Philanthropy and Partnerships

In 2023, we have responded to 28 humanitarian emergencies, supporting more than 3.6 million people, in 26 countries. This has included catastrophic disasters which have gone to emergency appeal: the East Africa food crisis, the war in Ukraine, the Turkey-Syria earthquake, and the crisis in Gaza. In September 2023, the Morocco earthquake in the Atlas Mountains killed 3,000 people and displaced 250,000.

We have raised nearly £600,000 for this response, helping us distribute 1,000 dignity kits (with soap and period products), provide temporary shelter, and to offer psychosocial support for families.

Every five years, ActionAid offices and allies around the globe come together to campaign on crucial issues. In 2023, we launched our ‘Fund our Future’ campaign, focusing on climate justice.

Industrial agriculture and fossil fuels are destroying our planet. Since 2015, banks have provided $3.6 trillion towards fossil fuels and industrial agriculture in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The ‘Fund our Future’ campaign is calling for banks to stop funding these harmful activities. We are advocating for renewable energy investments and support for agroecology, which promotes food security and social justice. For example, through the ‘Sustainable agriculture for rural women farmers’ project in Ghana, 72% of people trained in this programme either established a new agroecology business, or improved an existing one, and 51% have reported an increase in income.

One of ActionAid’s key strategic aims is to significantly reduce the risk of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

To achieve this, we collaborate with women’s movements and organisations across the globe to address the structural causes of violence. ActionAid Kenya has been working alongside women and youth-led organisations, PALAWAMA and Africa Youth Trust, to tackle VAWG. This project began as a text-message helpline that allows incidents of violence to be reported, and links survivors to legal, medical and psychosocial services. In 2023, the programme has expanded to focus on economic independence initiatives so that survivors of violence can recover. They have learnt about entrepreneurship, financial management and marketing. This has led to six businesses being set up by survivors in 2023.

Economic rights and justice are central to ActionAid’s goal of a world free from poverty and inequality. Our programmes have supported women and girls to develop skills, access secure jobs in safe working conditions, be guaranteed social protections, such as maternity leave, and reduced the burden of unpaid care work.

Together with partners, ActionAid has created a ‘Women Friendly Label’, made possible thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. The scheme awards businesses in Jordan which are upholding women’s rights and preventing violence in the workplace. Through this project, ActionAid has been advocating at workplace and government-level for equality, inclusivity and safety. In the next stage of this project, we will be pushing for the national authorities to adopt this label and establish a legal aid clinic to ensure labour rights are upheld.