Winter 2005, Volume 10 Number 1

Table of Contents

The earthquake deep beneath the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas did more than trigger a deadly tsunami that crashed onto the shores of 12 countries. It caused a seismic shift in public focus that could bury other serious humanitarian crises.

In Darfur, the vast, dry region of western Sudan, close to 2 million people still remain homeless, forced from their villages by nearly two years of violence. To the east, in Ethiopia, drought threatens more than 2 million people with an acute shortage of food, and 5 million others in the east African country struggle against chronic food deficits.

            The Indian Ocean tsunami, and the enormous amount of trauma left in its wake, has washed from the headlines all mention of these other problems. Reports have pegged the number of deaths from the giant waves at 150,000, with more than one million people left homeless. People and governments around the world have responded in kind, with a stunning outpouring of support.

            Oxfam welcomes the United States pledge of $350 million to help the tsunami survivors in South Asia. But it urges the US, and other countries, not to forget the crises affecting millions of people elsewhere. The agency wants to make sure that the money the US has pledged is not a reallocation of funds from other emergencies, such as those unfolding in Sudan or Ethiopia. Oxfam hopes that any money diverted from those crises gets fully replenished.

            Just days before the tsunami struck South Asia, the government of Ethiopia, together with the United Nations, issued an appeal for 387,482 metric tons of food valued at $159 million. They also sought an additional $113 million worth of non-food aid. In Sudan, only 83 percent of the United Nation’s appeal for Darfur was met last year. A total of $62 million still remains to be pledged, and the plan for this current year calls for an additional $621 million.

            Oxfam is now helping more than 650,000 displaced people who are crowded into camps and towns in Darfur and eastern Chad. The agency, and more than 500 of its staff members, is working to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases by providing people with adequate sanitation and clean drinking water. Oxfam has dug thousands of latrines, built water tanks, drilled wells, and installed faucets and bathing shelters across the region.
            None of these emergencies will be over in the next few weeks, or even months. A long period of rebuilding will follow, with the need for continued and generous support for years to come.

Oxfam America, a Boston-based international development and relief agency and an affiliate of Oxfam International, is providing immediate and long-term rehabilitation to people affected by the Asia tsunami. In its mission to find lasting solutions to poverty, Oxfam America works with local partners to deliver development programs and emergency relief services in 26 countries, including the US.

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