Oxfam are asking the people of Hertfordshire to help save the lives of those caught in the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and Chad.

The aid agency needs money to maintain its emergency programme which currently costs £10m a year. Oxfam are providing aid to 530,000 people in Darfur and Chad, providing clean water, safe sanitation, public health promotion and helping people earn a living.

Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's International Director, said: "This is the gretest concentration of human suffering in the world."

Two thirds of the population in Darfur are dependant on aid while neighbouring Chad, which is already hosting over a quarter of a million refugees from Darfur, has seen 140,000 of its own people displaced due to fighting.

Just £25 would buy enough chlorine to ensure safe drinking water for 2,500 people. And £100 could pay for two people to be trained as public health workers while £200 would buy an Oxfam tap stand providing water for 1,500 people a day.

You can donate by calling 0870 3332500 or by visiting www.oxfam.org.uk/emergency. You can also make a donation at any Oxfam shop.