DEC welcomes Action Against Hunger as newest member

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) announces that Action Against Hunger UK will today become the organisation’s newest member.

The DEC brings together leading UK aid charities in times of major humanitarian disasters overseas. During DEC appeals these charities work together, collectively raising money to respond to crises in poorer countries and ensuring that emergency relief reaches the people that need it most.

Action Against Hunger has been at the forefront of the global fight against hunger for almost 40 years and now has programmes in nearly 50 countries. The organisation has particular expertise in preventing, detecting and treating child malnutrition, especially during and after emergency situations caused by conflicts and natural disasters.

Action Against Hunger Executive Director Jean Michel Grand said: “We’re extremely proud to become a member of this well-respected fundraising body that the British public trusts to respond collectively to catastrophic disasters overseas. As a humanitarian organisation with over 40 years of expertise in fighting hunger and malnutrition crises, our ambition is to help to increase the DEC response in emergencies and save the lives of many more malnourished children caught up in natural disasters or brutal conflicts.”

DEC Chair Clive Jones CBE said: “We are delighted to welcome Action Against Hunger as our newest member. Alongside their global reach, Action Against Hunger’s technical expertise in areas such as the prevention of hunger and malnutrition will be a great asset to the DEC and the effectiveness of our response to humanitarian emergencies. With extensive support amongst the UK’s food and hospitality industry, the addition of Action Against Hunger to the DEC’s membership will help us reach even more of the generous British public to raise much-needed funds during the world’s worst humanitarian crises.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Media contacts – at DEC: Sarah Sansom on ssansom@dec.org.uk, 020 7255 4283 or 07930 999 014; at Action Against Hunger: 07496 292 383 or e.pomfret@actionagainsthunger.org.uk, k.attwood@actionagainsthunger.org.uk or a.farrant@actionagainsthunger.org.uk

About DEC membership

The DEC has formal membership criteria that apply to both new and existing members. These can be found here.

DEC membership is capped at 15 places to ensure effective collective decision-making and cost efficiency. Action Against Hunger UK is the most recent charity to join DEC since Plan International UK joined 7 years ago.

The DEC brings 14 leading UK aid charities together in times of crisis: Action Against Hunger UK, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK; all collectively raising money to reach those in need quickly. 

About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger has been at the forefront of the global fight against hunger for almost 40 years. The charity was first established in response to the 1979 Afghan crisis. Since then, it has grown into the global Action Against Hunger network (headquarters in London, Paris, New Delhi, Madrid and New York) with programmes in nearly 50 countries, and a large presence in the highly vulnerable Sahel region of Africa. The organisation works to save lives and eradicate hunger and is well respected for its expertise, knowledge and innovation in preventing, detecting and treating child malnutrition, in particular during and after emergency situations caused by conflicts and natural disasters.

Action Against Hunger is currently working in all the major humanitarian crises around the world including supporting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, working with communities affected by drought and food shortages in East and West Africa, meeting urgent humanitarian needs in war-torn Syria, Yemen, DRC, South Sudan, Central African Republic, north east Nigeria, and many more crises around the world. Last year, through its global programmes, the Action Against Hunger network helped 20.2 million people around the world.

Action Against Hunger became a registered charity in the UK in 1995. In 2017, the charity had a total financial turnover of £31.4M. As primarily a humanitarian organisation, it dedicated over 70% of these funds to emergency programmes (over £22M) in 18 countries. The remaining funds were used for longer-term projects that support populations’ initiatives and efforts to be more autonomous and resilient.  Most of its private fundraising (a total close to £4M in 2017) came from the generosity of the UK food and hospitality industry and the food-loving general public.