ActionAid

Who we are

We’re an international organisation, working with over 15 million people in 45 countries for a world free from poverty and injustice.

Our head office is in Johannesburg. We’re the only international development organisation with our head office based in Africa. We also have offices right across Asia, the Americas and Europe. We believe the people whose lives our work affects should decide how we’re run.

And that’s what makes us different. We help people use their own power to fight poverty and injustice. Because that’s how real change happens – for families, for communities, for whole societies.

What we do

We focus on the people that others forget. People in poverty. People who face discrimination. People whose voices are ignored.

We help people fight for the rights that they are denied. Simple things, like the right to eat. The right to stay on their land. To an education. To have a say in the decisions that shape their lives.

We’re not about giving handouts or telling people what to do, because in the long run we know that doesn’t work. Instead, we use our resources, influence and experience to help people find their own solutions.

We listen to what people really want and need. We help communities take action together to hold their governments to account, and we give local organisations our support where they need it. Together, we’re making a lasting difference.