Action Africa Help International (AAH-I) is a regional African-led non-governmental organisation that supports livelihood-challenged communities in East and Southern Africa to sustainably improve their well-being and standard of living. With Country Programmes in South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Somalia, and Kenya, AAH-I has over 20 years’ experience working with communities in conflict and post-conflict situations, including refugees, internally displaced people and host communities. More recently AAH-I has expanded its activities to work with other marginalised communities including pastoralists and urban slum dwellers.

Their vision is improved quality of life for livelihood-challenged communities in Africa.

Strategy
Their current five-year strategy (2014-2018) will focus on the following five strategic objectives:

> Developing, promoting and implementing innovative entrepreneurial and sustainable livelihood programmes.
> Designing and delivering sustainable basic services in partnership with livelihood-challenged communities.
> Facilitating humanitarian relief and recovery programmes for displaced and returnee populations to attain sustainable solutions.
> Strengthening the capacity of implementing partners for sustained service delivery and governance.
> Enhancing the capacity, efficiency, effectiveness and learning of AAH-I to innovatively deliver its Mission.

Cross Cutting Issues
In all its programming, AAH-I aims to mainstream the following crosscutting issues:

> HIV/AIDS
> Gender equality and equity
> Age
> Disability
> Population management and family health

Thematic Areas
They closely work with communities to identify and develop programs that promote ownership, relevance and sustainability.
They have chosen to focus on the following thematic areas in an integrated development approach:

Basic services (health, education, water, hygiene and sanitation)
They partner with communities, governments and organisations to improve access to quality water, education and health services.

Food and income security
Committed to helping communities become food secure and gain better livelihoods.

Environmental management and responsiveness to climate change,
Empowering communities to tackle environmental degradation and deforestation towards environmental sustainability.

Governance, civil society strengthening and peace building
Supporting communities to become active participants in governance and development processes

Humanitarian relief and recovery
Far-reaching experience in managing humanitarian operations, logistics and multi-sectoral refugee programmes in South Sudan, Uganda and Zambia.

Research to provide the evidence base for the above
Growing a portfolio of high-quality health research projects and testing innovations