About Action Against Hunger

How do we tackle hunger?

We predict, prevent and treat life-threatening hunger. We fight it when it happens. And we tackle its root causes. When all else fails and life-threatening hunger and malnutrition take hold, we step in quickly and save lives.

Predict

We’ve set up revolutionary early warning systems that spot the early signs of malnutrition so we can step in before it takes hold.

We use satellites to detect crops and water sources. These are sent straight to farmers, pointing them to better grazing land where their animals can eat and drink.

Prevent

We tackle the underlying causes of life-threatening hunger and malnutrition.

We ensure communities have clean, safe water and plenty of it ­­– so they can drink it, give it to their livestock and use it on their crops.

We help farmers to grow drought-resistant crops. We teach them how to vaccinate their livestock to prevent them from catching diseases. We give people cash so they can set up their own businesses.

We know that conflict and climate change are causing more hunger. We demand decision-makers to do more to change policies to reduce the impact of both of these issues.

Treat

When it’s not possible to stop life-threatening hunger, we treat it. Here are some of the ways we help children recover from malnutrition:

Nutrition centres

We run specialist nutrition centres where health workers use a Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) band to assess whether a child under five is suffering from malnutrition.

F100 formula milk

If the mother is too malnourished to breastfeed and the baby is severely malnourished, we give babies nutrient-rich formula milk called F100, which our scientists developed in the 1990s. If the mother isn’t malnourished, we encourage breast-feeding because it contains the nutrients a baby needs.

Ready-to-us food

We give older children under five a peanut-based paste called Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). We were the first organisation to use this.

When diagnosed on time and with the right treatment, a child’s life can be saved in just six weeks.

Why we’re unique

We’re pioneers in the field of life-threatening hunger and malnutrition. And we have a team of experts who carry out research and share it with others to end global hunger.

We use science, innovation and practical knowhow built on years of experience. One day we’ll shift solar panels for irrigation by donkey across land with no roads. Another, we’ll be working on a photo app to spot severe malnutrition in children.

And we’re a humanitarian agency, responding to conflict, disasters and emergencies whenever they happen. As a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), we’re at the forefront of saving lives and delivering aid during major crises and emergencies.