The coronavirus pandemic is not over. And as a devastating second wave of Covid-19 is hitting India, Nepal and neighbouring countries, millions more lives are at stake.

The pandemic has destroyed the livelihoods of many of the world’s most vulnerable people. The majority are women who were working in informal and insecure employment: the first jobs to be cut in a crisis. 

Now, the record-breaking new wave of Covid-19 is tearing through countries in the global south, and we urgently need your support to deliver life-saving aid where it is needed most.

Covid-19 has unleashed a surge in violence against women and girls across the world, but lockdowns have shuttered and closed life-saving services for women at a time when they have been most needed.

If you donate now, 90% of your donation will go directly to our emergency Coronavirus response, to help the countries that need it most. Funds are currently being prioritised to India and Nepal where the need is urgent. Please give what you can now.

What ActionAid has done so far

As of May 2021, ActionAid has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic in 40 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

We have reached over 21 million people with our life-saving support: delivering food supplies, distributing essentials like soap and water, funding women’s shelters and combating the spread of misinformation with awareness-raising projects like local radio broadcasts.   

In India alone, we have reached over 6.8 million people with food support, sanitation and protection against gender-based violence. 

In Nepal, we have reached more than 427,000 people, delivering thousands of Covid-19 prevention kits, handwashing supplies and PPE items, alongside food packages and menstrual products.

But we urgently need your help as this second wave of Covid-19 puts millions more lives at risk. Please donate now.

How your donation makes a difference

Your gift can help stop the spread of Covid-19, save lives and defend women’s rights.

£30

could provide six displaced families with enough soap for a month, to keep themselves clean and safe

£50

could provide essential hygiene kits to two displaced families

£100

could provide enough basic PPE for one frontline health worker for four months

Or choose your own amount to give

£

ActionAid's Covid-19 response

As in all emergencies, ActionAid has put into action our women-led, localised response to the pandemic: ensuring women are empowered to make decisions about the needs of their community. 

We have put the protection of women and girls at the heart of our response.  

From distributing essentials kits, so women have access to safe, hygienic menstrual products, to funding domestic violence shelters, we are still working round-the-clock to protect women’s rights amid the pandemic. 

We have also reached millions of people with life-saving aid to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Between April and September 2020 we distributed over 1,400,000 hygiene kits, hand sanitisers, soaps or handwashing facilities, along with more than 340,000 units of PPE. 

Meanwhile, we have reached millions of people across four continents with our awareness-raising activities, designed to stop the spread of dangerous misinformation about Covid-19.  

We are still working day and night to support people as the devastating second wave of coronavirus tears through communities, putting millions more lives at risk. 

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ActionAid's response so far

ActionAid is responding to the Covid-19 pandemic in over 40 countries, and we plan to reach more than 15 million people by the end of 2020. 

  • In Afghanistan, we've reached over 170,000 people with emergency food aid, hygiene kits, and projects promoting women's and girls' empowerment. 
  • In the Rohingya refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, we're reaching over 3,600 people per week with hygiene demonstrations and community awareness projects, so people can protect themselves.
  • In the DRC we've reached five million people with our radio programmes in local languages, raising awareness about Covid-19 as well as sexual and gender-based violence. We’re also distributing Covid-19 prevention kits, and emergency food, to at least 30,000 people.
  • And in Somaliland, a region of Somalia, we've trained young people to raise awareness about the virus door-to-door, reaching 30,000 people. We're also establishing hand-washing stations, distributing soap and water, and providing shelter kits for people in urgent need.

Together, we're making a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable people, but there's so much more to do. If we act now, many more lives can be saved.

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About ActionAid

ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty.

Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls. We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.

We operate in rural and urban communities across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

We’re committed to ending the cycle of violence in communities around the world, enabling women’s economic empowerment, and supporting women’s and girls’ rights during humanitarian crises.

Where your money goes

90% of your donation will go directly to our emergency Coronavirus response. Funds are currently being prioritised to India and Nepal where the need is urgent.

Between 28th April-16th May 2021, 90% of donations to this appeal went to support our response to the Covid-19 surge in India. 

10% of your donation will be retained for ActionAid’s Emergency Action Fund which will only be used for ensuring we are prepared and able to respond quickly and more effectively to future emergencies and crises. If the total amount raised for this appeal exceeds the funds needed for the response, ActionAid will transfer the remaining balance to the Emergency Action Fund. All Gift Aid claimed on donations will fund ActionAid’s work across the world, wherever the need is greatest. 

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Top image: Talat, a survivor of domestic abuse, was supported by ActionAid India’s Gauravi One-Stop Crisis Centre in Bhopal. Now she is part of ActionAid India's emergency Covid response. Samyamoy Debnath/ActionAid

Page updated 29 June 2021