About Us

Action Against Hunger was founded with a simple goal in mind: No more hungry children in India. No more deaths caused by starvation, no more irreversible damage to mental or physical health due to lack of food and water. No more denying our children their basic human right to be free from hunger.

HISTORY

Action Against Hunger was set up in August 2012 with the purpose of eradicating malnutrition and protecting our country’s children from hunger. It is an Indian not-for-profit, non-political and non-religious organization registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 in Mumbai. The board is composed of representatives from diverse sectors including business, health, academia and diplomacy, with Professor MS Swaminathan as Chairman Emeritus of the Foundation. The organization functions with a small but dedicated team of practitioners. To achieve its mission to end hunger in a systematic and sustainable way, we have developed strong partnerships with various institutions including Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Women and Child Development, Integrated Child Development Services, hospitals and public health institutions, besides other national and international organizations that support our cause.

MANDATE

Action Against Hunger is an Indian not-for-profit which promotes community-based approaches for the management of acute malnutrition. Severe acute malnutrition, the most serious form of hunger, is deadly if left untreated and threatens millions of lives each year. For young children, the consequences of acute malnutrition are particularly severe and reach far into the future. We detect, treat and prevent acute malnutrition in children so they can regain their health and fulfil their potential.

Action Against Hunger is dedicated to the treatment and prevention of malnutrition in urban and rural areas in three areas of India: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Our approach is to identify and correctly diagnose the most affected children, and treat them using therapeutic food and micronutrients. Locally-trained community workers then follow up with home visits to ensure children do not return to an under nourished state. Pregnant women and young mothers are educated on the importance of varied nutrition, based on local product availability and affordable local items. We also undertake awareness-raising campaigns in communities to create an understanding of undernutrition and promote the implementation of nutrition policies at local and national government levels.

Action Against Hunger’s goal is to reach 1 million children and mothers by 2018.

OUR BRAND AMBASSADOR

Sonam Kapoor

Sonam pledges to help ending child malnutrition in India. We are very excited to announce that Bollywood actress and style icon Sonam Kapoor is joining us in the fight against malnutrition!

Sonam will be Action Against Hunger’s first Goodwill Ambassador, helping us to raise awareness about malnutrition, which kills over one million children in India every year.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of our work, Sonam recently spent time at one of our project sites – the Medical Nutrition Therapy production unit at Chota Sion Hospital, in Mumbai. Afterward, she said:

“ Every year, over one million children die from malnutrition-related causes in India. It is inconceivable to me that there are children who do not have access to proper nutrition and clean water. We cannot build a productive and peaceful world on empty stomachs.“

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During her visit, Sonam met many mothers and malnourished children and took the time to speak to the dedicated hospital staff to learn more.

“Seeing these children suffer from malnutrition first-hand has been devastating, but it has also made me realize that we can all be doing more to end child deaths from malnutrition, an easily preventable disease. That’s why I have decided to pledge to support Action Against Hunger, to help raise awareness. I saw the work they do myself to save the lives of malnourished children and I congratulate them for their expertise and their dedication to the cause. I hope that together we can create a hunger-free India and I urge people to come forward and support them in their fight against malnutrition.“

Sonam has added a renewed energy to our vision of ending child deaths due to malnutrition in India.

Her strong belief in the philosophy that “those who have been fortunate in life must give back to those in need” is one of her reasons for being motivated to get involved with Action Against Hunger.

Sonam attended our annual fundraising Gala Dinner held on the 25 October 2016. She urged people to come forth and support us to end malnutrition.

“I was totally disheartened to know that there are over 1 million children in India who die every year due to malnutrition related causes. It was inconceivable for me that in a progressive country like ours, there are children who do not even have access to food or clean water. My heart sank when I saw the plight of some of these children who were merely skin and bones. But it was also good to see that these children were recovering well after medical consultation. I saw the work being done by Action Against Hunger in saving the lives of children and congratulate them for their dedication to the cause. I will be working with them in the coming months to spread the message about malnutrition in children in India and urge society to come forth and support them in whatever capacity they can.”

We are extremely grateful to Sonam for her commitment towards eradicating malnutrition in children.

Sonu Nigam

Action Against Hunger’s dedicated ambassador, legendary musician Sonu Nigam, has recorded a song especially for Action Against Hunger about our fight to end hunger in India.

#HOPEINTHEFUTURE In Sonu’s words,“I can no longer just stand by, while millions of India’s children die of hunger. My new song“HopeInTheFuture” is dedicated to Action Against Hunger. They fight every day for the day when no child in India dies of hunger. I know that if we come together to fight hunger, this day will come soon.”

We are very grateful that Sonu has taken the time to create this amazing song for us, and we hope that it is going to raise awareness of our life-saving work and inspire many more people to join us in our fight against hunger. Together, we can build a world free from hunger. For everyone. For good. Please enjoy, and share with your friends and family – we hope it will become an anthem!

John Abraham

JOINS HANDS WITH US TO FIGHT HUNGER

We are delighted to get the support of Bollywood actor and film producer Mr. John Abraham in our fight to end child hunger in India.

Abraham was interviewed by RJ Hrishi K of 94.3 Radio One channel on World Food Day, where he shared his views on the importance of good nutrition in the initial years of a child’s life, and how it shapes his behaviour and mental make-up when he grows up.

In John’s own words, ‘’The aim of Action Against Hunger is to make sure that there are zero, absolutely zero children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”

He highlighted the threat of malnutrition that can affect a child’s development . “Both physical and mental skill development gets adversely affected resulting in worst school performances. Such children will become parents and pass it on to the next generation. We cannot afford to have an India where our children do not grow up healthy because of lack of nutrition. We can be the generation that ends malnutrition in India.”

He appealed to his listeners and fans to log on to www.fighthungerfoundation.org and click on Donate Now or else write to contact@fighthungerfoundation.org.

“I would like to support Action Against Hunger in every possible way. It resonates with me and is very close to my heart’’, were his closing words in this show.

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Mr. Nadir Godrej

India’s leading industrialist and Managing Director of Godrej Industries, Mr. Nadir Godrej had attended our World Food Day Gala dinner on 25th October 2016 where he addressed the guests and spoke about how the cause of ending malnutrition in India is so close to his heart. We are extremely grateful to Mr. Godrej for his commitment and support to Action Against Hunger.

Mr. Godrej mesmerized us with his beautiful poetry, dedicated to ending child hunger in India.

Please click on the link below to hear him quote a few anecdotes on his love for poetry and how he feels so connected to the cause of making India a hunger free nation.

Who We Are

Action Against Hunger was founded with a simple goal in mind: No more hungry children in India. No more deaths caused by starvation, no more of irreversible damage to mental or physical health due to lack of food and water. No more denying our children their basic human right to be free from hunger.

Around 20% of India’s children underfive years oldsuffer from acute malnutrition-that is 8 million children. Undernutrition kills around 1 million of those children each year and is the reason behind 50% of all child deaths in India. In such a scenario, the Action Against Hunger comes forth with a dedication to fight against malnutrition, and more specifically to the prevention, detection and treatment of acute malnutrition in children under five.

India’s ‘hunger belt’ includes both underdeveloped rural areas and heavily populated urban ones. In an attempt to addressboth, Action Against Hunger is currently working with children and their families in the urbanslums of Mumbai’s Govandi neighbourhood and Palghar district in Maharashtra, as well as in the rural areas of Burhanpur and Dhar in Madhya Pradesh and Baran in Rajasthan.

Action Against Hunger’s strategy for fighting malnutrition is based on three pillars:

Awareness-raising: Promoting the management of acute malnutrition as a priority for stakeholders including the Indian government, to influence effective change in policy and practice. Awareness Raising session in Burhanpur.
Community projects: Detection, treatment and prevention of malnutrition in hospitals, health centres and in communities.
Research: To understand the underlying causes of acute malnutrition.

The fight against malnutrition is not limited to mere distribution of food. Despite the remarkable growth witnessed in India over the last decade, there are millions that continue to strive for such basic amenities as safe drinking water and sufficient food to survive on. Action Against Hunger organises programs that help families in developing long-term sources of income, empowering them to become self-sufficient. We keep the following aims in mind:

Agriculture and Livelihoods : to provide communities with tools, seeds and the knowledge they need to feed themselves long into the future.
Income Generating Activities : to give opportunities of self-reliance to communities, so they can work themselves out of poverty.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene : to ensure communities have a lasting source of clean water and to help them develop safe hygiene practices that lead to prevention of diseases.

We know that our simple goal – to end child hunger –involves a complicated path, one where we must join forces and move forward together. Malnutrition is a complex adversary, but we know that it can be beaten and we know how to do it. There is a great deal of work to do. And we cannot do this alone. Get Involved!