Tag: Oxfam

Australian consumers are being encouraged to be “good eggs” this Easter by buying ethically sourced chocolate to drive up demand for Fairtrade products and improve the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

Oxfam has vehemently condemned yesterday’s Coalition airstrike on an Oxfam warehouse in Saada Governorate in northern Yemen.

The Government’s first annual report on the performance of the Australian Aid Program highlights why they must reverse cuts to the aid budget, Oxfam said today.

Typhoon Hagupit has struck the Philippines, making landfall in Eastern Samar, pummelling the coastal communities with 210km/h winds. Oxfam is ready to dispatch rapid assessment teams to survey the damage left in its path, and assess and respond to the greatest needs.

Despite the slight downgrading of Typhoon Hagupit Oxfam emergency responders remain on high alert, with the storm still recording windspeeds of up to 231km/m and posing a significant threat to millions of people in the Philippines.

International aid agency Oxfam has welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement of $4.5 million to boost Fairtrade between small community producers in the Pacific and in Indonesia with regional and international markets.

Oxfam Australia Trading General Manager Julia Sumner said the investment highlighted the importance that trade plays in helping to lift people out of poverty.

In a battle against the clock, with less than two months left in the window set out by the UN to curb the spread of the Ebola virus ravaging in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, there is still a crippling shortfall in military staff to provide the logistical support that is desperately needed. This includes building treatment centres, providing flights and both engineering and logistical support.

International agency Oxfam is planning to triple its Ebola prevention program in Sierra Leone and needs at least $18 million to help 2.5 million people at risk of catching the disease.

The landmark Arms Trade Treaty, designed to control the trade in deadly weapons that fuel armed conflict around the world, will become international law before the end of the year, with seven countries today agreeing to ratify the international agreement at the United Nations, in New York.

Oxfam Australia is calling on the Abbott government to increase its humanitarian aid to Syria at a UN pledging conference in New York on Tuesday.