About Action Against Hunger UK

The aim of Action Against Hunger is to save lives by combating hunger, diseases, and those crises threatening the lives of helpless men, women and children.

For more than 20 years, the international organisation has been at the forefront of the fight against famine and hunger.

Each year, Action Against Hunger's international network directly brings relief to more than 3 million people a year in around 40 countries, saving the lives of malnourished children and assisting families towards self sufficiency.

Action Against Hunger intervenes in the following situations:

• in natural or man-made disasters which threaten food security or result in famine
• in situations of social/economic breakdown, linked to internal or external circumstances which place particular groups of people in extremely vulnerable positions
• in situations where survival depends on humanitarian aid.

Action Against Hunger brings assistance either during the crisis itself, through emergency intervention, or afterwards through rehabilitation and sustainable development programmes. Its activities include the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malnutrition and programmes of food security, agriculture and water and sanitation.

The ultimate goal of all Action Against Hunger's programmes is to enable the beneficiaries to regain their autonomy and self-sufficiency as soon as possible.

As part of its commitment to fight hunger, Action Against Hunger is constantly raising public awareness on the hunger issue, reminding the decision makers of their responsibility to address it, campaigning on the real causes of the persistence of hunger and making the voices of victims heard.

Action Against Hunger is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-political, non-religious organisation. All members of Action Against Hunger, worldwide, adhere to the principles of transparency, non-discrimination, neutrality, professionalism, independence, and free and direct access to victims.

Our history

Afghanistan
Action Against Hunger's first programme: aid to 300,000 women and children who had fled the fighting and sought refuge in Pakistan.

Present in Afghanistan since 1995, all Action Against Hunger's emergency programmes - clinics, health centres, nutrition centres- in Kabul and in the Hazaradjat and Panjsheer regions were maintained thanks to the determination and commitment of Action Against Hunger's Afghan staff. Now that access is possible, the organisation is doing its utmost to bring assistance to as many people in need as possible.

Ethiopia
One million people were victims of serious drought and war. AAH rapidly set up emergency aid programmes providing food and water for the most vulnerable.

Kurdistan
Thousands of Kurds fled their country and sought refuge along the Iranian and Turkish borders. Action Against Hunger supplied the Yakmal camp (80,000 people) with drinking water and provided medical and nutritional supervision.

Somalia
Civil war and drought affected 250,000 people. AAH opened nutrition centres and restored wells. Its action helped more than 50,000 children and 10,000 pregnant or breast-feeding women.

Bosnia
In a country ravaged by war and ethnic cleansing, AAH provided food, drinking water, hygiene products, blankets and care to more than 60,000 displaced persons.

Rwanda
Hundreds of thousands of Rwandans fled their country to escape the massacres. In the camps set up along the Rwandan borders, AAH teams provided emergency food aid to 100,000 people, including large numbers of very young children.

Central America
In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch struck creating an unprecedented disaster in the area. Action Against Hunger's teams launched emergency and long-term recovery programmes in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

Sudan
Famine hit Sudan causing tens of thousands of victims and leaving the civilian population completely dependent on humanitarian aid. Action Against Hunger launched emergency programmes. It is estimated that 2.6 million people are still threatened by famine.

Kosovo
Action Against Hunger's international network directly assisted more than 500,000 people from March to September 1999 in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. Its teams continue to assist the most vulnerable in Kosovo.

Mozambique
In March 2000, the severe flooding that affected the country left 500,000 people without shelter. Action Against Hunger responded to the emergency.