Hundreds of thousands of people who survived Myanmar’s worst-ever cyclone are facing the prospect of being trapped in debt as the one year anniversary of Cyclone Nargis approaches, international aid agency Oxfam said today.
Oxfam International is now providing emergency relief to over 36,000 civilians who have fled fighting between Sri Lankan troops and LTTE rebels in the past few days, amid fears for thousands more women, men and children trapped behind rebel lines and exposed to deadly dangers from the constant clashes.
Asylum seekers trying to reach Australia’s shores are desperate to escape persecution and violence in their home countries.
It is increasingly clear that while the global economic crisis is hitting developed countries like Australia hard, it is crashing through the borders of poor countries with ever-greater severity. Indeed, the World Bank has estimated that an additional two to four hundred thousand infants a year will die as a result of this crisis.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other G20 leaders have delivered a vital pick-me-up for poor countries struggling to survive the economic crisis, but much more is needed to ensure their long-term recovery, international aid agency Oxfam said today
Australian spending up, but more still needed
A 10% increase in global foreign aid spending by OECD member countries announced overnight overnight is welcome but still nowhere near enough to meet the needs of poor countries in the face of global economic meltdown, international aid agency Oxfam said today.
Thousands of Australians will take part in events to mark the third annual National Close the Gap Day on Thursday 2 April, to urge State and Federal Governments to end the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health crisis.
Anthony Lee, David Venour, Richard Does and Stephen Paine ran 100km in just 10 hours and 34 minutes, breaking the record for the Oxfam TRAILWALKER Melbourne endurance challenge.
As the sun rises over Melbourne today, 2800 people will set off on a 100km trek in
teams of four sacrificing toenails and struggling with blisters in an effort to raise money for international aid agency Oxfam.
Oxfam is calling on Pacific Brands and other major Australian clothing companies to take more responsibility for the rights of the overseas workers who make their goods. This follows today’s release of a report that found a Hong Kong-based company that coordinates the manufacture of some Pacific Brands products rates poorly on efforts to eradicate sweatshops.