We Believe Every Life Should Be Well-Fed. Don’t You?

As the world’s hunger specialist, our primary goal is to create a better way to deal with hunger. For 40 years, we have led the global movement to end life-threatening hunger for good within our lifetimes. Our teams are on the front lines, treating and preventing malnutrition across nearly 50 countries. We are Action Against Hunger, and our work is in our name. 

We save the lives of children and their families. We are there for them before and after disaster strikes. We enable people to provide for themselves, see their children grow up strong, and for whole communities to prosper. We constantly search for more effective solutions, while sharing our knowledge and expertise with the world. We push for long-term change. We will never give up. Until the world is free from hunger.

Our global efforts save hundreds of thousands of lives each year, but millions of undernourished children remain in need of lifesaving treatment. We are committed to doubling the number of children who receive urgent hunger care, from three million to six million by 2020. 

Watch the video here 

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Today, undernutrition is the single greatest threat to child survival worldwide and the underlying cause of nearly half of all child deaths. Evidence proves that good nutrition in the first 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday – the critical “window of opportunity” – builds a strong immune system, ensures healthy physical and intellectual development, and “supercharges” a child’s chances of survival.

Despite hunger being so deadly, it is:

1. PREDICTABLE: We know where and when to expect acute undernutrition
2. PREVENTABLE: We know how to help children stay healthy
3. TREATABLE:  Community-based outpatient programs and therapeutic ready-to-use foods can help save millions, and 
4. INEXPENSIVE: Just $45 can provide a child with lifesaving treatment.

DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

“Everyone just wants the chance to live good, decent lives, and to be seen and heard. You cannot be seen and heard until you are fed—first physically, then emotionally. I believe your legacy is every life you have touched. Thank you, Action Against Hunger, for showing the power of legacy for all of us. There’s a way in our lifetime to end hunger—that is what matters.” ⁠—Oprah Winfrey

“I’ve been covering humanitarian crises since the early 1990s and have often been impressed by the work of Action Against Hunger. They are among the first to respond when tragedies unfold, and they work to ensure that communities have a fighting chance to get back on their feet… The nightly news can often seem overwhelming, but it’s important to remember there are effective ways to fight hunger and overcome poverty, and along with groups like Action Against Hunger, you can become part of the solution.” ⁠—Anderson Cooper, Journalist, CNN

WHAT WE DO

From isolated rural communities to overcrowded urban slums to refugee camps, Action Against Hunger works to prevent and treat undernutrition in over 45 countries around the world. We work in humanitarian emergencies and in more stable contexts to improve the health and survival of the most vulnerable children under the age of five, as well as pregnant women and nursing mothers.

We go to the most difficult to reach areas; we don’t leave anyone behind. Our teams are on the front lines in Yemen. Our teams travel for days by donkey in Ethiopia to reach the places trucks cannot reach. Our teams rush into a disaster zone when everyone else is desperately trying to flee it.  No child is too far.

Gather, Analyze, and Share Data on Undernutrition 

To determine the prevalence and root causes of undernutrition in each local context, we analyze both indirect and direct factors and conduct rigorous assessments. Gathering, analyzing, and sharing this data is essential to guiding an effective, relevant response.

Treat Acute Undernutrition

We refer acutely undernourished children who show signs of complications for inpatient care. We provide local, accessible, easy-to-reach outpatient treatment for acutely undernourished children without medical complications through a highly effective approach known as “community management of acute malnutrition,” (also called CMAM).  

Prevent Undernutrition

We work to prevent chronic and acute undernutrition through an integrated approach that addresses both the direct and underlying causes. In emergencies, we work to ensure that vulnerable children under five, pregnant women, and nursing mothers have access to supplementary food to meet their nutritional needs and prevent them from becoming undernourished.

We also work to educate and support mothers about the importance of breastfeeding for the first six months, and work to improve care and feeding practices to ensure children from six months of age to five years receive adequate micronutrients and protein for healthy development. Our programs also provide pregnant women and new mothers with peer support groups, facilitated by heath workers, to encourage and promote good nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and care practices for mothers, infants, and young children.  

Strengthen Local Capacity and Build Resilience

We train local health care workers and partners to screen and treat undernutrition, and we provide technical expertise and support to strengthen local health systems. In severe humanitarian emergencies, we sometimes directly deliver emergency nutrition programs to provide lifesaving treatment to acutely undernourished children, but our aim is to transfer our knowledge, work in partnership with communities, and strengthen what is already working via local health care services to ensure sustainable impact. We also work in more stable contexts, and after crises subside, to build communities’ resilience to hunger and mitigate the causes and consequences of undernutrition.

You can support Action Against Hunger’s work by visiting their website (link: https://actionagainsthunger.ca/givehope-zoomer/

Address:

Action Against Hunger Canada
720 Bathurst Street, Suite 500
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 2R4
[email protected]