Health and inclusive development

Every person should be able to access the healthcare, wellbeing support and opportunities they need to live well. Over 60 years, we’ve learnt that lasting change comes from solutions that are effective, practical and built for scale. We invest in approaches that prevent disease, strengthen community health and remove barriers to access, supporting proven models…

Every person should be able to access the healthcare, wellbeing support and opportunities they need to live well. Over 60 years, we’ve learnt that lasting change comes from solutions that are effective, practical and built for scale. We invest in approaches that prevent disease, strengthen community health and remove barriers to access, supporting proven models to reach more people and deliver greater impact.

Solomon Islands community WASH
Action on Poverty team member leads women in a health skills session in the Solomon Islands

Bangladesh

Walk for Life*

Walk for Life improves access to early detection and treatment using the non-invasive Ponseti method for children and families affected by clubfoot. Through training for physiotherapists and health workers, parent support, and nationwide awareness campaigns, the program strengthened local capacity to deliver the life-changing treatment and support families through the full care journey, ultimately transitioning to an independently funded national program with a network of clinics across Bangladesh.

Health and rehabilitation access

Renovations to health and rehabilitation facilities in Sunamganj have improved access to physiotherapy, diagnostic X-ray, dental and laboratory services for hundreds of patients, with new generators ensuring consistent service for people in remote areas. 

Kiribati

Community health promotion*

The community health and resilience project strengthens community preparedness for public health threats across the islands of Kuria, Aranuka and Marakei. Through first aid training, community planning, household hygiene initiatives, and home food production, the project has helped communities to improve nutrition, hygiene practices and local preparedness for future health challenges.

Water access and health security*

This initiative improves access to clean water and promotes healthy lifestyles in Kiribati communities through vegetable gardening, nutrition education and community planning. By helping households grow their own food and strengthening plans for future water infrastructure, the project supports better nutrition, healthier lifestyles and more reliable access to safe water.

Kiribati and Solomon Islands

Pacific health and sanitation solutions

Pacific health and sanitation solutions (PHASS) was designed to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities for vulnerable Pacific communities and raise awareness of menstrual health among adolescents. Knowledge and essential skills were introduced to communities across both countries, with dedicated menstrual hygiene management sessions reaching boys and girls to reduce stigma and improve health practices. 

Malawi

Cash for wealth creation

Cash for wealth creation provides unconditional cash transfers of US$550 to households in extreme poverty in Chiradzulu district Malawi, aiming to reach 185,000 people by early 2027. Recipients use transfers to invest in food, healthcare, education and small businesses, with digital delivery ensuring the support is fast, secure and dignified.

CashConnect: scaling digital innovation for poverty alleviation*

CashConnect is designed to improve the way unconditional cash transfers are delivered in Malawi. Through digital enrolment, payment, monitoring and communication systems, the project expands access to cash assistance, strengthens program integrity, and increases digital and financial inclusion for women and vulnerable communities.

Timor-Leste

Empowering survivors of domestic violence and trauma*

Action on Poverty has worked with Psychosocial Recovery and Development in East Timor (PRADET) for more than a decade to support survivors of domestic violence and trauma with psychosocial support, health services, livelihood training and financial literacy. Working across six municipalities, the approach is co-designed with PRADET and helps women, incarcerated people and other vulnerable groups build practical skills, strengthen wellbeing, and develop more sustainable and independent livelihoods.

Timor-Leste and Vietnam

World Mosquito Program*

For more than 20 years, Action on Poverty has partnered with the World Mosquito Program (WMP) to scale the Wolbachia method, a safe and sustainable approach to reducing mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Working across Vietnam, Timor-Leste and now Sri Lanka, the partnership combines scientific innovation with strong local delivery, helping communities adopt and benefit from a proven public health intervention that reduces disease transmission without genetic modification.

In partnership with

Vietnam

One Health: Pathogen and wildlife monitoring

The One Health initiative monitored animal and human disease risks across central and northern Vietnam through partnerships with the Institute of Veterinary Research and Development (IVRD) and the Institute for Ecology and Conservation of Nature (IECN). IVRD strengthened disease surveillance in domestic and wild pig populations, while IECN mapped wildlife populations, analysed biodiversity data, and worked with forest rangers and local communities to strengthen conservation and habitat protection in the Northern Annamite Mountains.

Supported by

Zimbabwe

Holistic support for vulnerable children and families*

This multi-year partnership with Our Neighbours Ministry (ONM) supports orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo Province, alongside Homes of Love (Isaiah’s Babies Home) and Hearts of Love. The program provides long-term care, family support and essential services for children, widows, older people and people with disability, helping some of the community’s most vulnerable members access safe care and support.

Australian Aid

*Programs supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP)