OUR WORK IN INDIA
Quick facts
- 1.339 billion people
- 5.3% living on less than USD $1.90 / day
- 28.7% of women have experienced intimate partner violence
Despite being the third largest economy in the world, India has high rates of poverty, maternal mortality and malnutrition. Much of the population are unable to access health, education and other essential services to flourish. India is also highly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Poverty is something more than a lack of income, health and education. It can also result from being excluded from decision-making in society. The issue of poverty in India is complicated by the country’s social hierarchy: a person’s ability to work or access land can be influenced by factors such as gender, caste, religion and location.
There is a clear need for support of Indian people in their demands for greater social rights to challenge the system. Oxfam are committed to bringing a positive change to government policies, and to help build the social, economic and political empowerment of all people in India — especially women and marginalised groups. We’re also working hard to ensure people are prepared before disaster strikes.
Key areas of work
Gender Justice, Disaster Risk Reduction, Livelihoods, Climate change, Private Sector Engagement, Resilience, Emergency Response
Key Projects
Engaging People and Institutions for Change (EPIC)
This project (2017-2021) is focusing on the issue of domestic violence, including intimate partner violence and child marriage with a three-pronged strategy of mobilizing and influencing communities for creating positive shifts in social norms; ensuring improved access to support services for women and girls facing violence in their lives and improving their access to livelihood opportunities; knowledge building and dissemination with stronger networks working on women’s rights and gender justice.
Brahmaputra River Basin Resilience Building project
The third phase of this project (2017-2020) aims to strengthen the resilience and reduce the vulnerability of communities in targeted areas of the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam (3 districts and 45 villages) to natural disasters and the effects of climate change, with a focus on the most vulnerable including women, children, elderly persons and the disabled.
Private Sector Engagement
Oxfam Australia is supporting Oxfam India during the period 2016-2019 to monitor corporate social responsibility of the top 100 companies in India and to influence the private sector to adopt responsible and inclusive policies and practices to end inequality. This will be measured specifically through civil society organizations and investors holding private sector accountable for their policies and practices on business responsibility and regulatory agencies accepting civil society recommendations to make business responsibility framework more stringent.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We know the best way to fight poverty and injustice is to help people help themselves. Change the lives of vulnerable communities in India and around the world today.
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