ActionAid has launched a fundraising campaign to help young women in developing countries overcome violence and poverty with government match funding worth up to £5m.
The anti-poverty and human rights charity said it is aiming to raise £2.8m from UK donors through the She Can appeal, which will run for three months.
All individual donations made to the campaign between next Wednesday and 25 June will be matched by the Department for International Development’s UK Aid Match scheme up to the value of £5m, ActionAid said.
The campaign will provide telephone support for victims of violence to help women get legal advice and the charity will work with local women’s rights organisations to make communities safer.
Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, said: “Millions of girls and women in developing countries live with the daily threat of violence, making it harder to complete their education or to earn a living.
"By matching all public donations pound for pound, we could improve security for over 60,000 girls and women living in some of the world’s poorest urban slums. Safety from violence will help them finish school, get a job and take control of their own lives, so they can lift themselves out of poverty for good.”
Last year, ActionAid raised £2.7m, including government match funding, for its disaster preparedness work through the Ready for Anything campaign.
Street Child launches match-funding appeal
Street Child has also launched a fundraising appeal, Every Child in School, with government match funding.
The campaign aims to raise funds and awareness about out-of-school children in West Africa, the charity said.
Launched yesterday evening at Kensington Palace, the campaign will run until 17 June and aims to help at least 5,000 of the world’s most vulnerable children get the chance to go to school.
Donations made in the UK will be matched by the Department for International Development.
Tom Dannatt, managing director at Street Child, said: “We’re asking the public to dig deep over the next three months and help us not only to support thousands of children who deserve the right to go to school, but also to tackle the barriers that are stopping future generations of West African children from receiving their right to an education.”
