Internal document shows aid giant still reeling from Haiti scandal

The shockwaves of the Haiti sex scandal continue to rock Oxfam as the charity prepares to make cuts of £16 million.

There will be job losses and a reduction in poverty-relief programmes as a result.

It could sell off high street shops and withdraw from some countries.

Staff were told the news in a bombshell internal document, which was leaked to The Guardian.

Workers were told by outgoing boss Mark Goldring that the cuts were needed after the revelations about sexual misconduct by staff in its Haiti programme in 2011.

This scandal – where Oxfam staff hired prostitutes among the devastation of the earthquake there – has led to repercussions across the aid sector.

Oxfam GB has been hit hard – it has withdrawn from bidding for further funding from the Department for International Development until it has shown it can meet safeguarding standards, has lost more than 7,000 supporters and consequently donations, and last week it was banned from Haiti permanently.

The Guardian reports that the seven page internal document states that the organisation will “have to save substantial amounts of money to put [us] on a more stable and sustainable footing”.

Marked as confidential, it states: “It is clear ... that the size of our programmes will be substantially reduced for this year and next ... this means making tough choices.”

A statement issues by Oxfam GB stated: "We are devastated that the appalling behaviour of some former staff in Haiti and shortcomings in how we dealt with that eight years ago means we now have less money to provide clean water, food and other support to people who need it.

“We are immensely grateful to all those – including more than nine in ten of our regular givers – who have continued to support us during these difficult times. This support makes a massive difference to people struggling to escape poverty and to survive disasters around the world.

"We are cutting head office and support functions to ensure that we can continue with the majority of our lifesaving and life changing work on the ground, such as helping Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and people struggling to survive war in Yemen.

“Our other top priority for investment is our action plan to strengthen our continuing efforts to root out sexual harassment and abuse.”