OUR APPROACH AND AIMS Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering. To achieve the greatest possible impact, Oxfam works at community, national and global levels. Our approach is a flexible and holistic one. We aim to address what people living in poverty say they need and equally to support them in their own attempts to bring about positive change and realise their rights. In each country where we work, we tailor our support by combining a mix of humanitarian, longer-term development and campaigning and advocacy strategies, so that everything we do is connected and mutually reinforcing. And in countries increasingly suffering from external shocks, stresses and uncertainty in an ever-changing world, we are working with communities to build their resilience, so that they can thrive despite these challenges. Oxfam is an independent organisation, affiliated to Oxfam International, a global confederation of 17 independent Oxfams which share the same purpose and rightsbased approach. We are all part of a global movement to build a fairer, safer world. Charitable objects As stated in the Memorandum of Association the objects for which Oxfam is established for the public benefit are: • To prevent and relieve poverty and to protect vulnerable people, including through humanitarian intervention; • To advance sustainable development; • To promote human rights, equality and diversity, in particular where to do so contributes to the prevention and relief of poverty; in all cases working anywhere in the world. Oxfam has five strategic aims that are based on fundamental human rights: The right to sustainable livelihoods: We are working for a world in which every person has enough to eat, a dependable income and the opportunity of secure, paid employment in dignified conditions. We are calling for the funding and support needed to help millions of people living in poverty adapt to climate change. The right to life and security: We provide assistance and protection to people caught up in conflict or natural disasters, and lobby governments and the international community to live up to their responsibilities to protect civilians. The right to essential services: Oxfam’s ability to secure our other aims depends on people being able to access health care, education, clean water and sanitation facilities. We lobby at global level for state investment – supplemented by international aid – in basic social services. The right to be heard: Powerlessness causes poverty and keeps people poor. Oxfam enables people in poverty to engage with decision makers and toinfluence the local, national and global decisions that affect their lives.
Oxfam in Horn, East and Central Africa In this region, we work in ten countries – Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Together with a wide network of communities and partners, we: • Provide communities in some of the most remote and neglected parts of the region with clean, safe water and proper sanitation • Help people earn a sustainable income by investing in small businesses, farmers and pastoralists • Respond to emergencies, distributing vital life-saving aid such as shelter and blankets to people made homeless by conflict or hunger • Lobby the powerful to address the causes of poverty – whether climate change and conflict, or unfair trade policies and corruption • Conduct public education campaigns to help stop the spread of preventable diseases such as malaria and cholera • Support the next generation by building schools and training teachers • Facilitate peace-building and mediation initiatives between communities in conflict Towards ‘Vision2020’ Oxfam International is currently undertaking an ambitious ‘Vision2020’ transformational change that would see all affiliates work as one, while we remain more relevant as an organisation in an increasingly unequal world. Oxfam is driven by a strong desire to achieve impact in our rightsbased approach to poverty, aiming at being accountable and legitimate to our communities, donors and partners particularly to people living in poverty. The ongoing change process is fundamental to our work in HECA and the decision to adopt a new governance management structure at all Country and Regional levels reaffirms our commitment to delivery of better programming for the benefit of those we serve across the region. The decision to merge the existing Horn and East & Central Africa regions into one HECA region will contribute to Oxfam becoming more effective and efficient while maximising on the untilisation of shared resources. The establishment of a global Single Humanitarian Unit, and the commitment to building capacity at country level to work on Disastor Risk Reduction and category 3 responses is important to Oxfam’s humanitarian work especially in this disaster-prone region. Plans underway to move Oxfam’s global secretariat to Nairobi in a few years’ time, is a true reflection of our genuine commitment of becoming a global organisation. Our collective knowledge will increasely continue to contribute in our influencing work across the region inline with our 2020 vision.
The right to equity: Gender inequality is a major cause of poverty. Oxfam has therefore made a commitment to put the rights of women living in poverty at the heart of everything we do. OXFAM IN HORN EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
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Pan Africa Program Economic Justice (Sustainable food)1
Pan Africa Programme enhances food security, prosperity and resilience through strengthened access to and control over land and natural resources in Africa, while ensuring agriculture investment for small-scale farmers. We advocate for states to implement the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) with a focus on small-scale farmers, most of whom female farmers. PAP also addresses land grabbing by contributing to adoption and implementation of African guiding principles on large-scale land-based investments. While promoting climate change adaptation, equitable natural resource management and prevention of resource-based conflict at national, regional, continental and global level. Additionally we upscale the Female Food Heroes concept and strengthen establishment of RWA (Rural Women Assemblies) for drawing attention to and improving the role of women in food production. PAP also provides continental leadership and representation on the Africa component of the GROW campaign as well as input African perspective into Oxfam’s positions and advocacy on food, natural resources management and climate change.
Achievements Oxfam and partners strengthened public awareness and political will on CAADP. 19 States have attained productivity growth of 3%-6%. 9 States exceeded 10% investment target, and most countries have made big progress towards this goal. We had a more vocal participation of farmers, especially women. Farmers’ movements were strengthened by support to continental and regional coalitions of smallscale farmers’ organisations (PAFO, ESAFF, and others); policy literacy; and research-based policy positions. In 2013 our partner PACJA organised the 1st ACCER Awards on African Climate Change and Environment Reporting. It lauds valuable climate journalism to increase public and political attention. They held Weeks of Action on Climate Change in preparation for the 2013 UN Conference on Climate Change. As part of GROW we advocated for policy options to combat land grabbing. Since 2012 we collaborate with the Pan African Parliament and the working group led by IISD for “A Parliamentarians’ Response to the Land Rush in Africa”. So far, action plans have been agreed upon by ECOWAS, SADC and EALA. 1 This contains components of fair sharing of natural resources.
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The Stop Land Grabbing coalition, which Oxfam is a part of gained momentum and on 19th August 2013 it conducted the 1st community hearings on land grabs. The hearings are part of a movement for an African land use policy, which assures equitable and sustainable access to land resources for food production and income generation, while ensuring free, prior and informed consent of affected citizens and stakeholders. Thanks to the lobbying of Oxfam and allies, policymakers are more responsive to interests of small-scale farmers; Governments are more aware of Climate Change and 47 African States introduced climate adaptation plans; Global agreement reached to cut carbon emissions, fund adaptation and mitigation.
Saving lives, now and in the future (Rights in Crisis/ Peace & Security)
The Pan Africa Programme aims at ensuring that fewer men, women and children will die or suffer illness, insecurity and deprivation by reducing the impact of natural disasters and conflict by advocating for humanitarian issues to feature prominently on the AU’s political agenda. We engage with and influence the decisions of the AU bodies on Peace and Security, Political Affairs Commission, the Gender Directorate in the Chairperson’s office, and Regional Economic Communities, IGAD and ICGLR, with Oxfam’s analysis and recommendations and aggregated Africa positions. PAP also works towards creation of access of the affected populations/ victims to the African Union’s Peace and Security Council as well as conduct policy analysis to inform Oxfam’s global RiC Team on developments at the AU. We aspire to be the African link to the global RiC campaign.
Achievements During the celebrations marking the 50 years of the OAU/AU we launched 50 Voices, 50places campaign which brought to life voices of people living in conflict prone countries and their aspirations for a better tomorrow. This was presented to the AU as part of the lobbying the AU peace and security bodies to end conflict in these countries.
Financing for Development
We support the progressive autonomy African Governments’ and Institutions’ and their responsiveness to citizen’s rights and needs through adequate and appropriate
Affiliates supporting work in this region Arab Gulf Fund AECID AGRA Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Australian Development Agency (ADA) Band Aid Belron Foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM) Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Comic Relief Common Humanitarian Funds (CHF) Community Church of UK Conrad Hilton Foundation David Williamson Foundation Department for International Development (DFID) , Digital Green DFID Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Dubai cares Dutch Government Dutch government Dutch Post code Lottery EDP fund-( Sisal Value Chain EDP Fund ELMA Enterprise Development Programme Fund (EDP ) European Commission – Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (ECHO) European Commission (EC) European commission (through IDE ) European commission (through Save the Children ) European Union Development Fund Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) French Embassy GATES Foundation German Embassy GFO Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF ) Innocent Foundation International Organization for Migration (IOM) Irish AID, Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOAC) KPMG KPMG-SCIP Kristen Davis Lacaxia Bank through Oxfam Intermon La Direction générale de la coopération au développement (DGCD)
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Mariposa Foundation Mariposa Grant McArthur Foundation Michaels ME NOKIA Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), One Foundation Projects Direct, Prospect Union Resource Conflict Institute (Reconcile ) Rockefeller Foundation Scottish Government Spanish Cooperation Spanish private donor Suisse Development Cooperation Sulney Fields Charitable Trust Support Marketing - LIFE Project Support Marketing ( Top Project – Planting Materials ) Supporter Marketing Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) The Waterloo Foundation (TWF ) The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Tanzania Fund- Sisal Value Chain United Nations Children’s Fund United Nations Development Program (UNDP) United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA ) Univeristy of Buffalo Unwrapped USAID Volvo Well Springs foundation World Bank (through CARE ) World Food Programme (WFP), Oxfam America Oxfam Australia Oxfam Canada Oxfam Belgium Oxfam France Oxfam Germany Oxfam Great Britian Oxfam Hongkong Oxfam Intermon Oxfam International OXfam Italy Oxfam Ireland Oxfam Novib