Nairobi, Kenya · Established 1942
Oxfam International
The power of people against poverty.
(About)
A confederation of 21 organizations working in 87 countries to end poverty.
Oxfam began in October 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, a group of Quakers, academics and social activists lobbying the British government to allow food aid through the Allied blockade of Nazi-occupied Greece, where famine was killing tens of thousands. After the war the committee stayed together to respond to European reconstruction, and by the 1960s had expanded into long-term development work in the Global South.
Oxfam is now a confederation of 21 independent national affiliates coordinated by Oxfam International, whose secretariat moved from Oxford to Nairobi in 2018 in a deliberate step to shift decision-making closer to the countries where programmes are implemented.
The organisation is known both for its humanitarian work — Oxfam is one of the world's leading providers of public-health engineering, water and sanitation in acute emergencies — and for its research and advocacy on inequality, tax justice, gender rights and the climate crisis, published each year in reports timed for the World Economic Forum.
(Verified profile)
What the record actually says.
Sourced from official reports & independent registers
Structure & mandate
Confederation of 21 independent Oxfam affiliates coordinated by Oxfam International, founded 1942 in Oxford as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Secretariat in Nairobi since 2018.
Key public programmes
- ▸Humanitarian WASH — public-health engineering in acute emergencies
- ▸Advocacy on inequality, tax justice and gender rights
- ▸Long-term programmes on gender justice and climate-resilient livelihoods
Founded
1942
HQ
Nairobi
Kenya
Countries of work
10+
Primary sources
Independent registers
(Public perception & reviews)
What people actually say.
AI-synthesized from watchdogs, press & donor reviews
The Reach Out Score is generated by our AI based on public-domain signals (watchdog ratings, transparency, program-vs-overhead, controversies). It's a starting point — always verify against the primary sources above.
(Work in the field)
Photos of their work.
Sourced from Wikimedia Commons
(Where we operate)
Active in 10 countries.
- Kenya
- Uganda
- Bangladesh
- Yemen
- Ethiopia
- Haiti
- DR Congo
- Malawi
- Zimbabwe
- Iraq
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