Emergencies & Conflicts

When disaster strikes, ActionAid aims to save lives and protect rights.

We promote the leadership, engagement and agency of poor and excluded people, particularly women, ensuring they are at the centre of emergency response.

Women’s Leadership in Humanitarian Emergencies

Disasters, conflict and climate change disasters are increasing around the world, resulting in the deaths of millions of people each year. Disasters increase inequality, particularly for women, and affect ecosystems and the fabric of communities.

We work on-the-ground to deliver emergency aid like food, water, shelter and medicine, to meet the immediate needs of people affected by crisis. And in the long-term, we work with communities, supporting them to take the lead as they rebuild and recover, putting women and girls’ safety and wellbeing at the heart of our approach.

Turkey Syria Earthquake

In the first six months following the deadly Turkey-Syria Earthquake in February 2023, ActionAid reached 104,778 people through search and rescue operations, providing essential food, shelter and mental health support as well as crucially, offering women safe spaces to come during the long days.

Immediately after the earthquakes, our ActionAid youth volunteers reached 6,330 people through search and rescue operations and emergency medical and mental health care.
We are providing clean water and hygiene kits to over 30,000 people.
Our Mobile Mental Health units are providing a lifeline to hundreds of traumatised children living in remote areas.
We’ve helped to fund a new hospital in North-east Syria which has already helped 5,275 displaced women and children received urgent medical care from a dedicated team of nurses, midwives, and doctors.

In the ActionAid-funded hospital, healthcare workers are fighting to safely deliver babies amid poverty, extreme heat, shelling, a growing cost of living crisis and precious few resources. Watch how these healthcare workers are supporting the community here:

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Women in Somaliland pouring water into water tanks

Women photographed gathering water in Somalia. Photo credit ActionAid.

East Africa Food Crisis

East Africa is facing its worst food crisis for decades, following four years of failed harvests, erratic rainfall and rocketing global food prices.

Up to 20 million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are going hungry every day, with severe malnutrition amongst infants and young children.

Local women, young people and partner organisations on the ground are leading our response, but they urgently need your support to expand their life-saving activities and avert a catastrophe.

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Fund our next response

Sadly, we know that emergencies caused by conflict and the climate crisis are likely to become increasingly frequent in future. It is vital that we have the funds to be prepared for these crises, wherever and whenever they strike. Regular donations help us to be ready when a disaster strikes.

By giving a monthly donation, you could help where the needed is greatest, including supporting families around the world with vital supplies such as food, hygiene supplies and shelter.