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ActionAidTrustees’ reportand accounts 2008

Contents

Trustees’ report and accounts

Cover picture: Janete Adhiambo in Kisumu, Kenya

PHOTO: Sven TOrfinn/PanOS PicTureS

Report of the board of trusteesLegal and administrative information

Trustees’ biographies

Chair’s statement

About ActionAid International and our approachHow do we achieve our aims?

A snapshot of our work across the UK

A snapshot of ActionAid International’s workacross the world

Looking ahead: our plans for 2009

Financial reviewActionAid’s finances

ActionAid International’s finances

ActionAid’s constitution and governanceAccountability and trustee development

Internal control

Risk management

Financial risk management

Trustees and their statutory responsibilities

Staff, governance and management

Auditor’s report

Financial statements

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5

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PatronHis Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales

Legal and administrative information

AuditorsBuzzacott LLP

12 New Fetter Lane

London

EC4A 1AG

SolicitorsBates, Wells & Braithwaite LLPCheapside House138 CheapsideLondon EC2V 6BB

BankersHSBC Bank plc52 Oxford StreetPO Box 1EGLondon W1A 1EG

Registered officeHamlyn HouseMacdonald RoadLondon N19 5PGTelephone: 020 7561 7561Fax: 020 7272 0899Email: [email protected]: www.actionaid.org.uk

Board of trusteesKaren Brown, chairJane Buckley Sander, appointed 7 March 2008Adriano Campolina SoaresPat CaplanRobert Chambers, term expired 24 May 2008Jane Esuantsiwa GoldsmithMike Forrest, appointed 7 March 2008Richard Lewis, FCA, honorary treasurerFrank McLoughlin, appointed 7 March 2008 Peter Moore, term expired 24 May 2008Annie MoretonPrash Naik

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Report of the board of trustees

The trustees present their statutory report with the financial statements of ActionAid for the year 2008. The report has been prepared in compliance with

Part IV of the Charities Act 1993. Financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 39 - 41 of the attached

financial statements, and comply with the charitable company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, applicable laws and requirements of Accounting

and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2005).

The trustees’ report is also a directors’ report required by Section 234 of the Companies Act 1985, and all trustees are directors.


Board committee

Finance and audit committeeRichard Lewis, Peter Moore, Adriano Campolina Soares, Jane Buckley Sander,Mike Forrest

Governance and board development committeeKaren Brown, Pat Caplan, Peter Moore, Annie Moreton

Remuneration committeeKaren Brown, Peter Moore, Richard Lewis, Frank McLoughlin

Principal officersRichard Miller, executive directorSue Bishop, communications directorBelinda Calaguas, policy and campaigns directorAnna Stobart, organisational effectiveness directorRichard Turner, fundraising directorDavid Woodbine, ACA, finance director

ActionAid is a registered charity in England and Wales (number 274467) and a company limited by

guarantee, registered in England and Wales (number 1295174).

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Karen Brown (chair)Adviser on media, education and communications. Karen recently worked with

the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, on its global public engagement and

education strategy. Formerly a programme maker at Granada Television, then

commissioning editor at Channel 4, where she became deputy director of

programmes and managing director of its subsidiary, 4 Learning. Karen is a

trustee of the Mary Ward Settlement, the David Lean BAFTA Foundation, and

fellow of the Royal Television Society. She was a director of Television

Corporation plc until 2006. She joined the ActionAid board in 2003, and in 2004

became its chair, joining the board of ActionAid International.

Jane Buckley SanderCurrently works part time for Commonwork on sustainable and global education.

Most recently worked as an associate lecturer at Birkbeck and consultant and

education adviser for a number of bodies including the British Council, the

Commonwealth Foundation, QCA, The Institute of Global Ethics, the Community

Development Foundation, and the Nuffield Review. Formerly CEO of NGOs

Changemakers and VSU Youth in Action, and director of public sector body

The Volunteering Partnership and a federally funded anti-poverty programme in

New York state. Also chaired National Council of Voluntary Youth Services and

National Federation of Youth Action Agencies. Her main interests are in children's

rights and learning for global citizenship. She joined the ActionAid board in

March 2008.

Adriano Campolina SoaresActionAid International’s regional director for the Americas and also the

international director responsible for the food and hunger theme and impact

assessment. A trained agronomist, Adriano was the chief of cabinet of Federal

Deputy Gander, Brazil, covering legislative change, public policy and budgetary

issues. He is a political adviser for the Brazilian Centre of Labour Unions. Adriano

previously worked at the National Confederation of Workers in Agriculture,

Brazil, covering foreign relations, regional trade policy and rural communities,

supporting the formulation of policy programmes for the improvement of national

agricultural reform policy. He joined the ActionAid board in 2004.

Pat Caplan Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths College London. Pat

carried out research in coastal Tanzania, south India, far west Nepal and west

Wales, with a focus on gender and food. Her most recent books have been on

anthropological ethics, risk, life history and Swahili identities. She joined the

ActionAid board in 2006.

Mike ForrestSenior partner at Karis Medical Centre in Inner City Birmingham. A GP trainer,

honorary clinical lecturer at Birmingham University and a Fellow of the Royal

College of General Practitioners. Currently a trustee of Karis Neighbour Scheme

and Chair of Sport4Life UK. He has a special interest in social determinants of

health and disease. He joined the ActionAid board in March 2008.

Jane Esuantsiwa Goldsmith An independent consultant in statutory and voluntary sector, specialising in

diversity, gender, race, strategic planning and international development.

A member of the UK government delegation to the 1995 UN Fourth World

Conference on Women in Beijing. Former commissioner for Women’s National

Commission and former chair of the Fawcett Society. Jane is currently a member

of the Equality and Diversity Forum and ambassador for the Women’s Resource

Centre. She joined the ActionAid board in 2007.

Trustees’ biographies

05


Richard Lewis MSc FCA (treasurer)A consultant specialising in finance and higher education. Richard was formerly

professor of accountancy at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, pro-vice

chancellor of the UK Open University, and interim chancellor of the US Open

University. He studied at Imperial College and at the London School of

Economics, and is the author of a number of publications on financial accounting.

Richard has worked as a consultant for several organisations, including

UNESCO, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development. He joined the ActionAid board in 2004 and was elected

treasurer in September 2005.

Frank McLoughlinPrincipal of City and Islington College in London – one of the largest general

further education colleges in England. The focus of Frank's career in education

has been on social justice, developing equal opportunities and widening

participation. He has a special interest in global citizenship. He is a trustee of

the Helena Kennedy Foundation and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

He joined the ActionAid board in March 2008.

Annie Moreton Marketing and fundraising consultant developing strategy and operational plans

for charities, particularly NGOs, with a focus on raising funds from individuals.

Formerly marketing director of Greenpeace UK, and trustee of Greenpeace

Mexico and Action on Smoking and Health. Currently chair of GeneWatch UK, a

not-for-profit group monitoring developments in genetic technologies from a

public interest, environmental protection and animal welfare perspective. She

joined the ActionAid board in 2004.

Prash Naik Head of Channel 4 Television’s Legal and Compliance Department. He trained

and qualified as a solicitor in private practice where he specialised in media

litigation. He was recruited to Channel 4’s in-house legal team in 1994 and is

responsible for advising Channel 4 and its independent producers on legal and

regulatory issues relating to the content of its programmes. He joined the

ActionAid board in October 2007.

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The last year was a tumultuous one for the world, with huge economic shocks

caused by the food and fuel crises followed closely by the global financial crisis.

These affected many people in the UK, but we are conscious that the most

dramatic impact was on the poor people we work with. In response we

reprioritised our work and redoubled our fundraising efforts, to try to counteract

the fall in the value of the pound.

As I write we have just heard the shocking official figure that a staggering 275,000

people are pushed into poverty every day. This is surely a call to action — to all of

us — to reorder our priorities and build a world community that is more committed

than ever to ending the scourge of grinding and devastating poverty.

In my visits over the last year to see ActionAid’s work, my overriding emotion

however is not of despair but hope. At the end of a deeply rutted track in

Rajasthan, India, we visited a cluster of remote farming hamlets, described by one

inhabitant as the most backward place in India. There we talked to groups of

Muslim girls in school. Unremarkable except that, until recently, there was no

prospect of these girls attending school for social reasons. Now their parents

celebrate their daughters’ learning, viewing it as the way to transform their lives.

This was achieved through the efforts of one of ActionAid’s partners, who had the

inspired idea of asking a handful of young women teachers to live for a while in

the community. There they were able to begin to establish trust with their

neighbours and gradually parents started to give permission for their daughters to

go to school. Somehow, this turnaround has become a beacon of hope, and the

community has now seized the initiative on a variety of issues that will make their

lives more secure.

We would like to acknowledge this type of commitment and skill, shown by our

staff and partners around the world. All too often they put work ahead of

commitments to family and rest, and we thank them for their dedication. We were

delighted when our ActionAid colleague Daniel Bekele and our partner Netsanet

Demissie were finally freed from prison in Ethiopia. They are now studying in the

UK and we wish them well in the future.

An important part of our work in the UK has been to build a clear campaigning

vision to strengthen our work. For instance, ActionAid supporters campaigned to

ensure supermarkets reward their overseas suppliers fairly. Thanks to the volume

of views expressed, the Competition Commission decided to propose the setting

up of an independent supermarket ombudsman, and we will continue to campaign

for the proposal to be accepted by the government. You will find other examples

of such work in this report.

We have achieved much and made progress worldwide but none of this would

have been possible without our generous and loyal supporters. We know times

are tough and we cannot take anything for granted, but we hope and trust you will

stand by poor people around the world as they seek to build a better, more secure

and more just future for themselves, their families and their communities.

Thank you

Karen Brown

Trustees want to hear from you, so if you have any comments or questions on

this report, please email Karen Brown at [email protected]

Chair’s statement

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Some terminologyFor the purpose of these accounts it may be useful to clarify what we mean bythe various uses of ‘ActionAid’.

Whenever we want to refer to a particular member of the ActionAid family wewill add the relevant country name, eg ActionAid Cambodia or ActionAid Italy.

Our visionA world without poverty and injustice in which every person enjoys theirright to a life with dignity.

Our missionTo work with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice.

Our valuesActionAid International lives by the following values:

• mutual respect, requiring us to recognise the innate worth of allpeople and the value of diversity

• equality and justice, requiring us to work to ensure equal opportunity to everyone, irrespective of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, HIVstatus, colour, class, ethnicity, disability, location and religion

• honesty and transparency, being accountable at all levels for theeffectiveness of our actions and open on our judgements andcommunications with others

• solidarity with the poor, powerless and excluded will be the only bias in our commitment to the fight against poverty and injustice

• courage of conviction, requiring us to be creative and radical, bold andinnovative — without fear of failure — in pursuit of making the greatestpossible impact on the causes of poverty

• independence from any religious or party-political affiliation

• humility in our presentation and behaviour, recognising that we are apart of a wider alliance against poverty and injustice.

About ActionAid International and our approachActionAid is a development charity whose aim is to fight poverty. We are part of

ActionAid International — a coalition of country programmes,associates and

affiliates that has grown over the past 36 years to work in almost 50 countries.

ActionAid International works with poor and excluded people, communities and

movements, in partnership with civil society organisations. We do not do things

for people, because we believe poor and excluded people have the right and the

ability to shape their own lives.

About ActionAid International and our approach

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when we say… we mean….

ActionAid the UK charity

ActionAid

International

the global ActionAid ‘family’, of which ActionAid is a

member. This family includes eight fundraising

members and more than forty country programmes

ActionAid

International

Secretariat

the management body of ActionAid International globally


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ActionAid International’s role includes empowerment, solidarity and advocacy.

Using participatory approaches, we raise awareness and help people analyse

the root causes of their problems. We help people establish projects and

organisations that can meet their immediate needs and help mobilise them to

demand what is due to them from the government and society.

We link groups of people together to negotiate common demands and speak

with a more powerful voice through platforms, movements and networks which

bring groups together nationally, regionally and globally.

We carry out policy advocacy with our partners and in our own right and mobilise

supporters, partners and allies in campaigns for change. Our work is organised

around six themes or objectives, namely women’s rights, and rights to education,

food, human security, just and democratic government, and dignity in the face

of HIV and AIDS.

Our work is supported through the generous solidarity of individual and

institutional donors. We have some 330,000 individual sponsors, mostly in Europe,

who give an average of 25 euros a month, many of whom give through our child

sponsorship programme. This programme works in supporting the whole

community along with our focus on education enabling us to work in countries and

at community level to improve the lives of children, so helping them to fight

poverty. Many of our individual donors also join our campaigns.

ActionAid is an affiliate member of ActionAid International. We have a form of

governance and management that is international, devolved and decentralised.

Our international board and assembly are diverse, composed of independent

and representative members. Our main office is in Johannesburg, but we also

have international offices and staff in Rio De Janeiro, Bangkok, London

and Nairobi.

ActionAid International has expanded to include already existing organisations

in Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark and France, where we can access new

donors and funding.

Public benefitIn accordance with Charity Commission general guidance on public benefit,

ActionAid’s trustees confirm that the impact of our work on beneficiaries is a

key criterion when deciding what activities to undertake.


ActionAid ambassador Emma Thompson and

special celebrity guests participated in Call my

wine bluff, an evening of wine tasting and fun.

PHOTO: GreG funnell/acTiOnaid

The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s

general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and

objectives and in planning future activities.

We are proud of the work that we carry out worldwide, and of the way in which

we work. Our strategy Rights to end poverty guides everything we do. Our

international and national teams work to ensure integration across issues, to

build links from local to international, and to influence decision makers on

cross-cutting issues – such as development financing, global governance, the

role of corporations in development and climate change. Our policy work and

campaigns themes are based on issues that emerge from our work with

poor people.

In the UK our main priorities are to fundraise effectively to support our work with

poor people, gain new supporters, increase knowledge and understanding about

our work, and challenge, influence and hold the UK government and others to

account so that their policies and practices work in favour of poor people, not

against them.

Here are just a few examples of our work:

Campaigning on unjust economic practices — Who pays?Result: in April 2008, in spite of strong lobbying from powerful supermarkets, the

Competition Commission judged supermarkets guilty of abusing their purchasing

power and recommended that a watchdog be set up to regulate their behaviour.

This was almost exactly what ActionAid and a wide coalition of national

organisations had been pushing for.

But we didn't stop there... in order to make sure the watchdog comes into being,

our Who pays? campaign kept the pressure up throughout 2008. More than

10,000 supporters took action, asking Tesco to act and sign up to a supermarket

watchdog, and over 6,000 wrote to their MP expressing concern over

supermarkets’ purchasing practices. Working with our European affiliates, we got

the support of over 400 MEPs and the EC is now considering an EU-wide

investigation into supermarkets’ dominance in food production. Education linking climate change and poverty — PowerDownWe continued to build a network of schools taking positive action to reduce their

impact on global poverty and climate change. Part of the three-year Global

Action Schools project, PowerDown invites schools to reduce their energy

consumption and thus their impact on climate change.

Result: we distributed over 6,585 climate action toolkits in UK schools, reaching

some 392,100 pupils. The toolkits cover global issues and help children learn

how to promote good global citizenship. Schools have used them to investigate

their own energy use and understand how this is linked to extreme weather

A snapshot of our work across the UK

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People in action: when her local store manager refused to meet and

discuss her concerns, Margaret McIntyre, an ActionAid child sponsor and

campaigner from Strathblane, took the issue to the local media. ‘It's time

that people stood up to be counted about issues like this,’ she said.

events thousands of miles away. Students go on to explore international,

national and local solutions to climate change, and are encouraged to use their

power to act and contribute to change.

Supporting women living with HIV and AIDSWith more than 15 million women living with HIV around the world, and two

more becoming infected every minute, our Invisible women campaign aimed to

persuade the UK government to put women first in the fight against AIDS. More

than 5,000 ActionAid supporters asked the Secretary of State for the Department

for International Development, Douglas Alexander, to put women’s rights at the

heart of the government’s new global strategy on HIV and AIDS.

We also led research in six countries on how better primary healthcare could

help improve access to HIV and AIDS services such as testing, prevention and

treatment. It is this kind of research work that helps make our campaigns

effective – we hope it will pave the way for our international HIV and AIDS

campaigning in 2010 and beyond.

Result: our lobbying had the impact we were hoping for – the government’s new

HIV strategy now prioritises the rights of women and other vulnerable groups.

The Department for International Development (DfID) promised to improve

women’s healthcare and pledged £6 billion over the next seven years in order

to do so.

But we didn't stop there... the government’s HIV strategy could be tougher on

the issue of violence against women. While DfID acknowledged this complex

problem, 2,876 women still contract HIV every day. So to keep the pressure up

we launched Put your foot down, a campaign that urges DfID to move from

acknowledgement to action.

Millennium development goalsThe UN millennium development goals are way off track and it is already

apparent they will not be met by 2015. A new agenda must be set that looks

beyond the original narrow targets. There is a need for a new vision for

development, and for new thinking on how to help the world's poorest people.

In 2008 we started to help shape the process, by leading and organising UK

development organisations’ input into discussions with Douglas Alexander and

his special advisers about what to include on the post-2015 millennium

development goal agenda. These discussions helped to form the blueprint for a

new white paper which is now being written and consulted on by DfID.

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People in action: “I’ve been telling other people that if you see lights

on when it’s sunny, look for the switch and turn it off! They tell me they

will try. Some people say ‘It’s not my problem’. Then I talk to them about

children in other countries who are getting flooded because of climate

change.”

Lauren, 10, Hamsey Green Junior School, Surrey

“Cameron came out of Year 6 a completely different person...he got so

involved and you could see his confidence grow. He did presentations

at the Ecotech centre and to the local council representatives and the

Mayor. It was a great experience for him. It is amazing the difference

that Cameron has had on the family. I was quite good, but my husband

wasn’t so involved. Now he is the one out there sorting out the recycling

and we’ve bought low energy light bulbs.”

Cameron’s (aged 11) mother, Norfolk

ActionAid PowerDown campaign,

Hamsey Green Junior School,

Warlingham, Surrey.

PHOTO: KriSTian BuuS/acTiOnaid

Increasing income and awarenessAmong our priorities for 2008 we aimed to attract and retain supporters, and to

maximise our income from all sources. However, the credit crisis made this more

difficult, and our total income of £68 million in 2008 was almost static. Our

underlying income, excluding more volatile emergency income, was up by

10.7% compared to 2007. With successful cross-organisational work, we were

able to find new and innovative methods, such as our gala fundraising evening,

Call my wine bluff, to increase income during times of economic uncertainty and

raise awareness of issues affecting global poverty.

Emergency appeal for the Democratic Republic of CongoIn November, Rwandan and Congolese troops staged a joint operation against

Hutu militia in the east of DRC, sparking violent fighting and civilian upheaval.

We worked quickly to ensure ActionAid supporters received our emergency

appeal letter and email on the same day as the Disasters Emergency Committee

(DEC) broadcast its own appeal on national television.

Close working between UK departments, country programmes, our international

emergencies and conflict team and the DEC resulted in the swiftest time in getting

an appeal out to our supporters. Supporters gave a total of £912,000 in response

to the crisis: £491,000 from our own efforts and £423,000 through the DEC

(though this was received and recognised in 2009), helping us to reach over

65,000 people with emergency relief supplies.

Finding innovative ways to diversify and increase income Call my wine bluff was the brainchild of ActionAid supporter Jerry Lockspeiser. It

was a wine-tasting event with a twist: a celebrity panel told stories about several

wines and where they came from, while the opposing panel and 200 guests had

to guess whether each story was true or a bluff. The wines were served

alongside a sumptuous four-course dinner, and a live auction of items such as

Sir Paul McCartney’s handcrafted Takamine guitar, led by Christie’s auctioneer

David Elswood.

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People in action: ActionAid staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo

(DRC) helped a delegation of around 50 women stage a protest aimed at

bringing issues of violence against women to the attention UK foreign office

minister Lord Malloch Brown, who was visiting ‘Mugunga 1’ camp on the

outskirts of Goma. The women wore placards calling for peace and the

protection of women in the wake of the conflict. Liberata Rubamba, who

led the delegation, told Lord Malloch Brown, “Women are at risk of rape

everywhere they go. Enough is enough is enough. We need peace and

nothing apart from peace. Women want to go home to cultivate their fields.”

This experience raised questions about whether we should incorporate

campaigning into future emergency appeals. These women took an

opportunity to make a visiting UK politician aware of their plight; our

emergency appeals could also ask supporters to put pressure on

influential figures during a crisis.

Women protest at a camp for displaced people in DRC after

violence erupted in November 2008. The placard reads 'We

don't want to be raped any more. Stop the violence.'

PHOTO: Jenny MaTTHewS/acTiOnaid

We built a committee of external ActionAid ambassadors who used their

networks to source auction prizes and sell tickets to our first ever high value

fundraising event, which we hoped would also attract publicity and new wealthy

donors. The event raised £200,000, exceeding our target by £50,000.

“This was an inspiring night. During the credit crunch people came to help those

with no credit to crunch. I was proud of them and hopeful that these difficult

times are teaching us that we are all connected and we all need to help one

another. I really hope we do this event annually. As well as being very moving it

raised a lot of cash and was such good fun.” Emma Thompson, ActionAid

ambassador and Call my wine bluff panellist.

Raising the profile of our work...In 2008 we prioritised strengthening our external communications and media

work and giving strong and consistent messages. Our communications are

aligned to our key priorities of raising money and achieving change through our

campaigning work. In particular, we aimed to lead the field in the cost-effective

use of new media to attract and retain supporters – especially younger people.

Our branding work during 2008 seeks to amplify the voices of people living in

poverty. This allows us to campaign and influence people more effectively.

Innovation: broadcasting via satellite, UK head of news Anjali Kwatra and

ActionAid International video producer Peter Murphy made what is believed to

be the first live media broadcast in an emergency organised by an aid agency

using their own equipment. Despite technical problems, security issues and

storms, we gave several live and pre-recorded interviews, including to ITN

lunchtime news, Channel 4 news and BBC World.

“It was a surreal experience to be standing on a small hill overlooking Kibati

camp in eastern DRC, broadcasting live to the UK public on the emergency

appeal,” said Anjali. “Peter did sterling work in enabling us to set up the live TV

link – especially as it broke down every time it rained.”

Coverage of our work in national print media slowed to a virtual halt in the last

quarter of 2008, mainly because of the media focus on the economic turndown

and financial crisis. However, our presence grew in both the regional press and

online, giving us a 50% increase in overall media coverage. We worked directly

with various country programmes to promote aspects of their work in the UK

media – for example, with India on Disappearing daughters; Senegal on child

sponsorship; Ethiopia on HIV and AIDS; and South Africa on the impact

of mining.

Disappearing daughtersIn 2008 research by ActionAid and India’s International Development Research

Centre drew international political and media attention to the fact that in India,

the number of girls born and surviving compared to boys falls far short of

normal expectations – and the figures are actually getting worse. In a country

with a long history of discrimination against women, the preference for sons

over daughters has led to the number of girls under the age of six hitting an all-

time low. The introduction of sex-detection ultrasound technology, coupled with

the long-term problem of the neglect of girls, means that millions of girls are

now ‘missing’ in India.

“It’s always exceptionally difficult to get parents to understand why I am refusing

to tell them the sex of their unborn child. They will offer me any amount of

money for sex determination tests in their desperation not to have any more

daughters.” Dr Ritu Rathi, GP in Morena, India.

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Dr Ritu Rathi, 42, at her clinic in

Morena, Madhya Pradesh, India.

PHOTO: SanJiT daS/acTiOnaid

Ratios are declining fastest in comparatively prosperous urban areas, where

people can access facilities such as ultrasound and abortions with relative ease.

In areas with limited access to public health facilities, girls are more likely to be

born, but less likely than boys to survive.

The report triggered a debate in the UK parliament, increasing awareness of the

issue and raising ActionAid's profile as an organisation at the forefront of

women's rights issues and violence against women.

New mediaWe relaunched our website, www.actionaid.org.uk, in November 2008, enabling

a more interactive relationship with supporters. Users can now watch videos of

our work in the field, the activities of UK fundraisers and testimonies from current

child sponsors. Video brings our supporters closer to the people we work with.

Result: in 2008, 25% of all new child sponsors signed up online. We also

developed our social network presence, with the result that the number of fans

on the ActionAid Facebook page jumped from 400 in September 2008 to 2,189

by March 2009. Our redesigned Bollocks to poverty website for young activists

also helped increase the visibility of our youth work – traffic to the new site

between June and September tripled.

Result: we used new media to increase support for our campaigns. Our online

spoof advert asking Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy to publicly support the

Competition Commission’s recommendations for a supermarket ombudsman

generated 200,000 online views, 800 online actions and 1,000 new ActionAid

campaigners as well as considerable PR coverage.

Result: new media made our campaigning more efficient. For the first time we

used hand-held computers at festivals to capture people’s contact details and

photographs. With data in digital format, it was quickly uploaded to our supporter

system, meaning festival goers received an email within days of signing up.

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In this section we highlight the way in which we approach each of our main areas

of work under our current strategy, Rights to end poverty, against our themes of

women’s rights, education, human security, food, just and democratic governance,

and HIV and AIDS. To show how our work is making a real difference, we have

included some key achievements from the year, including snapshots of people in

action and how people’s lives have changed.

Women’s rights Our Rights to end poverty strategy leads us to place women and girls at the

heart of all our work. We also address women's rights directly – for example,

by seeking to work with women's organisations to transform

gender relations.

Women all over the world still face appalling discrimination that means they are

failing to access the same basic human rights as men. Women are three times

more likely than men to be illiterate, women and children are 14 times more likely

to die in natural disasters, and women make up 70% of those living on less than a

dollar a day.

Patterns of rape, torture and sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and enforced

sterilisation are just some of the ways in which women’s rights are violated in

conflict situations. With little protection against such sexual violence, HIV and

AIDS is often further fuelled.

ActionAid always prioritises the rights of the most vulnerable people, and more

often than not that means women. It’s not only emergency situations that require

such an approach; the everyday power structures of community life can leave

women unable to access education, healthcare, land, justice or a means of

earning a living.

We often start engaging with women by forming groups to work on immediateneeds including literacy, health and income-generating projects. We use methodsfor participatory analysis and reflection – such as Reflect or Star – to help themuncover issues of power and injustice that underlie the immediate need, and todevelop strategies to address these. We believe in the power of collectiveaction, so we link women’s groups to each other and to other community andpolitical groups in order to build their power and influence.

Campaign in focus: Women won’t waitOnly in its second year, this 13-country wide campaign continued to go fromstrength to strength in its struggle to address HIV and AIDS and end all forms ofviolence against women and girls. The campaign has already produced outcomesthat we did not expect before 2010, such as changes to donor policy and nationallegislation. In the UK for example, we helped ensure that government responsesto HIV and AIDS include a focus on violence against women.

We made progress raising the profile of the issues at international forums and incountry programmes – for example, in Uganda we set up a national coalition of 27organisations; this in turn led to the establishment of three women’s rights centresproviding services for girls and women who failed to access justice after abuse. InZimbabwe we got the government talking on modern and traditional laws in viewof HIV and helped train women on the new Domestic Violence Act, and we alsohelped set up Guatemala’s first network of positive women.

Although ActionAid plays a central role and provides most of the funds for Women

won’t wait, the campaign is not branded ActionAid. Instead, we support and buildon members’ work as individual organisations, providing cohesion and a higherprofile within the coalition banner. This approach allowed Women won’t wait toform the new connections and analysis that led to policy change in Guatemala,Uganda and Sierra Leone, while helping Ethiopia, Liberia and Somaliland accessmore than US$2 million from the UN.

A snapshot of ActionAid International’s work across the world

15


Right to educationOur strategy leads us to ensure that all children have free access to quality

education within an equitable system. We want to see schools where

children's rights – especially those of girls – are respected, injustices are

challenged and children's lives can be transformed. We want to see early

childhood education and adult learning that lead to social change.

In the 36 years that ActionAid has worked on education, we have learned that

providing education ourselves is an unsustainable ‘quick fix’. International donors

have now committed to ensuring that every country, no matter how poor, is given

enough financing to provide free basic education as a right. The battle is to make

sure they keep to their promises, and that countries spend the money wisely if

and when they receive it. This is why our education programme includes

international, national and local advocacy and budget tracking to ensure sufficient

financing for education.

We play a key role in civil society alliances – such as the Global Campaign for

Education – to pressure and support governments and donors such as the World

Bank to fulfil their duties. We also encourage parents and students to actively

engage in education through school management committees, parent teacher

associations, budget monitoring, girls’ forums and in Reflect learning circles.

We use Reflect, which in 2008 won its fourth UN prize for adult literacy, to create a

common ground where everyone, regardless of their literacy level or status, can

be included in community discussions and learn to speak up for themselves and

demand their rights. We have a priority focus on girls’ education, which includes

ending early marriages, practices such as female genital mutilation and violence

against girls in schools.

Although the number of children out of school is falling, overcrowded classrooms

and untrained teachers mean that many lack basic literacy skills even when they

complete primary school. The teaching profession in developing countries has

been under attack for many years, not least from the World Bank who actively

promote low cost solutions, such as employing non-professional teachers as

cheap labour. If children are to learn, teachers need to be properly trained. We

work closely with the international federation of teacher unions to strengthen their

influence on national education campaigns.

The UN Education for all goals are only achievable if governments invest more in

education and donors live up to their repeated promises of more aid. Education

needs to be recognised as a sound and productive investment that will not only

lead to economic growth, but will help build democracy, active citizenship and

fairer societies. This will only happen with sustained domestic pressure in each

country – and ActionAid is at the forefront of ensuring that this pressure is exerted.

Our combination of local-level work on education rights with some of the poorest

and most excluded groups and strategic action at district, national and international

levels sustains our role as the leading NGO in the field of education.

Changing lives: in 2008 our research found that the children of manual

scavengers in a small part of Madhya Pradesh, India, were not admitted to the

government school or, if admitted, were not allowed to sit with other children and

forced to clean the toilets. After we facilitated discussion with local community

groups to expose discrimination and explore attitudes to untouchability, they

extended the dialogue to other groups, including local government structures.

As a result, discriminatory practices are being challenged in 90 schools and the

enrolment of the children of manual scavengers has risen dramatically.

16


People in action: in Sierra Leone, women’s rights activists have not

rested since three laws protecting women from violence and ensuring

their property rights in marriage were enacted in 2007 during the launch

of the Women won’t wait campaign. To make sure these victories translate

into real changes in women’s lives, the coalition continues to monitor the

implementation of the new laws and to publicise them. This follow-

through illustrates why ActionAid believes it is crucial for campaigns to be

led by those who are directly affected. Hawa Jalloh of Mbundorbu village,

southern Sierra Leone explains how Women won’t wait has affected her

own life: “The very day I had training on the gender laws I took action.

When my husband had died, his family took away all his property. So

when I heard about the Devolution of Estate Act, I went to my husband’s

family and told them that I had a right to my husband’s land and that if

they denied my rights, I would take action. I showed them the law. They

gave me back the land because they were aware that I knew my rights.”

ActionAid India also supports partners to mobilise communities to engage with

their governments on education. For example, our partner EGS received worldwide

acclaim this year when their work on community participation in education led to

Nagaland state receiving the prestigious ‘UN Public Service Award’.

Getting results: Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF)

After six years, the Commonwealth Education Fund came to an end in 2008.

Collaboratively managed by ActionAid, Oxfam UK and Save the Children UK and

with UK government funds of £10 million, CEF sought to make education the top

national priority in 16 Commonwealth countries. It did this by creating and

strengthening national education coalitions, monitoring and influencing budgets

and sharing learning from innovations with excluded groups. ActionAid managed

the fund’s overall structure and led the work in 12 of the 16 countries.

Over its six-year life, CEF supported 2,100 organisations through 16 national

coalitions. District-level structures were created in 12 countries, and over six

million people were mobilising annually during the annual Global Action Week of

the Global Campaign for Education (GCE).

Result: CEF achieved at least 92 significant changes of policy or practice, such

as prohibiting cost recovery in Sierra Leone, promoting minority language policies

in Bangladesh and increasing spending per child in Ghana. It distributed budget

information, including gender analysis, to over six million people; trained more

than 430,000 people on education budgets; worked with parliamentary groups on

education; and engaged civil society and government in budget debates. It also

challenged nine national donors on their aid, and exposed misuse of education

budgets in 10 countries.

Result: to ensure equal opportunity for all, CEF supported 56 organisations that

work to end gender discrimination; 24 organisations that work with street children;

12 that work with disabled children; and 12 that adapt education materials for

indigenous communities and linguistic minorities. It presented 30 reforms to

national governments based on all this shared learning.

But we didn’t stop there...the achievements of CEF led the GCE to propose a

follow-up to this work across 50 countries. They have received US$6.5 million in

start-up funding from the ‘Education for all fast track initiative’.

The right to human securityOur Rights to end poverty strategy leads us to work both before potential

crises erupt – to reduce the risks and mitigate impacts – and after a crisis

has taken place, to aid recovery and explore the opportunities for change

that occur at such times of flux.

Even in acute emergencies that require an immediate response to save lives, at

ActionAid we maintain our commitment to a rights-based approach. We involve

local people in designing and managing responses and preparedness initiatives

that are not quick fixes, but rather aim to give survivors more control over

their lives.

In 2008 we continued our work with poor communities on longer-term responses

to emergencies from previous years, including the tsunami in Sri Lanka, cyclone

Sidr in Bangladesh and post-election conflict and drought situations in Kenya and

DRC. In China, our consultative approach in emergencies helped us identify and

provide items highly valued by local people that others had overlooked – for

example, lamp oil for people hit by winter storms, and torches, sanitary napkins

and medicine for those hit by the earthquake.

Similarly, in DRC our consultative approach meant we were able to address

‘invisible’ issues such as ethnic tensions between women working together on a

psychosocial programme, and providing lighter mattresses people can roll up and

carry with them in the event of further displacement. In Haiti, Afghanistan and

Myanmar we provided cash-for-work schemes, livelihood support and relief

supplies to families affected by floods, hurricanes, freezing weather and

a cyclone.

Rights in action: land settlement in Bangladesh

Learning from our tsunami response, we incorporated an analysis of land and

psychosocial issues into our assessment of cyclone Sidr and found that large

numbers of families had been landless even before the emergency. We worked

with poor people to address this problem by lobbying the government to provide

permanent shelter and public land with legal title for those affected. In consultation

with affected people and partners, we defined criteria for suitable land – namely

proximity, legality and productivity – as well as criteria for identifying the

most vulnerable.

17


18


Result: ActionAid Bangladesh successfully helped 21 of the most vulnerable

families to apply for and receive land and our partner organisation is helping a

further 500 people.

Changing lives: in August and September 2008, Haiti was battered by four tropical

storms, causing massive destruction to infrastructure, housing and farmland.

Several hundred people were killed and around 850,000 needed urgent assistance.

ActionAid Haiti’s emergency response included family kits for 3,000 families,

1,800 school kits to help children return to school and a cash-for-work programme

to repair roads. We also awarded scholarships to 3,000 children to ease the

financial burden on parents of keeping their children in education.

Cassandre Merolien (8) from Cocoyer was one of the children who received a

school kit. For her, the series of storms was an unending nightmare: “I was

scared. As the water rose, we didn’t know where to go. I ran with my family to my

aunt’s place and then after a few minutes, my aunt’s house also flooded. My

disabled grandmother was sick. My mother was crying as she tried to save our

belongings. Everything was lost except the clothes on our back. All of our

belongings – including my books – floated away.”

When she and her mother, Yvonne Augustin, received their school and family kits,

Cassandre said: “I am very happy with everything I received today. I will be happy

to go to school next Tuesday.”

People in action: after we trained local Nepalese women in video

making, they created a documentary in which they interviewed each other

on the impact of climate change and how they cope with it. The women

used the video to raise awareness and to campaign and influence locally.

The women's films were shared with the Ministry of Environment, Science

and Technology to influence the government to include women’s and

children’s concerns in their national adaptation funding plans. They were

also screened on national TV, YouTube, and as part of climate change day

in Kathmandu. They are due to be shown to female members of Nepal’s

constituent assembly and the ministry of women in early 2009.

To watch the videos visit www.youtube.com/IDSclimatechange

Team member Catherine helps sort out

emergency family kits after fierce tropical

storms hit Haiti.

PHOTO: acTiOnaid

Women take part in a ActionAid-supported food-for-

work programme in Patharghata, Bangladesh, after

cyclone Sidr hit.

PHOTO: andrew BiraJ/PanOS PicTureS/acTiOnaid

19


Women take part in an ActionAid HungerFree rally in

Chitwan, Nepal, to demand their right to land and food.

PHOTO: andrew BiraJ/acTiOnaid

The right to food Our strategy leads us to go beyond alleviating hunger to address its root

causes, which we understand to be unequal access to and control over

resources such as land.

Over the years, developing country governments have removed public support to

agriculture and neglected small farmers, particularly women farmers. Many

governments were acting on the advice of international financial institutions and

donors such as the World Bank. The overall situation is that, in the face of

increased competition and conflict over land rights for mining, development,

logging and other economic activities, and as a result of trends towards market-

based land reforms, farmers are fast losing their already precarious access to land

and natural resources.

Women are the biggest producers of food in developing countries, and yet they

have limited access to seeds, land and other essential inputs. They are paid

poorly (if paid at all), though they form the bulk of the working poor, and 70% of

women and girls do not have access to sufficient food for their daily needs.

Measures put in place that do not recognise the integral role of women in

producing the world’s food are likely to worsen the situation. The current food

crisis is perhaps a wake up call, requiring that alternative economic models –

those that put human rights above profit – be sought as a matter of urgency.

ActionAid works with poor people and communities – particularly women and

smallholder farmers – to help them improve livelihoods and secure their rights to

food, access to and control over resources, and to stop their rights being

undermined or denied by corporate control and trade liberalisation.

Locally, this means helping establish credit and savings clubs, seed and grain

banks and income-generating projects. It also means training people on production

methods and marketing, and generating critical knowledge so that poor people

can implement sustainable agricultural development models themselves.

Nationally, it means working with farmer organisations to make them stronger,

using participatory processes to analyse root causes of poverty and inequality

and to help farmers understand how they can collectively claim their rights.

And internationally it means lobbying states and their institutions to make them

democratic and accountable in promoting, protecting and fulfilling the right to

food and ensuring that international constraints that prevent poor-country

governments from fulfilling their obligations are removed.

We also provide advice, funding, training and information to national and

international alliances working on agriculture, trade and other relevant issues; and

carry out research with partners and poor people to highlight problems or

promote alternatives.

Campaign in focus:In 2008 we started to seriously engage in women’s land rights, as it was becoming

increasingly clear that giving women access to land, and the tools to help them

farm it effectively, was key to stopping hunger not just for themselves, but for their

whole family. We helped more than 80,000 women across 19 countries stand up

and demand their rights to land, a livelihood and food on Rural Women’s Day and

World Food Day under the banner of HungerFree women.

This became the public face of our response to the food crisis – taking themessages of poor women to national and international governments and decision

20


People in action: Lourdes Huanca from ActionAid partnerFEMUCARINAP in Peru explains how linking with a wider network helpedthem: “Our main dream was to go into Congress... We wanted the voicesof indigenous peasant women to be heard, and the members of Congressto listen to our problems... We wanted to march on the streets, but wewere not allowed. We stood by the front door of Congress for two days,until the Minister for Women invited us to come inside.

“Our main strategy and strength was to have a critical mass of womencoming from outside the capital city. We achieved this by spending a lotof time talking to provincial mayors, explaining our campaign and issues...Our other main strategy was to talk to the Minister for Women. Wewanted a room and space to show our products. We were so happy whenthey confirmed this. Can you imagine? They allowed us to take ourknowledge and experiences inside! … We took over the space; we hungour banners, flags, products. They tried to stop that, but we succeeded.We were too many. You could see the joy in my friends’ faces…Thecampaign helped us to take a big step forward: we are present in 19provinces and now they see... that we are many and that we are a strongnational network. ActionAid has been a key ally and at times our onlysupporter. Even though we are a new group, they trusted us.”

makers. We increased momentum on the issue in Uganda, Gambia, India andPakistan, where we were already working on land, and initiated new work inNepal, South Africa and Sierra Leone. Vietnam, The Gambia, Zimbabwe and DRCalso engaged in campaigns, consultations or mobilisations. The relationships andknowledge we built internally and externally, and the media resources and campaigntools we have generated, have put us in a strong position to move forward.

In the Americas we worked directly through an existing women’s movement,Mujeres por un futuro sin hambre (Women for a future without hunger). This washugely successful and the movement became the name and face of HungerFreewomen in the region. There was a strong sense of ownership of this campaign,with our partners – women’s organisations, farmers’ and peasant movements andother networks – organising actions, fairs, forums, street markets and manifestosin Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Paraguay, Colombia, Honduras and Chile.

HungerFree, sustainable agriculture and livelihoods were all international priorities

within our strategic objectives for 2008; our planned focus was women’s access

to land. However, the global economic crisis made us widen our focus and address

the emerging food crisis. We worked with partners and allies to demand an urgent

and concerted response from governments and regional and international bodies,

including an immediate expansion of public food distribution, school feeding,

food-for-work schemes and other social protection programmes, and longer-term

investment in the world’s two billion small-scale farm households.

We made progress on all these objectives, but in 2008 our major drive was of

course on the immediate food crisis. Campaigning pressure was key to getting

US$22 billion in pledges of new funding for agriculture, social protection and food

aid. We also helped to put smallholder farmers at the top of the UN’s to-do list for

fighting the food crisis (the UN Comprehensive Framework for Action), endorsed

by the General Assembly in September 2008.

International food security network (IFSN): Four years of investment in building this network – which now reaches 28 countries

– paid off when IFSN gave compelling evidence against genetically modified crops

to the EC. This helped overturn the European Food Safety Authority’s ‘safe to eat’

verdict on two kinds of maize and one potato, and stopped agro-chemical

companies from selling these varieties in Europe for now. IFSN also brought

together its members and governments to analyse the food crisis, and to provide

input for analysis by national task forces and international UN-related structures.

Result: An evaluation of IFSN noted that national strategies, policies, programmes

and laws have been influenced or changed in Angola, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ghana,

Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Uganda, and São

Tomé and Principé.

Country in focus: GhanaActionAid Ghana’s right to food programme works with the food security policy

advocacy network (FoodSPAN) on national, regional and local levels. In 2008 we

were part of ‘Eat Ghana Rice’, a campaign advocating support for poor rural

producers that engaged policymakers in the Ministries of Food and Agriculture

and Trade and Industries as well as the parliamentary sub-committees on Food

and Agriculture and Trade. In the northern region we focused on mobilising poor

and marginal producer and marketing groups to advocate and campaign for

protection and security of their livelihoods.

21


People in action: ActionAid partner Urban Agricultural Network (URBANET) is a

network of over 50 agricultural producers, processing and marketing groups and

associations in northern Ghana.

Rapid urbanisation of the area in 2007 and 2008 left 20 producer groups with

virtually no alternative means of livelihood after losing their land to estate developers.

After we worked with URBANET to train farmers in policy analysis, advocacy,

negotiation and lobbying skills, the farmers petitioned the Tamale Metropolitan

Assembly. The assembly consequently created a platform for the farmers,

assembly members, land administration authorities and the area chief to engage

on the issue. This forum, facilitated by URBANET, found that the land was neither

suitable nor designated for residential purpose, and the local government

restored the vegetable producer’s rights and entitlement to the land. The farmers

were further mandated by the authorities to report any future encroachment of

their lands by any estate developer.

The right to just and democratic governance Rights to end poverty requires us to make local, national and international

institutions and governments fully accountable for their actions and

responsive to the needs of poor countries and people, as this will help to

restore just and democratic governance.

The right to just and democratic governance is not a given; it has to be claimed,

used and developed. ActionAid continues to develop and promote a wide range

of methods to empower citizens to do just that. These include training in economic

literacy to monitor budgets; carrying out social audits of both government and our

own programmes; bringing public attention to misappropriation of funds through

the media; building community watch groups; and holding public hearings and

dialogues to raise attention to rights violations.

In 2008, we are particularly proud of our budget and public policy monitoring

work, which holds local and national governments to account. We are also

pleased with progress made on the right to information and on challenging

corruption.

Campaigning for the right to information is a fundamental component in our efforts

to deepen accountability and transparency. This year ActionAid Guatemala

established three citizens’ information centres, and ActionAid Vietnam set up 15

information kiosks, each of which provides access to government policies, budgets,

constitutions, etc. We also support citizens to expose and act on corruption; in

Malawi we funded the Civil Society Action Against Corruption group this year, and

have been helping government to draft their national anti-corruption strategy.

Internationally, we seek to build links between social movements from Asia, Africa,

and the Americas during opportunities such as the World Social Forums.

Country in focus: AfghanistanAfghanistan’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development created the

National Solidarity Programme in 2003 to establish effective local government.

ActionAid Afghanistan became a partner in this process in order to promote

political and economic democratisation, and now works with 253 community

development councils (CDCs) to promote a culture of community engagement in

local government across the country.

People in action: our work on citizens’ monitoring of budgets and policies

has led to a common framework and methodology called economic

literacy and budget accountability for governance (ELBAG). ELBAG work

now takes place in over 20 countries and is supported by a training

manual and website.

Result: budget analysis carried out in an ELBAG workshop in Enugu

state, Nigeria revealed that the state government had not allocated

money to HIV and AIDS for three years. Government representatives at

the workshop quickly realised the implication this might have on its

image, given the very high prevalence of HIV in the state; soon afterwards,

they announced an allocation of N3 million (roughly £16,000) to HIV and

AIDS programmes for 2008.

For more information visit www.elbag.org

22


Our work with CDCs promotes spaces for the participation of women and other

excluded people in local governance and leadership processes: our effort to

ensure that 50% of CDC members are women serves as a progressive model

in Afghanistan.

It has enabled communities to get directly involved in village development plans,

influencing priorities and decision-making. A total of 490 development projects

were completed in 2008, with communities accessing more than US$2.4 million

from the national government for new roads, safe water, solar power systems,

schools and other projects.

The right to life with dignity in the face of HIV and AIDSRights to end poverty requires us to work with HIV-positive people, using

innovative methods to develop their skills in living positively and in claiming

their rights; we put people living with HIV and AIDS – especially women and

girls – at the centre of our planning and implementation.

Our work with people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS is two-fold: we

address their immediate needs such as nutrition, care and ending stigma, while

empowering them to protect themselves from HIV infection and demand their

rights to prevention, treatment and care. We use the Star approach, which

evolved from our participatory approaches to adult learning (Reflect) and other

methodologies. In 2008 we increased our emphasis on working with the most

excluded and vulnerable groups – including men who sleep with men; transgender

people and sex workers in India; sex workers and uniformed men in Nigeria; and

truckers in Afghanistan.

We establish support groups and networks of people living with HIV and AIDS

and build their capacity to mobilise. We also carry out research to better inform

our programmes and advocacy – for example, this year we completed a six-country

study on primary healthcare, the findings of which parliamentarians in Tanzania

subsequently committed to act on.

Our main goals for 2008 included increasing mobilised community action on HIV

and AIDS by rolling out the Star approach and deepening primary healthcare to

achieve universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment. We strove to

build our policy agenda from the ground through preliminary work on

community-based research and by building regional and national movements.

K Rajeshwari attends an HIV

and AIDS support group in

Andhrah Pradesh, India.

PHOTO: SanJiT daS/acTiOnaid

People in action: in India, we have successfully used Stepping stones

and Star to help perhaps 124,000 HIV-positive people claim their rights.

Result: Star circle members persuaded the Haryana regional government

to include widows living with HIV and AIDS under the Madhuban

pension scheme.

Result: following intense lobbying on the HIV and AIDS bill by ActionAid

India and other coalition partners, eight state governments agreed to

make second-line treatment available for those who become immune to

the first combination of antiretroviral drugs.

Result: after we helped transgender activists organise a public hearing

and protest for their rights, the government of Tamil Nadu instituted a

welfare board for transgender people and committed to issuing them with

voter identity cards and including them in public distribution schemes.

People in action: in Mozambique, Rosa Carlos, 42, became an HIV

counsellor after her local Star circle helped her deal with her husband’s

family after his death.

“After the funeral...his relatives were trying to get me blamed for his

death, and some of them suggested that I should be buried alive. They

had forgotten that he left home for four years when he found a new job in

Quelimane and married another woman. I was so bad with this situation

that I asked for help from the local traditional leader. I collaborated with

his relatives in all the traditional ceremonies requested, and after the

funeral I was even forced to undergo initiation rites.

“After the ceremonies, they decided that I should marry my late husband’s

elder brother who was 48 years old and had never married before. This

man was not in good health, so I told them I would rather die than marry

him. They told me I should take some time and think about their proposal.

“When I returned home I went to the local Star circle to ask for help. One

week later [the family] asked me to walk the 35 km to give my answer. My

colleagues from the Star circle helped me with some money for the trip

and two of them came with me. I felt I had all the tools I needed to defend

myself. I asked them to present their requests in writing, but they refused

and I also refused to give them any answer. I knew that if anything bad

happened to me I could resort to the authorities for protection. They said

nothing so I returned home. The problem I have now is that they want to

sell my house.”

“I am now HIV-positive, so I became an activist and help other people

with counselling. I live on vegetables and tubers but I am worried for my

children who do not go to school because I cannot afford to pay the

school fees. I have started taking medicines and it is difficult to get food

and clothes. I feel comfortable for being in an organisation with people

who are HIV-positive like me.”

Women like Rosa can use their own experiences to help other women

change their lives and live positively.

23


By the end of 2008, the global economic downturn and credit crisis seemed to

herald the end of an era, and the models of free-market economic development

that had been pursued for a generation were under question. As ever, it is the

poorest who suffer most at times of change, and our focus for 2009 therefore

continues to be on supporting and championing them.

Like all NGOs, we are feeling the impact of the financial crisis. In the current

context of uncertain resources we need to learn to ‘do more with less’, cutting

down on internal transaction costs and reducing expenditure while still ensuring

we provide value for money. We must find innovative ways to raise funds during

the recession and make sure we retain our supporters. We will therefore

diversify the ways in which we earn an income, further develop our use of digital

media to engage our supporters, and continue to strengthen and invigorate our

child sponsorship and community-based programmes.

But the crisis brings with it opportunities as well as challenges – particularly for

influencing the international development agenda. There are calls for a new

vision for development, and new thinking on how to help the poorest people in

the world. The millennium development goals are way off track; and a new

agenda needs to be set beyond the narrow 2015 targets. ActionAid has the

opportunity to play a major part in this: to ensure we do, we need to become

more integrated as an organisation and pull together more effectively.

In 2009 we took the decision to extend our current strategy, Rights to end

poverty, by one year until 2011. This will give us time to consolidate our

progress and understand better the changing context before we develop a new

strategy. We have also had to reassess our areas of work and determine what to

prioritise within our ambitious strategy.

In 2009 we will continue to promote women’s rights through all our work,

innovate and increase our farm and community-based work in the face of the

continuing food crisis. HungerFree, women’s rights, and tax justice will be our

campaigning priorities. We will also take the opportunity to speak out about the

financial crisis.

24

Looking ahead: our plans for 2009


Natasha Bassi, an ActionAid volunteer, signing

up Joanna Lum, 17, at Reading festival.

PHOTO: auBrey wade/acTiOnaid

Financial review

25

Other£0.7m (1%)

Governments and EU£14.6m (22%)

Trusts& Companies£3.7m (5%)

Appeals, individualsand legacies£6.8m (10%)

Committed giving£38.3m (57%)


ActionAid’s finances

It goes without saying that 2008 was a financially turbulent year. Starting out

with commentators moderately optimistic about the UK’s ability to weather the

global crisis, it ended in considerable gloom. A constant throughout was the

unpredictability of it all, with prevailing wisdom changing almost daily – a climate

in which was hard to make decisions with confidence.

The problems of economic uncertainty at home have also been exacerbated by

a weakening pound. This means that towards the end of 2008 the pounds we

spent in our country programmes bought less local currency – leading to a

significant impact on the amount of work we could fund. This was an effect seen

in most of the countries we work in.

In this context we feel we have performed well, though with less success than

we had hoped initially.

The next 12 months look to be equally challenging as last year’s shocks feed

through the real economy – and we are working on the basis that it will take

some time for the economy to recover. We continue to take a critical look at our

costs to make sure we are getting maximum value for our money, and where the

downturn provides opportunities we aim to take full advantage of them.

Where does our money come from?We raise income from a number of different sources – some are relatively stable

and some, such as funds for emergencies, vary from year to year. Here is the

breakdown of sources in 2008.

DEC£3.6m (5.3%)

Our total income in 2008, at almost £68 million, is almost the same as in 2007,

however changes in emergency funding muddy the waters as DEC funds in

relation to the Asian tsunami disaster came to an end. Our underlying income,

excluding funding for the tsunami emergency, is up 10.7% compared with 2007.

Voluntary incomeWe show income as voluntary where it is received from individual supporters,

appeals and any core grants supporting our work generally.

The contributions we receive on a regular basis from our supporters –

committed giving – continues to form the mainstay of our income.

It became clear, particularly in the second half of the year, that many potential

and existing supporters were tightening their belts. As a result, having started

the year with about 175,000 supporters who give regularly to ActionAid, we

ended 2008 with 3,000 fewer.

Whilst this disappointingly breaks the trend of recent years, with a loss of between1.5% and 2%, it is a great reflection of the loyalty of our individual supporters indifficult times.

Committed giving income did continue to increase, partly as a result of pastgrowth in supporters, but also because many of our existing supporters choseto give more. This generosity has provided an invaluable boost in 2008 but furtherfalls in the number of regular supporters will inevitably impact on future years.

One piece of good news was the government’s decision to temporarily make upthe loss on Gift Aid as a result of the reduction in the basic rate of income tax.As an organisation where over 80% of our individuals give with Gift Aid thisadded about £600,000.

Supporters providing ‘one off’ contributions from appeals and individual

donors fell slightly from 2007 levels to £5.4 million. Once again our supporters

gave generously in their response to emergencies – 2008 being primarily in the

Democratic Republic of Congo (£0.5 million) and Myanmar (£0.3 million).

We continued to receive significant levels of funding from the Disasters

Emergency Committee to assist with our response to the Bangladesh flooding

and Myanmar cyclone. However as the 2005 tsunami projects came to a close,

the overall level of DEC funding was much lower than in 2007.

We received just under £4 million in annual support under a partnership

programme agreement from the UK government through the Department for

International Development (DfID), which continues to be invaluable.

Despite tumbling asset values, legacies have been increasing both in number

and value, and the year saw a significant increase over 2007.

Cash balances we hold over the year generate valuable income, however as

interest rates tumbled in the second half of the year so did our return.

Investment income fell from £349,000 in 2007 to £264,000 in 2008.

Income from charitable activitiesThis category of income describes grants received from governments and other

public bodies that directly contribute to our charitable purposes.

The overall level of funding from the UK government remains substantial, though

ActionAid’s accounts only show part of the total contribution from the Department

for International Development – a fuller picture is provided on page 29 of

this report.

We also benefited from the continued generosity of the governments of Jersey

and Guernsey with funding increasing by 27% to £343,000.

Funding from the European Union increased by almost £3 million through the

EU’s humanitarian arm, ECHO. Our attempts to secure new funding through

EuropeAid going forward were less successful and will impact on income in

future years.

26

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

’000 ’000 ’000 ’000 ’000

Number of committed

giving supporters

159 166 168 175 172


27

Raising funds£9.8m (15%)

UK campaigning &education activities

£5.4m (8%)

Activities overseas£49.3m (73%)

UK support costs£2.9m (4%)

Governance£0.1m (1%)


As noted last year we have been investing in our relationships with trusts and

foundations. This has continued to grow with particular successes with the Big

Lottery Fund and Comic Relief. Both these funders may be open to new

proposals in 2009, but this will depend on their funding strategies for the

coming year.

During the year we decided to pause and reconsider how we engage with

companies, and as a result we have significantly scaled back our expectations

in this area.

How was the money spent?In the Statement of Financial Activities our expenditure is split between the

costs of fundraising, our charitable work and governance, with support costs

allocated across each. The following chart breaks down expenditure slightly

differently, showing our support costs separately and distinguishing between

resources spent in the UK and overseas:

In 2008, in order to ensure that we can recruit and retrain the very best staff, were-aligned our salary scales benchmarked against peer organisations, with theresult that staff costs have increased across all areas.

Spending on our charitable activities‘Charitable activities’ represents a combination of work carried out in the UK –for example our campaigning and education work – and funds we pass on toActionAid International as grants to support our fieldwork.

Such spending fell by £2 million from £58.3 million in 2007 to £56.3 million in 2008,reflecting the reduction in emergency-related expenditure with the end of thetsunami response. Excluding the impact of emergency cycles, spending oncharitable activities increased by 9%. Furthermore, grants to the rest ofActionAid in 2007 included an additional £1.3 million grant in order to bring ourunrestricted reserves in line with policy. This was not repeated in 2008.

What was spent on ‘support’?At £2.9 million, our support costs account for 4% of total income raised or 16%of our UK expenditure. Costs have risen by almost £0.3 million in the year,reflecting increased staff costs and continued investment in information systems.

In November the lease of our main premises was renewed on a short term basis.Whilst the rent remains extremely competitive with the market, it did nonethelessrepresent a considerable increase on previous terms. We continue to look at themarket to take advantage of falling rents in an effort to secure a cost effectivelong term deal.

How effective was the fundraising approach?For a second year we have made significant investments in raising funds – anincrease of almost £1 million representing an increase of 11% over 2007.

Committed giving expenditure increased by £793,000, but as a proportion of theincome raised remained virtually unchanged at 19%. This increased resourcingreflected our ambition to secure considerably more supporters than in previousyears, as well as re-brand all our supporter materials. During the first half of theyear our recruitment campaigns ran roughly as expected, but the rapid erosionof confidence in the economy meant that the response to our recruitmentcampaigns in the second half of the year were much less successful than weanticipated. For example having set out to bring in 18,000 new child sponsors,we secured 4,000 fewer than planned and about 800 fewer than in 2007.

28


Of course this is disappointing – as was the increase in numbers ending their

support – however we believe we remain cost effective fundraisers relative to

our peers in the sector, especially when we consider how long on average our

supporters remain with us.

Costs for generating other voluntary income have increased by £176,000 or 8%

as we continue to build teams that will strengthen these areas, diversifying our

funding base. Expressed as a percentage of income, as shown in note 4, the

increase seems more significant, but this is exaggerated by the reduction of

emergency funding in the year.

How does ActionAid decide how much money to hold?We hold money mostly as part of our reserve policy (see below). Its level is

however affected by other factors, especially the timing of payments to ActionAid

International. At the end of 2008 we had reduced our cash and liquid resources

by £2.2 million by reducing the balance owed to ActionAid International by a

similar amount.

ReservesReserves are essentially funds that we have yet to spend. To understand our

reserves we split them into two main categories.

Unrestricted reserves are funds available to be spent or held at the discretion

of ActionAid trustees.

We designate some of the unrestricted funds where trustees have identified a

particular purpose to keep funds aside (in this case to match our fixed assets).

All unrestricted funds not designated are general.

Restricted reserves are linked to a particular project, theme or country, and

therefore limited as to how and when they can be applied.

Reserves policyOur supporters give us money with the expectation that we deliver on our vision

– so we take care not to hold excessive funds.

Our policy is to hold general funds sufficient to cover three months’ UK

expenditure. This provides us with both the cash to run our day-to-day business,

and a certain amount of insulation from unanticipated shocks. On this basis we

were slightly over at £4.6 million (target £4.3 million) at the end of 2008.

ActionAid’s trustees judge that this is an appropriate level of reserves to hold in

the context of reserves held elsewhere in ActionAid International (please see the

financial review of ActionAid International for more details).

Most restricted funds are passed directly to ActionAid International. Some

funds, mostly from the EU, are managed by ActionAid. To the extent that such

income has been received but not spent at the year end, this will show as

restricted reserves and will be spent in the following year.

At the year end, seven EU-funded projects showed a deficit balance exceeding

£10,000 – the total of all deficit balances totalled £906,000. Fund balances will

be in deficit when expenditure has been made but, at the end of the financial

year, not all the conditions have been met that would justify this income being

recognised within the accounts. The trustees are satisfied that the likelihood of

reimbursement is sufficient to justify carrying the deficit fund balances at the

end of the year for all projects.

Grant-making policyWe grant our funds to ActionAid International for their wider disbursement to

country programmes and their partners, according to the management

agreement that exists between ActionAid and ActionAid International.

Payment policyWe pay our suppliers in accordance with the payment terms agreed at the start

of the relationship. Where payment terms have not been agreed we pay 30 days

after the invoice date.

ActionAid International’s finances

These accounts reflect the financial performance of the UK charity, however this

is only part of the picture of the geographical reach and impact of the ActionAid

family. For this reason we have included a snapshot of ActionAid

International’s finances.

Movements in currency over 2008 – primarily the euro’s 30% appreciation

against sterling – have led to significantly different financial pictures emerging

for the year according to the reporting currency in which you review our results.

We have focused on the sterling picture – as the one that resonates most with

our UK audience – with the ActionAid International aggregated accounts

explaining the euro picture (for further information please go to www.actionaid.org)

As mentioned previously, regardless of the currency we select for reporting, our

accounts do not fully convey the fall in our buying power against the currencies

in which we spend locally and the challenges this has presented for our work.

IncomeCommitted giving income grew substantially with strong performances in Italy,

Greece, Ireland and Sweden. We also started to see the beginnings of income

generation from new supporters in India and Brazil which, though still modest,

marked an exciting fundraising milestone.

Other donations remained constant, despite the reduction in income from the

UK Disasters Emergency Committee, with donations from trusts and foundations

in the UK and US and grants from official sources through Ayuda en Accion

growing strongly.

Income from official donors recovered well from 2007’s disappointing result,

rising 38% mainly through grants from the European Union for work in Nigeria,

Sierra Leone and Pakistan, and from its humanitarian office for emergency-

related work in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India.

Within official income are included the following amounts received from the UK

government:

29


Summary income statement

2008 2007

£’000 £’000

Voluntary income

Committed giving 81,684 70,952

Other donations 30,302 31,740

111,986 102,692

Official income 27,860 20,135

Investment income 1,758 1,847

Other income 3,581 2,507

Total income 145,185 127,181

Fundraising (29,581) (24,629)

Programme (108,366) (98,882)

Governance (2,013) (1,856)

Total expenditure (139,960) (125,367)

Investment losses (1,242) (217)

Net (deficit)/surplus 3,983 1,597

2008

£’000

Programme partnership agreement (UK) 3,990

Disaster risk reduction (International) 913

Promoting sexual and reproductive health (Nigeria) 857

Rights and voices initiative (Ghana) 828

Strengthening Nigeria Resilience (Nigeria) 804

Commonwealth Education Fund (UK) 1,332

National equity and access (Nepal) 539

Other 1,087

Total 10,550

2008 2007

£’000 £’000

Fixed assets

Tangible assets 1,577 1,177

Investments 5,118 6,574

6,695 7,751

Current assets

Debtors 8,816 6,978

Cash at bank and in hand 52,667 43,341

61,483 50,319

Current liabilities

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (14,526) (10,454)

Net assets 53,652 47,616

Restricted reserves 36,304 35,569

Unrestricted reserves 17,348 12,047

53,652 47,616

30


ExpenditureThis year ActionAid International changed how it shows support costs –

allocating them to fundraising, project and governance rather than being shown

as a separate item on the face of the accounts.

Fundraising costsInvesting in fundraising rose by 20% to almost £30 million – reflecting both

difficult market conditions and investment in the expansion of smaller

affiliates, as well as developing the public fundraising of new associates in the

Netherlands and Australia. However, taking into account the rising income we

are generating, expressed as a proportion fundraising costs overall remain

largely unchanged at 20% (2007 19%).

Programme expenditureProgramme expenditure, exclusive of its share of support costs, increased by

8% and remained roughly unchanged as a proportion of our total expenditure at

62% – still somewhat below our target of at least 66%. Thematically, both

education and women’s rights saw significant increases in activity with central

and west Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean showing the greatest

growth geographically.

A higher proportion of our programme spend was on work directly implemented

by ActionAid staff as opposed to being carried out through partner organisations

(61% in 2008, compared with 55% in 2007).

Support costsUnderlying support costs grew by 20% across most functional areas, the main

drivers being increases in staff and fuel costs. However, we plan to ensure that

we keep these costs to an appropriate level, especially given the current

economic crisis.

At the end of the year the total funds of ActionAid International had grown in

sterling terms by 13% but fallen by 15% in euro terms, reflecting the loss in

value of sterling denominated assets.

Fraud and irregularities Although we believe financial controls in ActionAid International are generally

strong, we estimate that ActionAid International lost some £271,000 in 2008

through fraud and irregularities. This is considerably higher than in 2007

(£40,000), largely as the result of liabilities (£136,000) arising through the

mismanagement of a staff welfare scheme in Uganda. Nine members of staff

were dismissed last year and three partner relationships terminated or

suspended due to fraud and related activities.

Balance sheet

31


ActionAid’s objectives, as set out in our governing documents, are to promotethe relief of poverty and distress in any part of the world where ActionAid works,and to inform and raise awareness amongst the public around these issues.

ActionAid is a UK registered charity and also a company, limited by guarantee.We are governed by a board of trustees who are also considered directors undercompany law. A list of current trustees is given on page 3 and brief biographiesare set out on pages 5 and 6.

Trustees are charged with setting the strategic direction of ActionAid andchecking our progress against it. The board, however, delegates the day-to-dayoperations to a senior management team.

The board meets formally at least four times a year – though there is regularcontact between the chair and other trustees between meetings.

New trustees join the board at its invitation and are chosen with a view toensuring that the board contains an appropriate balance of experience relevantto the needs of the charity.

ActionAid International is entitled to appoint one trustee for appointment tothe board.

Trustees are appointed for a basic three-year term, renewable for a further threeyears. The chair’s term of office is five years, which may be extended for a furthertwo years in exceptional circumstances.

The board of trustees delegates certain functions to committees of trustees.There are three such committees:

• The finance and audit committee works jointly with the ActionAid Internationalfinance and audit committee, with a remit to promote the highest standards of integrity, financial reporting and internal control across ActionAidInternational. It also oversees the organisation’s risk management.

• The governance and board development committee considers governance issues, assesses the board’s composition and is responsible for therecruitment and induction of new trustees.

• The remuneration committee reviews the remuneration principles applying to ActionAid's staff, considers remuneration issues relating to senior managers, and recommends the remuneration of the executive director.

Accountability and trustee developmentTrustees received training in finance in June 2008, participated in the affiliationreview of Ghana and visits were made to Uganda, India and Nepal. Trustees alsoparticipated in ActionAid International’s board and committees.

Internal controlThe trustees have overall responsibility for ActionAid’s system of internal control.

Trustees recognise that systems of control can only provide a reasonable andnot complete assurance against inappropriate or ineffective use of resources, oragainst the risk of errors or fraud.

Trustees however remain satisfied that ActionAid’s systems provide reasonableassurance that the charity operates efficiently and effectively, safeguards its assets,maintains proper records and complies with relevant laws and regulations.

We operate a comprehensive accountability system. This includes a rollingthree-year plan, approved annually by trustees, and annual budgets. Trusteesconsider actual results compared with plans and forecasts, and non-financialperformance data. Other controls include delegation of authority andsegregation of duties.

The internal audit function of ActionAid International regularly reviews internalcontrols and submits reports to the finance and audit committee.

ActionAid’s constitution and governance

32


Risk managementTrustees have identified and reviewed the major strategic, business andoperational risks that the charity faces, and are satisfied that reasonable stepsare being taken to mitigate exposure to these risks.

Mechanisms used to identify, manage and mitigate the impact of risk include theannual planning process, the maintenance of a risk register that is reviewed andupdated throughout the year by senior managers and trustees, and theimplementation of a risk-based internal audit programme throughout the charity.While risks change over time, areas of potentially significant risk during the yearincluded the impact of the downturn in the economy both in terms of raisingfunds and retaining supporters and also potentially distracting the governmentfrom the international development agenda.

Financial risk managementActionAid’s activities potentially expose it to a number of financial risks including:

Credit risk – there is a risk that ActionAid’s suppliers might not meet theircontractual obligations, however this is mitigated by credit reference checks onsignificant companies and careful management of payment terms. For someincome contracts we grant money to ActionAid International ahead of it beingreceived, however as this income is due from large institutional donors we donot believe this poses significant risk of non payment.

Foreign exchange risk – ActionAid accepts funding from donors denominated inother currencies, principally euros. If the value of these currencies relative tosterling change over time, so will the value of funding income to cover ourcontractual obligations. To the extent that there is a shortfall we will eithernegotiate with our donors or fund the shortfall through unrestricted funds.

Foreign currency cash balances associated with these contracts may generateexchange gains and losses. We do not attempt to hedge such transactions aswe deem the cost of doing so outweighs the benefit of additionalexchange security.

Liquidity risk – by maintaining our reserves in relatively liquid assets we are ableto ensure that we are able to meet our obligations as they fall due.

Trustees and their statutory responsibilitiesThe trustees are responsible for ensuring the trustees’ report and the financialstatements are prepared for each financial year, in accordance with applicablelaw and regulations, and with UK accounting standards.

The group and charity’s financial statements are required by law to give a trueand fair view of the state of affairs of the group and charity, and of the group’sfinancial activities.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

• state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed,subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in thefinancial statements

• prepare the financial statements on a going-concern basis unless it isinappropriate to presume that the group and the charity will continueits activities.

The trustees are responsible for ensuring proper accounting records are keptthat disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of thecharity and enable them to ensure that its financial statements comply with theCompanies Act 1985. They have general responsibility for taking such steps asare reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the charity, and to preventand detect fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the integrity of the corporate and financialinformation included on the charity’s website, www.actionaid.org.uk. Legislationin the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financialstatements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Each trustee confirms that:• as far as the trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which

the charity’s auditors are unaware; and

• the trustee has taken all steps that s/he ought to make her/himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with theprovisions of section 234ZA of the Companies Act 1985.

Proposed new governance2008 saw the review of ActionAid International’s governance development take

shape. There was wide consultation across the organisation on the proposed

governance models including risks and implications for the transition. This

culminated in a proposal which went to the International Board for approval at

the end of the year. The new constitution means that each ActionAid affiliate and

associate appoints a representative to the ActionAid International Assembly.

The Assembly elects the ActionAid International Chair and trustees to

ActionAid’s International Board, which also includes independent trustees.

We have continued to enhance our focus on staff security with clear security

plans for each country, as well as providing training and guidance for staff. We

recognise that the areas where ActionAid seeks to work, both geographically

and with its themes, mean that its staff and the staff of its partner organisations

are potentially at risk of attack and threats to their personal security.

Staff and volunteersThe trustees appreciate the hard work and commitment of ActionAid staff

across the organisation and the shared values and dedication of staff is key to

the success of ActionAid. Sadly there were two deaths amongst ActionAid

International staff in 2008, Ramesh Venkataraman, our HIV and AIDS coordinator

for the Asia region and Adama Mbye, a staff member based in the Gambia.

ActionAid’s strong commitment to developing the diversity of its staff and

volunteers has continued during 2008. As women’s rights continues to be a key

focus of our work we have also strengthened women’s representation across

ActionAid internationally, through our women's leadership training and setting

ourselves a target of 50% representation of women in senior management

positions across the organisation over the next few years.

The trustees would also like to recognise the immense contribution made to

ActionAid’s success by the many committed volunteers who willingly give their

time and skills. Volunteers make a particularly valuable contribution to

fundraising, and communicating with supporters.

ActionAid’s fundraising supporter groups are spread throughout the UK and

these groups raise funds through a variety of activities and act as media

‘ambassadors’ in their local areas. The supporter groups meet formally and

informally, and contribute about 200 days each year, not to mention raising more

than £120,000 for ActionAid in 2008.

Child sponsor support volunteers work in ActionAid’s supporter centre in Chard,

participating in a number of activities including helping with communications

activity with our supporters. These volunteers contribute more than 300 days

a year.

ActionAid has a strong commitment to developing the diversity of its staff and

volunteers, and has continued to develop its strategy during 2008. We do this

through training and ensuring that, through our people policies, no job applicant

or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, race,

colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status,

sexual orientation or disability.

By order of the boardKaren Brown, Chair

11 August 2009

33


Staff, governance and management

Report of the independent auditors to the membersof ActionAidWe have audited the financial statements of ActionAid for the year ended 31

December 2008 which comprise the group statement of financial activities, the

group and charity balance sheets, the group cash flow statement and the related

notes. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting

policies set out therein.

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in

accordance with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985. Our audit work has

been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members

those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no

other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume

responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable

company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the

opinions we have formed.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditorsAs described in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities on page 3, the charitable

company’s trustees, who are also the directors of ActionAid for the purposes of

company law, are responsible for the preparation of the trustees’ report and

financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom

Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with relevant

legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK

and Ireland).

We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true

and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act

1985. We also report to you whether, in our opinion the information given in the

trustees’ report is consistent with the financial statements.

In addition, we report to you if, in our opinion, the charitable company has not

kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and

explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding

trustees’ remuneration and transactions with the charitable company is not

disclosed.

We read other information contained in the annual report and consider whether

it is consistent with the audited financial statements. The other information

comprises only the trustees’ report. We consider the implications for our report

if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies

with the financial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any

other information.

Basis of opinionWe conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing

(UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes

examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures

in the financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant

estimates and judgements made by the trustees in the preparation of the financial

statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the

charitable company’s circumstances, consistently applied and

adequately disclosed.

We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all information and explanations

which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence

to give reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free

from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error.

Auditor’s report

34


In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the

presentation of information in the financial statements.

OpinionIn our opinion:

• the financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with United

Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, of the state of the group’s

and the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2008 and of the

group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income

and expenditure, in the year then ended;

• the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the

Companies Act 1985; and

• the information given in the trustees’ report is consistent with the financial

statements.

Buzzacott LLP

Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors

12 New Fetter Lane

London

EC4A 1AG

35


36


Consolidated statementof financial activities(SOFA)for the year ended 31 December 2008

37


Balance sheetsas at 31 December 2008

38


Consolidated cashflowstatementfor the year ended 31 December 2008

Notes forming part ofthe financial statementsas at 31 December 2008


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Notes forming part ofthe financial statementsfor the year ended 31 December 2008


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Notes forming part ofthe financial statementsfor the year ended 31 December 2008


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