From Our Blog

Investing in Access to Healthy Food

By Joel Putnam, Global Partnerships

Photo of worker packing fruit

Photo: Nilus

The Challenge

The number of people facing hunger has been rising for nearly a decade. Close to 30 percent of the global population now faces moderate to severe food insecurity, with households living in poverty or conflict zones at especially high risk.[1]

There are two key factors constraining access to healthy food: availability and affordability.

  • Availability challenges often appear in two forms, particularly in urban areas: food deserts, where there are few or no places to buy food; and food swamps, where stores only sell unhealthy junk food.
  • Affordability encompasses the absolute cost of food and the cost of a healthy diet relative to household income. In Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 23 percent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, and in sub-Saharan Africa that rate rises to a staggering 84 percent.[2]

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Organization Profile

Oxfam – Helping Refugees Since its Inception

By Joel Meyers

Photo of line to get water

Ukraine Oxfam water points in Mykolaiv. Photo: Kieran Doherty / Oxfam

Hello, please introduce yourself, including your position(s) at Oxfam, and where you are stationed.

My name is Tara Gingerich. I am the Humanitarian Director at Oxfam America. Oxfam America is headquartered in Boston, though I live in Maine and work remotely. I have worked for Oxfam for over 15 years.

Tell us a bit about Oxfam and how Oxfam initiated programs to help refugees…

Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. We work with local organizations to address urgent humanitarian needs and protect lives when disaster strikes, and at the same time, we tackle the root causes of poverty, for the long term. We advocate for economic justice, gender equality, climate action, and to transform the global humanitarian system. And we demand equal rights and equal treatment so that everyone can thrive, not just survive.

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Goalmaker

Empowering Resilience: Supporting Women and Children amid Ukraine’s Conflict

By Amber Cortes

Anastasiia Zhelezko

Anastasiia Zhelezko. Photo: Global Communities

Anastasiia Zhelezko had planned her humanitarian career since 3rd year of her Bachelor’s degree. She was finishing her degree at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 2022, already with the intention to work in the humanitarian field, when Russia invaded Ukraine, and everything happened faster than she thought.

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