Philanthropy and Partnerships

In 2024, we have responded to more than 15 humanitarian crises, supporting more than 3.3 million people. This has included the; East Africa food crisis, conflict in Sudan, flooding in Bangladesh, and the Turkey-Syria Earthquake.

As an example, the conflict in Sudan, displaced 10.7 million people and left 25.6 million people facing acute hunger. ActionAid is working with two partners, ‘Women Relief Aid’ and ‘Women Advocacy and Development Initiative’, to provide humanitarian support in Sudan and South Sudan.

This has included sanitary kits, trauma counselling for survivors of sexual violence and trainings to build the leadership skills of young women.

Our Emergencies Action Fund (EAF) exists to ensure we are always ready to respond in emergencies, whenever and wherever they strike.

In 2024, we have been ramping up our demands for climate justice.

At ActionAid, we know that there is no gender justice without climate justice: women and girls are 14 times more likely to die in climate-related disasters than men.

Through our global, five-year ‘Fund our Future’ campaign, we are tackling the two main causes of global warming – fossil fuels and agribusiness.

We are supporting grassroots communities and women-led organisation to expand green alternatives, such as agroecology.

We have seen significant progress towards ActionAid’s work against FGM/C in Somaliland. After over a decade of campaigning, in September 2024 the Somaliland Ministry of Social Affairs and Family have for the first time approved a national Anti-FGM/C policy.

This is a big step forward towards full legislation criminalising it in the country, which we will continue to work towards, and is a huge milestone in decades of campaigning by Somali activists, women’s rights organisations, coalitions and charities.

In Kenya, smallholder farmers and informal workers play a vital role in the international tea supply chain but are largely ‘invisible’ and their rights, including their right to live free from violence, are often overlooked.

ActionAid is proud to be working in partnership with ETP (formerly Ethical Tea Partnership), Taylors of Harrogate, Lavazza Pro and the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to ensure tea farmers and workers in Kenya can claim their rights to a positive working environment. The initiative works closely with women smallholder farmers and informal workers to ensure they understand and claim their rights and can build support networks. 

In Jordan, 48.5% of the population are women. However, only 14% of women are employed, making Jordan’s female workforce one of the lowest in the region for a non-conflict affected country, and the fourth lowest in the world.

A project, made possible by funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is tackling these problems by creating the ‘Women Friendly Label’.

Working closely with our partners and women in the workplace, we have created a label based on women’s expectations of a safe working environment.

Workplaces that meet these expectations will be awarded with the Women Friendly Label. This allows women to identify workplaces where their rights will be upheld, encouraging women to integrate into the workforce.

The label will also incentivise businesses in Jordan to increase equal pay, provide equal opportunities and eliminate gender-based violence from the workplace.

The Women Friendly Label has been awarded to five companies, with 22 more organisations being engaged.