oxfam overview
TRANSCRIPT
8/7/2019 oxfam overview
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A world leAder in disAster response
O ws ounded in Englnd in 1942 s
the Oord Coittee or Fine Relie.
Our rst ission ws to respond to the
plight o World Wr II victis in Greece.
Tking the ne o the coittee’s
postl bbrevition—OxFam—O’sounders continued providing ssistnce
to poor people throughout Europe beore
brodening their ocus. Tody, through
O Interntionl, conedertion o 13
Os including O aeric, we hve
the rech to provide lie-sving ssistnce
to those in need round the world. and
becuse we re on the ground even beore
disster strikes, we cn respond switly.
our ApproAch
Sving lives is O’s rst priority. We
help people preserve their helth nd
dignity. Even beore disster hits, we
work to reduce the risk o uture dissters.
Once the iedite dnger hs pssed,
we work with people to rebuild their lives.
Our coprehensive pproch includes
the ollowing:
meeting bsic needs
> ater n ssessent o the disster, we
quickly bring in supplies nd st to help
the locl orgniztions with which we
work eet the needs o survivors.
> Estblishing source o clen wter is
oten criticl. We drill wells, set up wter tnks, ly pipes, nd build wshstnds
to provide se nd dequte supply
o wter during the eergency. We re
guided by interntionlly ccepted stn-
drds tht cll or 15 liters (bout our
gllons) o wter per person dily, which
is ent to cover ll drinking, cooking,
nd wshing needs.
> adequte snittion is essentil in
preventing the spred o disese. We
dig countless ltrines, provide privcy
enclosures, nd equip counities tokeep the ltrines clen.
> In dissters, ilies oten lose every-
thing they own. We supply vriety o
household essentils, including plstic
sheets or shelter, clen wter jugs,
sleeping ts, blnkets, kitchen utensils,
sop, nd clothing.
Oxfam at a glance: Saving lives
In n eergency, O’s objective is to sve lives. In the long ter, dissters nd the wywe respond to the cn provide opportunities or socil chnge—chnces to crete lsting
solutions to poverty nd injustice.
> Interntionl guidelines cll or 2,100
clories per person ech dy. During
soe eergencies, we provide supple-
entl rtions to help eet tht gol. We
lso oer csh-or-work progrs tht
provide people with oney to buy ood in
echnge or their eorts to clen up thewreckge let in the disster’s wke.
Iproving public helth
> In the terth o disster, when
people re living in overcrowded nd
unilir conditions, the thret o
diseses such s choler reins high.
Epideiologicl studies nd public
helth outrech re essentil copo-
nents o our work. We send in public
helth prooters who shre inortion
bout how to keep wter clen nd ood
se. They lso work with counities—especilly children—on tking siple
steps, such s hndwshing, to keep
everyone helthy.
In the town of Independencia, Peru, young women
carry water from a tank Oxfam helped to install.
When an earthquake struck off the coast of Peru in
August 2007, Oxfam quickly stepped in to prevent
the spread of waterborne diseases among the
displaced people. In the rst three months after the
quake hit, Oxfam provided 21,000 families with clean
water and sanitation as well as temporary shelter.
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> During certin kinds o eergencies—
such s disese outbreks—we un-
dertke public helth ssessents to
help counities trck the rnge o the
proble, identiy its source, nd ndworkble solutions.
> We re beginning to develop erly
wrning systes tht use public helth
indictors to lert us to potentil probles
brought on by chnges in locl conditions,
such s drought. ared with this inor-
tion, we cn tke steps to vert the
disster tht drought oten brings.
advocting or rights
> Dissters usully hit poor people hrdest.
They oten live in the ost vulnerbleloctions—on deorested hillsides or in
low-lying costl res, in hoes built
ro terils tht cn’t withstnd the
onslught o nture—nd they lck the
resources to recover. and in n eer-
gency, the rights o poor people re oten
the rst csulty. They requently ce
violence, re denied bsic services, nd
re ecluded ro decisions bout their
utures. We work with the poorest co-
unities to help the cli their rights to
sety, services, nd voice.
Wht is O?
O aeric is n interntionl relie nd developent
orgniztion tht cretes lsting solutions to poverty, hunger,
nd injustice. Together with individuls nd locl groups
round the world, O sves lives, helps people overcoe
poverty, nd ghts or socil justice. To join our eorts or lernore, go to www.oeric.org.
We re eber o O Interntionl— coneder-
tion o 13 O lites—working in ore thn 120
countries with up to 3,000 locl orgniztions. With ny
o the cuses o poverty globl in nture, the ebers o
O Interntionl believe tht we cn chieve greter ipct through our collective eorts.
> Both behind the scenes nd in the pub-
lic ren, our policy dvisers work to in-
fuence legisltion nd iprove politicl
structures t ll levels o governent so
tht the needs o the poorest survivors
will be et.
> Our respect or the needs o woen
nd the rights o both genders is
integrl to our eergency response.
For instnce, in building ltrines, we
tke into ccount the sensitivities o woen who re pregnnt or those
whose culture vlues odesty. In soe
situtions, we work with storytellers to
help chnge culturl ttitudes bout the
roles nd responsibilities o woen.
When we distribute household goods,
pckets y include snitry npkins,
bby cre ites, or ternity dresses.
Helping people ern living
> Getting bck to work ter n eer-
gency helps people nd counities
recover ore quickly. We provide
vriety o progrs tht oer iedi-
te eployent s well s ostering
long-ter econoic security. aong
our inititives re grnts nd lons tht
help people jup-strt businesses. We
Oxfam America
226 Cusewy Street, 5th Floor
Boston, ma 02114-2206
(800) 77-OxFam
www.oeric.org
© 2008 O aeric Inc. all Rights Reserved. O aeric is registered trderk o O
aeric Inc., nd the O logo is registered trderk o Stichting O Interntionl.
080100
und voctionl trining. and we support
soe counities with the distribution
o bsic ring nd husbndry sup-
plies, such s high-qulity seeds nd
ilk-producing gots.
Preventing the net disster
> Finding wys to help people prepre
or eergencies nd prevent nturl
events ro becoing dissters is
centrl to our ission.
> We work with counities to tke
prcticl steps. For instnce, in res
prone to severe fooding, we help people
understnd the risks, p their resources
nd devise plns tht llow everyone to
rech sety. In res where shortges
o rin re chronic, we help counities
iprove their locl wter supplies.
> We lso urge governents nd inter-
ntionl id groups to direct resources
towrd disster prevention.
“Unless we tke ction to reduce people’s vulnerbility hed
o tie, even the sllest nturl event will becoe disster
or the poor nd rginlized.
”
mike Delney, O aeric’s director o hunitrin response