarantee and registered in England No. 612172 at Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX42JY. Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International.