ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organisations, on a range of development issues. It was founded in 1972 byCecil Jackson-Cole as achild sponsorship charity (originally called Action in Distress) when 88 UK supporters sponsored 88 children inIndia andKenya, the primary focus being is providing children with an education, further the human rights for all, assisting people that are in poverty, assisting those who face discrimination,[2] and also assist people who face injustice.[1] ActionAid works with over 15 million people in 45 countries to assist those people.[1]
Today its head office is located inSouth Africa with hubs inAsia, theAmericas andEurope. ActionAid was the first bigINGO to move its headquarters from theglobal north to theglobal south.[3][4] ActionAid's current strategy aims to "build international momentum for social, economic andenvironmental justice, driven by people living in poverty and exclusion".[5] This includes running campaigns and providing training and resources for social movements.[6]
ActionAid has been campaigning for tax justice since 2008, conducting research into the effects of various international tax treaties and supporting local people and organizations to hold their governments to account.[7] It argues that losing tax revenue to avoidance harms the world's poorest and most marginalized people, who depend on tax-fundedpublic services.[8][9] It is also often the case that the tax revenue lost in these treaties can exceed the amount ofinternational aid money send to developing countries.[10]
ActionAid integrateswomen's rights into all of its programming and project work, but also undertakes campaigns that focus specifically on these issues.
It calls for rich countries to live up to pledges of providingclimate adaptation grants[21][22][23] and pushes for agreements to improve the lives of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.[24] ActionAid was also critical ofclimate insurance policies, such as those purchased by Malawi in 2015, since those insurance policies fail to deliver when they are desperately needed.[25]
ActionAid promotes women's leadership in humanitarian responses, arguing that women are best positioned to identify their needs and those of the communities around them in times of crisis.[26] Strengthening citizens' rights is also a focus, such as campaigning with Haitians for greater transparency and accountability in how aid money was spent after the2010 Haiti earthquake.[27]
As it has established relationships with communities and other NGOs in countries that are prone to ecological events, ActionAid is often able to respond quickly to emergencies. Notable crises and responses have included theBoxing Day tsunami in 2004 in theIndian Ocean,[28] drought in East Africa[29][30] and India,[31] and floods inGhana,[32]Rwanda,[33]Sierra Leone,[34]Bangladesh andNepal.
On 4 October 2018 ActionAid announced that Pakistan government had ordered 18international aid groups (including itself) to leave the country.[35]
Child sponsorship is one of ActionAid's primary sources of income. Donors sponsor an individual child[36] from a community in a developing country and receive regular updates about the child's progress and development.
Sponsorship funds support the child's whole community, "so children have a healthy and safe place to live and grow up." This support takes the form of providing clean water, healthcare, agricultural programmes, education centres in areas where schools are not available, and community income generation schemes.[37]
In 2018, ActionAid USA stopped using the child sponsorship method of fundraising, and switched to a monthly giving program.
As ActionAid has grown in influence, building alliances with like-minded organisations has become a key focus area. Announcing this approach at theWorld Social Forum in 2015,[38] ActionAid has played a role in convening civil society and community groups to tackle issues of youth political participation in the Middle East[39] and globalinequality.[40]
ActionAid also supportedShyam Benegal's film,Samar, which is based on the bookUnheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives byHarsh Mander.[42] The film raises issues aboutDalits.[41]
Everjoice Win was active in feminist and social justice movements in her country, Zimbabwe, the African continent, and globally for over 30 years. She was ActionAid International’s Global Head of Women’s Rights from 2002-2011, and the International Programmes Director between 2014-2020. She provided strategic leadership, guidance, and support across ActionAid’s federation, shaping its women’s rights, programs, advocacy, and campaigns work.[43][44][45][46][47][48]
Marco De Ponte is currently a member of the Global Leadership Team and also at the helm of ActionAid Italia since 2001. He has led ActionAid's expansion into new countries and is a well known civil society leader in Italy and internationally. He has previously engaged extensively, in particular as a human rights activist with Amnesty International and in the field of humanitarian assistance. He is on the coordination committee of the Italian Inequality Forum Forum Diseguaglianze e Diversità and has published extensively on issue of social justice and public policy.[54][55][56][57][58]
