Briefs
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Briefing paper
The Hunger Virus Multiplies
A year and a half since the pandemic began, deaths from hunger are outpacing the virus. Ongoing conflict, combined with the economic disruptions of the pandemic and an escalating climate crisis, has deepened poverty and catastrophic food insecurity in the world’s hunger hotspots and established strongholds in new epicenters of hunger.
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Briefing paper
Queer Community in Crisis: Trauma, Inequality & Vulnerability
Oxfam conducted a research study aiming at understanding the impact of the series of crises on the livelihoods and wellbeing of queer individuals in Lebanon, mapping available and needed services and resources, and generating recommendations to guide and support future efforts targeting the LGBTQI community in Lebanon. The findings of this research showed that members of the community have limited access to safe spaces, are facing a housing crisis, are in dire need of basic assistance, and are facing worsening mental health and psychological wellbeing.
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Briefing paper
Shining a Spotlight
A critical assessment of food and beverage companies’ delivery of sustainability commitments
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Briefing paper
The Inequality Virus
The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began. The virus has exposed, fed off and increased existing inequalities of wealth, gender and race. Close to two million people have died, and hundreds of millions of people are being forced into poverty while many of the richest – individuals and corporations – are thriving. Billionaire fortunes returned to their pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, while recovery for the world’s poorest people could take over a decade. The crisis has exposed our collective frailty and the inability of our deeply unequal economy to work for all. Yet it has also shown us the vital importance of government action to protect our health and livelihoods. Transformative policies that seemed unthinkable before the crisis have suddenly been shown to be possible. There can be no return to where we were before. Instead, citizens and governments must act on the urgency to create a more equal and sustainable world.
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Briefing paper
Will the Cure Bankrupt Us? Official Development Assistance and the COVID-19 Response in Southern African Countries
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa in early November 2020 exceeded 1.8 million, with 45% occurring in Southern Africa (SAF). Most SAF countries lack the capacity to adequately protect lives and livelihoods. High indebtedness means underfunded essential services, and most countries had just emerged from a severe food crisis and the effects of Cyclone Idai. Donors must go beyond temporary debt service suspension and provide new aid grants. SAF governments must not use the pandemic to restrict civil society advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable people.
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Briefing paper
A Shot at Recovery
Measuring corporate commitments towards a free, fair, and accessible COVID-19 vaccine