Oxfam International is one of the world’s most recognizable charitable organizations. Originally founded in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (later shortened in 1965 to “Oxfam”) by a group of Quakers, academics, and anti-war activities, Oxfam began as a local effort to provide food for the people of Greece.
In 1942, as World War II raged, Britain and its allies had imposed a naval blockade against the country of Greece, which was then occupied by Nazi and Fascist Italian forces. Oxfam was part of a nationwide movement in Britain known as “Famine Relief” whose aim was to persuade the government to allow shipments of humanitarian aid to reach Greece.
One way that the organization sought to raise money to buy supplies during the Famine Relief was to operate a shop that sold donated clothing and other items.
In 1945, Oxfam expanded its focus to persuade the British government to permit the sending of food and other humanitarian aid to Germany. In 1951, a large-scale famine in the state of Bihar in recently independent India became the first time the non-profit began sending food and other types of humanitarian aid to a non-European country.
In 1954, Oxfam expanded its reach to the African nations of Algeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. In 1958, the organization began operations in Brazil. In 1963, Oxfam created its first national organization outside of England, this time in Toronto, Canada and the next year it launched its “Fairtrade” scheme to sell handmade items in its shops.
In 1970, Oxfam opened its national organization in the United States. In 1988, Oxfam launched its first “Red Nose Day”.
Although the organization has endured a series of scandals and setbacks, it has nonetheless grown to become one of the most trusted and highly respected charitable organizations in the world. And while Oxfam International is much bigger now than when it was a Quaker-led grassroots organization to end hunger, it has continued its mission to end human poverty and suffering.
Today, Oxfam operates more than 1,200 charity shops across Britain and the rest of the world.
What Is Oxfam?
Oxfam is both the name of the international secretariat (known as Oxfam International) as well as the 21 different national organizations that operate under the name Oxfam.
In 1994, Oxfam International was created to serve as the umbrella organization for various national organizations.
Oxfam operates with over two thousand partners and allies throughout various regions across 79 nations.
In 2022-2023, Oxfam and its 2,248 partner organizations assisted 15.5 million beneficiaries, 51% of whom were women and girls, according to its annual report.
Currently, there are 21 national Oxfam organizations in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. Oxfam also has a separate, French-language organization in Canada based in Quebec. The charity also operates three “public engagement offices” in Argentina, South Korea, and Sweden.
The headquarters of Oxfam where the Oxfam International Secretariat (OIS) is based are located in Nairobi, Kenya.
* OIS decides on priorities and common goals, and coordinates, facilitates, and fosters collaboration among Oxfam’s affiliates.
With offices in key areas across the globe in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, OIS strives to impact decision-makers so that their policies benefit the most vulnerable people.
Over 8,200 people are employed across the entire Oxfam confederation which includes 217 people at the OIS offices in Nairobi, those employed by Oxfam’s affiliates, as well as the Global Humanitarian Team whose goal is to offer technical assistance to partner organizations across the confederation.
What Does Oxfam Do?
Initially, Oxfam was a wartime effort to alleviate starvation in European countries, but the organization has since expanded its mission to end global poverty.
Oxfam regularly solicits donations as well as operates a network of shops that sell handmade or donated items in order to raise funds to support its mission. Oxfam also regularly holds fundraising events at music concerts and comedy festivals.
In addition to raising money and delivering aid and supplies to people, Oxfam has now become a leading publisher of papers and reports concerning fair trade practices, labor unions, wealth inequality, gender-based violence, and tax policy.
Oxfam also regularly conducts campaigns to help educate and inform the public about key issues, including refugees, vaccines, and youth activism.
Oxfam Initiatives in Ethiopia, the Philippines, Iraq and Yemen
- One example of an Oxfam initiative is the financial assistance and nutrition advice the organization offered to thousands of displaced individuals seeking refuge in Adigrat, Ethiopia. This initiative was undertaken in collaboration with the Relief Society of Tigray with funding from the Australian Humanitarian Partnership.
- Oxfam’s 2022-2023 annual report reveals that following a national care assessment that it sponsored, six national government agencies in the Philippines began to operate together to incorporate unpaid care work into their policies and initiatives.
- In addition, the report states that those areas in Iraq and Yemen where Oxfam initiatives have been put into effect have registered a doubling in the number of women and girls who feel protected from gender-based violence.
Who Owns Oxfam?
Stichting Oxfam International (Stichting meaning – foundation in Dutch) is registered in Hague, Netherlands, and is a foreign company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom. Its operations are overseen by both directors and trustees.
The head of Oxfam is known as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), which together with a “cabinet” of a Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Supporter Officer, and Chief Impact Officer, are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization.
Oxfam International’s directors are chosen by its Council of Trustees, members of which are appointed by the company’s shareholders.
The various national Oxfam affiliates are also organized under similar structures.
What does Oxfam Stand For?
Oxfam is now the official name for an organization that was founded in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief as it was based in Oxford, England and sought to raise funds to deliver food to the starving people of Greece.
Today, “Oxfam” can refer to either one of the national organizations that operate under the name or to Oxfam International, the coordinating body that oversees the organization’s work.
What Are Oxfam’s Goals?
Simply put, Oxfam’s overarching goal is to “end poverty” worldwide. To do this, Oxfam uses a distributed approach to deliver resources and training to its affiliates, which in turn implement field projects that are designed to help local people learn to help themselves.
Oxfam believes that the causes of poverty are structural, and therefore, the goal to eradicate poverty can only be achieved by employing systematic solutions, rather than just handing out aid to people in need.
Oxfam also continues to focus on responding to emergencies, including natural disasters, civil unrest, and war, by delivering food and other humanitarian supplies to populations in need.
