Oxfam's work in Azerbaijan in depth

In Azerbaijan, Oxfam’s focus is on supporting farmers to build sustainable livelihoods, health care, helping people displaced by conflict, working with local governments to make people’s voices heard and disaster preparedness.

The context

Despite the country’s revenue from oil, poor people in Azerbaijan remain plagued by high unemployment, rising poverty and lack of essential services. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left people without jobs, and the country without infrastructure. The situation was further exacerbated by the conflict with neighboring Armenia, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes, never able to return. Today, those displaced by the conflict are gradually building a more promising and prosperous society.

How Oxfam is helping

Together with local partners, we’re providing affordable health care to the most vulnerable communities. We support farmers to access new markets, improve their production and help build a sustainable livelihood. We’re working with local government to improve its accountability and transparency, thereby building people’s trust in the system. With our support, hundreds of people displaced from their homes during the conflict with Armenia are now rebuilding their lives. In the wake of increasing climatic shocks, Oxfam adds further support by helping communities to  be better prepared to respond to natural disasters.

Health care where it's needed

Together with our partners, we are working to empower poor communities to have access to quality primary health care facilities. With our support, 49 rural communities have started to run and finance their own primary health care schemes. Members contribute a monthly fee and receive professional treatment and medicines in return. At an advocacy level, we’re working to ensure the government endorses and replicates these schemes throughout the country, as a stop-gap measure that ensures sufficient health services for its people. Oxfam’s input also includes building and improving clinics and increasing access to clean water.

Rebuilding lives

An unresolved conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh has left Azerbaijan with approximately 750,000 refugees and IDPs for more than a decade. Oxfam and its partners are helping hundreds of people displaced by the Karabakh war by improving irrigation systems, facilitating better access to markets and providing agricultural training. 

While many displaced still live in structures made of mud and sticks, hundreds have been resettled in government built housing units and are benefiting from Oxfam’s support.

Listen to podcast on our work with IDPs

From subsistence to sustainability

In south-central Azerbaijan, individual farmers don’t have influence over markets, or money to invest in their land. They work hard, but can only survive at a subsistence level. Oxfam’s partners are working to change this, by promoting a pro-poor business environment, and, by providing loans as stop-gap measures.

With significant funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), we are helping to ensure that smallholder farmers have better access to global supply chains. We are working with one of the world's leading suppliers of consumer goods, Unilever, to develop a business model that will benefit small scale farmers. With technical support from Oxfam and Unilever, onion producers will be able to sell their products in international markets. As a co-operative, these farmers will able to improve their production, processing, and marketing.

The Unilever project would change my life.  Now we don't earn enough [selling in local and national markets].  But if we sell to Unilever we will be able to develop our business.

Mirdamed Bagirov, Khanarab village, onion farmer

Oxfam is further supporting communities by restoring and repairing irrigation and drainage systems.

Calling the government to account

Dialogue between people and local government has been an important element in achieving change. We’re working to help amplify the voices of communities at government level and improve accountability. With our support, poor people are having a say in how municipal governing bodies are making decisions and managing budgets.

Increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability

Oxfam is helping 15 villages across four regions of Azerbaijan, who are affected by earthquakes, floods and mudflows. We are working with local communities and government to educate families on how to prevent disasters, how to evacuate safely and to plan for future incidents. To reduce people’s vulnerability to disasters we support community initiatives, such as the redirecting of small streams to prevent a build up of dangerous mud within mountainous areas.

 

Last updated: January 2011