Oxfam Urban Programming

In July 2018, the Oxfam Regional Platform in the Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA) region commissioned a political and economic analysis on the overall development situation in the region, titled “Oxfam in HECA Region Political Review: Issues and Implications”. The review found that urbanisation and its implications on poverty and inequality in the region is a trend that needs Oxfam’s attention for potential project and infl uencing work in the future.  To document lessons learnt from urban programming initiatives in the region, and to develop an urban framework for the ten country programmes in the region, Oxfam International contracted Urban-A in August 2019 to conduct this assessment and framework drafting. The aim is to increase Oxfam’s impact in urban areas across its humanitarian, development and campaigning work. The lessons learnt will inform Oxfam’s regional and global strategies.

The ”Oxfam Urban Programming Framework in the HECA Region” report provides an evidence-based, operational, easy-to-use roadmap for Oxfam’s future urban programming in the HECA region. The development of the framework and report has been done through a collaborative and participatory process, including a thorough assessment of the current programmes and urban trends to identify key challenges, opportunities, and lessons learnt. The information has been further refi ned and analysed in a regional workshop, forming the basis for the urban programming framework, where the region’s and Oxfam’s future trajectories are sought streamlined. The framework will serve as a guide on how Oxfam can achieve the greatest impact in the HECA region’s urban areas by meeting humanitarian needs, and addressing hindrances to, and strengthen positive drivers of, sustainable and inclusive development.

For the ten countries in the HECA region, a country brief has been developed to contextualise the analysis and proposed interventions put forward in the ”Oxfam Urban Programming Framework in the HECA Region” report. The country briefs are intended as a fi rst step for thinking at country level around Oxfam’s urban programming. It is not a comprehensive analysis of urban trends or potential initiatives in each of the respective HECA countries. Burundi was not visited as part of the fi eld-data collection.
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