humanitarian aid

Rich countries meeting in London this week must commit to real changes that will improve the lives of millions of Syrians. The aid funding and resettlement places offered so far have often been so low as to be little more than token gestures. Syrians in need are waiting for actions not just kind words and promises.

Six months after the International Conference on Ebola Recovery in New York, at least $1.9 billion worth of promised funds have not been delivered and scant information is available about the remaining $3.9 billion.  Global leaders are failing to honor their promises to communities devastated by Ebola in West Africa as $5.8 billion of pledged recovery funds proving almost impossible to track.

The Ethiopian government estimates that 10.2 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year after more than 12 months of erratic or failed rains have caused the worst drought in Ethiopia since the mid 1980s. Ethiopia is one of a number of countries struggling to cope with the effects of one of the strongest El Niños on record. 

Yemen is on a slow downward road to starvation and the growing number of people going hungry shows its descent is gathering pace. All those fuelling Yemen's tragedy need to stop being arms brokers and start becoming peace brokers. 

Oxfam is scaling up its operations in Taiz governorate, Yemen, to meet the increasing humanitarian needs in communities affected by the escalating fighting in and around Taiz city. The UN’s Emergency Response Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, has described Taiz city as a ‘city under virtual siege’, with food, medical supplies, and fuel blocked from entering and humanitarian agencies denied access to the besieged population. 

Tanzania is currently hosting over 110,000 Burundians within two camps, Nyarugusu and Nduta, which was recently opened to relieve overcrowding. More refugees continue to arrive in their hundreds every day and aid agencies face difficult decisions about where to use their limited resources.

Health and shelter for Burundian refugees in Tanzania are poised to get worse in already overstretched camps, the aid agencies Oxfam, HelpAge International, Plan International, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned today, if there is an increased influx of refugees across the border.

The number of refugees arriving in Europe needs to be put in perspective, Oxfam said today, calling on wealthy states to help refugees and poor communities in countries neighboring Syria. 

Are you a humanitarian? Humanitarian Aid Workers come from all places and all walks of life. For the occasion of World Humanitarian Day 2015 we talked to some of the Humanitarian Aid Workers in South Sudan about what makes them humanitarians and what drives them to help others.