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acf-nous-decouvrir-1420x810 © Lys Arango pour Action contre la Faim

Who we are
Overcoming hunger
by fighting its causes.

Action Contre la Faim is a non-governmental organization that has been fighting hunger in the world for nearly 40 years.

Action Contre la Faim

SOME 735 MILLION PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING FROM HUNGER ACROSS THE WORLD¹. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

AT ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM,

WE SAVE LIVES

AND REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY.

 

Everyone should have enough to eat and access to a varied, sustainable diet. We are a long way from achieving this. In 2022, we supported 28 million people by tackling the consequences and structural causes of hunger. War, the climate crisis, and socio-economic and gender inequality are the main reasons behind it. We unite, act and provide solutions, for and with communities. Because the solutions are out there, and we at Action contre la Faim know how to stop hunger being inevitable.

 

AT ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM,

We take action on the ground

so we are activists

 

We take action on the ground both here in France and worldwide. We operate everywhere, in all contexts, and we save lives in emergencies while helping to build sustainable solutions for the long term. We use our solid expertise to work locally with and alongside communities in 55 countries.

 

AT ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM,

WE BELIEVE IN COLLECTIVE POWER.

 

Our approach to humanitarian assistance rests on the belief that collective mobilisation is fundamental in order to ensure that our actions have a widespread effect. That is why 95% of our 8,000 collaborators are from the countries where we operate. We work with international and local NGOs, states and donors, companies, universities, schools and citizens. We come together with those who are battling hunger, without whom we would be nothing. There is no such thing as small actions, small gestures. Only big ambitions.

Let’s harness our strengths, our talents, our ideas and our voices to further this fight.

 

A FRENCH HUMANITARIAN ASSOCIATION

 

Founded in 1979, our association (articles of association, internal rules)  is a non-governmental organisation focused on international solidarity. In other words, Action contre la Faim fights hunger all over the world. Conflict, climate imbalance, poverty and unequal access to water and care are just some of the causes of malnutrition. Our mission is to save lives by eliminating hunger through the prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition, especially during and after emergency situations linked to conflicts and natural disasters.

 

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AGAINST HUNGER

 

Today, Action contre la Faim is one of the leaders of the fight against world hunger. Our non-profit organisation, structured as an international network, helps to provide a coordinated response in the countries where we operate. For our association, which has been recognised as an organisation of public utility in France, the priority is to take concrete action on the ground and to bear witness to the experiences of the populations we support.

Originally created by a group of French doctors and intellectuals, our international solidarity NGO saves millions of lives every year, mainly in Asia, South America, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean, but also in Europe. Since 2019, Action contre la Faim has been a member of Alliance Urgences: a group of 6 NGOs whose goal is to create a surge of national solidarity around specific humanitarian emergencies.

The causes of hunger are multiple, so we provide a multi-sector response based on real expertise.

 

¹Source : SOFI 2023

Our 7 fields of expertise

Independence
Neutrality
Transparency
Free and direct access to people in need
Non-discrimination
Professionalism

Charter of principles

We commit to the following principles:

Independence

Action Against Hunger acts according to its own principles in order to maintain its moral and financial independence. Action Against Hunger's actions are not defined in terms of domestic or foreign policies, nor does the organisation act in the interest of any government.

Neutrality

Action Against Hunger maintains a strict political and religious neutrality. Action Against Hunger can however denounce human rights violations it witnesses as well as obstacles put in the way of its humanitarian activities.

Transparency

Action Against Hunger is committed to respecting a policy of transparency and disclosure for its beneficiaries, donors, and partners by making available all information on the allocation and management of its funds, and by providing independent verification of its good management.

Free and direct access to people in need

Action Against Hunger demands free access to populations in need and direct control of its programmes. Action Against Hunger uses all means available to achieve this goal, and will denounce and act against obstacles that prevent the organisation from doing so. Action Against Hunger also verifies the allocation of its resources in order to ensure that they reach those individuals for whom they are destined. Under no circumstances can partners working together with or alongside Action Against Hunger become the ultimate beneficiaries of the organisation’s programmes.

Non-discrimination

Action Against Hunger rejects all discrimination based on ethnicity, nationality, opinion, race, religion, sex or social class.

Professionalism

To maximise its efficiency and use of resources, Action Against Hunger bases the assessment, conception, management, and realisation of its programmes on the highest professional standards and years of experience.

About our Charter
Charter of principles

Private, apolitical, non-denominational, not-for-profit, it was created in France to operate worldwide. Its vocation is to save lives by fighting hunger, physiological misery and distress situations that threaten the lives of defenceless men, women and children.

  • In the event of a serious crisis, natural or man-made, threatening food security or causing famine.
  • In the event of a breakdown of the social fabric, linked to internal or external reasons, placing certain popula*ons in a situation of extreme vulnerability.
  • Where humanitarian assistance is a matter of survival.

The association’s action then takes place either during the crisis itself or afterwards. It can also intervene in risk prevention. All ACF’s programmes aim to enable their beneficiaries to regain their autonomy and means of living as quickly as possible without relying on assistance.

fermer le détail

History

The milestones of our fight

Created in 1979, it is part of the second generation of NGOs, the "French Doctors".

AFG_2016-10-31_0727 © Sandra Calligaro - Afghanistan © Sandra Calligaro pour Action contre la Faim FSL Cambodia 2016 © Guy Calaf pour Action contre la Faim ETH-2014-06-17_19-1024x683 © Agnès Varraine-Leca pour Action contre la Faim Kurdistan irakien, 2017 Kurdistan irakien, 2017 A convoy of trucks moves across the hastily-built pontoon bridge at the Maslenica sea crossing July .. © Reuters Nikola Solic Two wounded Rwandan soldiers limp 23 August as they approach the Panzi refugee camp which houses som.. © Reuters - Patrick de Noirmont CHECHEN REFUGEES QUEUE FOR HUMANITARIAN AID AT SLEPTSOVSK. © Reuters - Vasily Fedosenko IQ MH&CP 2017 Bawiza 04 - Copie © Lys Arango pour Action contre la Faim A KOSOVAR MAN WALKS THROUGH THE RUINS OF THE OLD TOWN OF PEC. © Reuters - Damir Sagolj AN UNDERWEIGHT COW PULLS A WAGON LOAD OF TIMBER IN KUMCHONG © Reuters - Str Old IMG_4207 © Florian seriex - Irak © Florian Seriex pour Action contre la Faim An aerial view of the holiday resort of Ton Sai Bay in Thailand's Phi Phi island, after a tsunami ... © REUTERS/Luis Enrique Ascu muttur © Eric Fenot pour Action contre la Faim A Haitian sells water next to a destroyed street market in downtown Port-au-Prince © REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz A man walks amid rubble of collapsed buildings after what activists said were air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma Eastern Al-Ghouta, near Damascus REUTERS/Mohammed Badra Yemen 2016 © Florian Seriex pour Action contre la Faim 010_dburgui_KAT_vincent01__MG_5719-1-1024x683 © Daniel Burgui pour Action contre la Faim AAH_kenya_22_0434 © Peter Caton pour Action contre la Faim ssd_whd2017-5_2 © Lys Arango & Guy Calaf pour Action contre la Faim HL_JHELAINE-5819 ©Julien Helaine pour Action contre la Faim France SSD_2020_COVID_PeterCaton_60 © Peter Caton pour Action contre la Faim 253043530_432716008213773_3534526159401571028_n © Chloé Ramdani / Z Event MD_UKR_ER_220308_GonzaloHöhr_059 (1) © Gonzalo Höhr pour Action contre la Faim REMI PORTIER_Grande CCF-6640 © Rémi Portier pour Action contre la Faim
1979

1st country office : Assistance to Afghan refugees in Pakistan

1982

Emergency response in Thailand to help Cambodian refugees

1985

Emergency response in Ethiopia to deal with famine

1990

Aid to the Kurdish people in exodus during the Gulf War

1992

Opening of a country office in Bosnia to provide medical and nutritional assistance to displaced people

1994

AICF is recognised as a public-interest organisation by the Ministry of the Interior. Genocide in Rwanda: Nutritional aid for refugees

1995

Opening of the Chechnya country office during the 1st Russian-Chechen war

1996

AICF becomes Action Against Hunger

1999

Emergency distribution in Kosovo

2000

Action Against Hunger withdraws from North Korea and denounces the manipulation of aid

2003

Opening of the country office in Iraq

2005

Action Against Hunger launches an emergency response after the tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka

2006

Killing of 17 Action Against Hunger aid workers by the army in Muttur, Sri Lanka. Closing of the country office in protest of the impunity of the crime

2008

"Hunger riots" in many countries of the Global South following a sharp rise in food prices

2011

Conflict in Syria begins in the context of the Arab Spring

2012

Country office opens in Yemen

2015

Emergency relief for 180,000 people after the Nepal earthquake

2017

Threat of famine in 4 countries : Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan and Somalia. New Action Against Hunger brand identity

2019

Major deterioration of the security situation in Nigeria with the murder of two of our aid workers and the abduction and execution of 4 other colleagues. An Action Against Hunger humanitarian died as a result of bombing in the city of Hodeida in Yemen.

2019

Opening of the France country office

2020

Global Covid-19 pandemic

2021

Action Against Hunger receives over €10m from the Z Event

2022

Conflict in Ukraine starts

2022

25 years of the Race Against Hunger

Leading the fight against hunger

Governance

AÏCHA KORAICHI
Herrick Mouafo
Jacques Serba
Photo pro_AKP_AFD (2)
CAROLINE DIB
Matthieu Yziquel
Antonio Lopez
Francisco-Rubio
benjamin Nguyen (1)
LAURENT-BACOS_1321 (1)
Elvira Rodriguez Escudeiro
Isabelle Triol - photo (1)
marc lescaudron
Robert Sebbag
Violette Douillet
Stéphanie Charles
Photo identité couleur
Manuel Carrard
Aïcha Koraichi
Chairman

Sciences Po Paris' Graduate, Aïcha Koraïchi started her carrier as an organizational consultant for public sector.

Herrick Mouafo
Vice-Chairman

He is a lecturer in the academic community and his lessons are based on the “conflict transformation” or the “mutation by conflict” approach as a critical view of the identity notion while discussing the “relation” notion of Edouard Glissant.

Jacques SERBA
Treasurer

Jacques Serba is an Officer of the French National Order of Merit and a Commander of the French Order of Academic Palms.

Amandine KASHANI-POOR
Assistant Treasurer

Coming soon.

Caroline Dib
Secretary general

Caroline Dib joined the board of directors of Action contre la Faim in September 2017.

Matthieu YZIQUEL
Assistant secretary general

Matthieu has worked in the public and private sectors for 20 years, including public policies, building industry and social inclusion.

Antonio Lopez
Member of the Board of Directors

Graduated from ENSAM (Arts et Métiers) in 1976 as an engineer, managed important building projects of power plants in export.

FRANCISCO RUBIO
Member of the Board of Directors

Siences Po Paris’ graduate and master degree in public law’s holder, Fransisco Rubio started his career as legal department supervisor for the Agricultural Ministry in Paris.

Benjamin Nguyen
Member of the Board of Directors

Benjamin Nguyen has a 25 years career in diverse NGOs.

Laurent Bacos
Member of the Board of Directors

Laurent Bacos started his career in NGOs in 1995 with Action Against Hunger.

Elvira Rodriguez-Escudeiro
Member of the Board of Directors

She joined the Paris headquarters of La Chaîne de l'Espoir as Head of Institutional Financing to support the development of this portfolio within the organisation.

Isabelle Triol
Member of the Board of Directors

After studying medicine, she had a DEA in epidemiology and intervention in public health and several field missions with French NGOs.

Marc Lescaudron
Member of the Board of Directors

Marc Lescaudron is a humanitarian professional for nearly 20 years and has been teaching professional master's courses in several universities.

Robert Sebbag
Member of the Board of Directors

One of the founding members of ACF in 1979.

Violette DOUILLET
Member of the Board of Directors

Involved in humanitarian work for the past eight years and recently resettled in France, Violette has been on assignment in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa

Stéphanie CHARLES
Member of the Board of Directors

She has been involved with Action contre la Faim for 18 years as a member and volunteer in several delegations and at head office.

Alain Maïo
Member of the Board of Directors

A volunteer in Action against hunger since the end of 2017, Alain Maïo has been leading the Gard delegation since June 2018.

Manuel CARRARD
Member of the Board of Directors

He joined ACF in 2019 as a member and is now also a member of its ethics committee.

Executive board

DSC05430-min

Chibuzo Okonta

Chief Executive Officer

quote
After starting out as a doctor in Nigeria for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Chibuzo held various positions in the field before joining the emergency unit at the organisation's headquarters. Chibuzo has extensive expertise in responding to complex humanitarian emergencies including nutritional crises, refugees and displaced communities following wars or natural disasters. For Chibuzo, environment health and climate change are major issues. In 2017, Chibuzo co-founded a new MSF branch in West and Central Africa before becoming its President in 2020. In February 2021, he joined MSF's International Board. In March 2024, he became Chief Executive Officer of Action Against Hunger.
Charlotte

Charlotte Schneider

Director of Operations

quote
From Country Director in Haiti and Afghanistan, Emergency Director to Paris City Hall’s policy developer on integration of refugees, Charlotte has over 20 years’ experience in the humanitarian and development field.
Fred

Frédéric Wehner

Director of Human Ressources

quote
Social rights expert and humanitarian, Frederic has built his career internationally with 360° jobs before specializing, since 10 years, in human resources management.
Lucie

Lucie Codiasse

Director of Communications and Development

quote
With a strong field experience in Iraq and Calais, Lucie has a 15 years experience in communications and marketing with international brands for the fight against hunger.
Photo ID - BVIENOT

Benjamin Viénot

Logistics Director

quote
Benjamin spent 10 years in emergency humanitarian operations in Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East, including 7 with Action contre la Faim. After developing expertise in Monitoring and Evaluation of humanitarian projects, he moved into Operations, notably as Country Director for ACF. He joined our organization's headquarters in 2022.
eric tran

Eric Tran

Director of Finance and Administration

quote
Eric TRAN graduated from HEC PARIS in 1987 and began his career as an auditor and then held the position of Chief Financial Officer in major international groups in the private commercial sector such as VIVENDI, HAVAS, EMI MUSIC and DTZ. Since 2016, he has chosen to work in the social economy, where he has successively carried out financial management assignments in the medico-social, social and NGO sectors, in particular ACF, which he knows well.

Key figures

How we use the funds to fight hunger.
a b c

Distribution by type of expenditure

  • Programmes (88,8%)
  • FUNDRAISING (5.5%)
  • OPERATING COSTS (5,8%)
a b c

DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES BY ORIGIN

  • RESOURCES RAISED FROM THE PUBLIC (15%)
  • RESOURCES NOT LINKED TO PUBLIC GENEROSITY (5%)
  • SUBSIDIES AND OTHER PUBLIC FUNDING (80%)

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