Press releases

Press releases

Read our latest press releases.

Fresh disaster in West Africa as flooding compounds food crisis

September 3 2010 - Severe flooding across the Sahel region of West Africa has left hundreds of thousands of people without food and shelter, bringing fresh misery to communities already suffering their worst food crisis in decades.

Flooding hits ten million people in India's most populous and poorest state

September 3 2010 - Christian Aid is launching an immediate appeal for the people hit by the devastating India floods. More than 800,000 people have had their villages submerged by severe flooding in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India.

Christian Aid urges household name firms to back accounting reform

August 31 2010 - Christian Aid is launching a new phase of its Trace the Tax campaign for greater financial transparency by multinational companies.

Christian Aid welcomes Kenya's new constitution but warns against self-interest of political elite

August 27 2010 - Christian Aid welcomes Kenya’s new constitution which passed into law today but warns the country’s democratic institutions must be bolstered to prevent members of the political elite using the reforms to further their own interests.

August 16 2010 - Award-winning comedian and actor, Omid Djalili, has accepted a new role as QuizAid Master for Christian Aid’s first ever Twitter Quiz. Omid will host a live online quiz held on his Twitter page (omid9) on 6 September at 12.30pm to launch this year’s QuizAid.

Rev Jesse Jackson to ask MPs to help the world's poor

August 10 2010 - American civil rights activist, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is coming to London on 20 October to give his backing to Christian Aid’s lobby of Parliament that day, aimed at moving climate change and global tax transparency up the political agenda.

Mark Rhodes (photo courtesy of 19 Entertainment/Andy Earl)

4 August 2010 - One half of Britain's brightest presenting team Mark Rhodes, is in training for this year's Bupa Great North Run - the world's biggest half-marathon, which takes place on Sunday 19 September 2010.

Urgent humanitarian aid needed for millions hit by Pakistan floods

3 August 2010 - Christian Aid is channelling money through its international network to provide food, shelter and medical assistance to some 50,000 people affected by floods that have killed at least 1,400 people in Pakistan.

Bishop Tom goes out with Jazz and Jam!

29 July 2010 - Rt Rev Tom Wright hosted his last event as Bishop of Durham at Auckland Castle on Sunday 25 July, before retiring on 31 August 2010 to take up a new appointment.

Calling all cyclists looking for a challenge this autumn

23 July 2010 - Christian Aid is encouraging cycling enthusiasts across the UK to sign up to its newest cycling event, the London-Luxembourg challenge, by the end of August 2010.

Christian Aid joins Bono and Soros in welcoming landmark law on business transparency

21 July 2010 - Christian Aid today welcomes a new US law which will challenge corruption in poor countries and boost the pressure for global reforms to combat tax dodging and bribery.

14 year old's scrumptious recipe book backed by Archbishop of York

July 14 - The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is backing a schoolgirl from Scalby, near Scarborough, who has compiled a cookery book to raise money for Christian Aid by supplying a recipe for one of his favourite dishes.

Haiti - six months after earthquake, conditions remain 'extremely harsh'

July 9 2010 - Six months on from the earthquake which devastated Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding towns and villages, conditions for many of the country’s inhabitants remain extremely harsh.

MBE for helping Burmese refugees in Thailand

July 9 2010 - Sally Thompson, Deputy Director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a Christian Aid partner organisation, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for her work with displaced people from Burma.

Aid agencies call for a 'surge' in aid effort to help 10 million facing hunger in West Africa

July 8 2010 - Ten leading aid agencies today called for a 'surge' in the humanitarian effort to help 10 million people at risk of acute hunger across the Sahel region of West and Central Africa. The centre of the crisis is Niger, where seven million people, almost half the population do not have enough food. A further two million people in Chad, and hundreds of thousands more in Mali, Mauritania, parts of Burkina Faso and the extreme north of Nigeria are also suffering as a result of the crisis.

Church development groups deliver ‘impartial’ aid in Kyrgyzstan

June 22 2010 - Members of the ACT Alliance, a global network of church based development organisations, have begun the ‘impartial’ distribution of food to areas in Kyrgyzstan worst hit by recent attacks on Uzbek communities.

Moves welcomed to protect rights of exploited domestic workers

June 17 2010 - A new Convention that will set out the rights domestic workers worldwide should enjoy is to be adopted by UN agency the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Kyrgyzstan government must guarantee safe transport of humanitarian aid

June 17 2010 - Hundreds of thousands remain in desperate need of humanitarian assistance one week on from the start of the fighting in southern Kyrgyzstan, say aid agencies.

Christian Aid calls for an end to attacks on DRC human rights activists

June 15 2010 - Following a violent attack on the leader of a Congolese human rights organisation, Christian Aid is appealing to the international community for increased protection for activists and greater support to the Congolese authorities to bring perpetrators to justice.

Shepherd to cycle Scottish coast in fundraising trip for Christian Aid

June 10 2010 - A freelance shepherd from the Scottish Borders will cycle the entire Scottish coast this summer to raise money for Christian Aid.

Europe's two-faced approach to Kyoto is condemning it to death, warns Christian Aid

June 10 2010 - Europe is behaving in a dangerously two-faced way when it comes to protecting the world’s climate, Christian Aid warns today as the UN climate talks in Bonn draw to a close.

Score a goal for climate justice

June 9 2010 - The Christian Aid European football squad today took a break from their World Cup preparations to tackle Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, ahead of his first EU council meeting on climate change in Luxembourg on 11 June.

Christian Aid welcomes new evidence for cuts in European emissions

May 26 2010 - Cutting EU emissions deeply enough to help prevent dangerous climate change would be significantly cheaper than expected and would also have important benefits for Europe’s economy, the European Commission declared today.

Christian Aid asks thousands of supporters to help survey top UK companies

May 26 2010 - Christian Aid will today seek to enlist the help of its supporters in a project to gauge what FTSE100 companies think about how multinationals’ tax practices affect developing countries.

Winner of Tax Superhero Award announced

May 20 2010 - Christian Aid today announced the winner of its Tax Superhero of the Year award, which recognises outstanding individual work on the potential of tax to change the world.

New British government must make efforts to help Sri Lankan war displaced

May 18 2010 - A year since the Sri Lankan conflict ended there are still 76,000 people living in temporary camps. Christian Aid urges the new British government to make a renewed effort to work with the Sri Lankan government and the international community to reach conflict affected areas and people still recovering from the 30-year civil war.

Israel joining OECD raises concerns for NGOs

May 14 2010 - The success of Israel’s application to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at a time when civil society in the country is increasingly under threat is a matter of real concern, says Christian Aid.

Financial secrecy is ruining poor countries and football clubs alike, says new report

May 11 2010 - Manchester United tops a new Football Secrecy League published today by international development agency Christian Aid to highlight the secrecy offered by tax havens, and its potential for harm. Report pdf at: www.christianaid.org.uk/images/blowing-the-whistle-caweek-report.pdf

Clegg urged to put climate change at heart of negotiations

May 10 2010 - International development agency Christian Aid is urging Nick Clegg to put climate change at the heart of any deal which allows the formation of a new government.

Emergency funds released for Niger food crisis

May 10 2010 - Niger is on the brink of a severe food emergency that could leave more than half the 14 million population starving and around one million children critically malnourished.

New Philippine government must commit to reducing poverty

May 10 2010 - As votes are counted today in the General Election in the Philippines, Christian Aid urges the incoming government to make a sincere, urgent and lasting commitment to reduce poverty.

Christian Aid steps up effort to beat malaria

April 25 2010 - Malaria kills one child every 30 seconds. Substantial investments have been made as a result of the United Nations target for universal bed net coverage by December 2010. This has led to major progress in malarial control but gaps remain and there is still an urgent need to increase prevention efforts.

Big banks spend aid billions but neglect poverty, warns report

April 22 2010 - Donors such as the World Bank are spending billions of dollars on projects whose effects on poverty and the environment are uncertain at best, warns a new report.

Europe wakes up to the power of tax against poverty

April 21 2010 - Developing countries’ urgent need to boost their tax revenues in order to fund schools, hospitals and the fight against poverty won welcome backing today from Europe, says Christian Aid.

The needs of the Afghan people must not be forgotten, Christian Aid says

April 13 2010 - Christian Aid welcomes reports that US Administration and President Hamed Karzai have found a renewed understanding signalling a solution to the troubled relationship of the last weeks and urges the international community to keep the focus on the urgent priorities of the Afghan people.

UK campaigners score partial success on crucial World Bank coal vote

April 9 2010 - The UK government yesterday abstained from voting on a $3.75 billion World Bank loan to finance a massive coal power station in South Africa, which was strongly opposed by Christian Aid and other campaigners in the UK and South Africa.

Faith groups, nature lovers and anti-poverty campaigners put climate change on election agenda

April 6 2010 - A coalition of development agencies and environmental groups are mobilising thousands of supporters in 51 key marginal constituencies across Britain to ensure climate action is firmly on the General Election agenda. The campaign has one simple idea: “Ask the Climate Question”.

Government's new climate drive is welcome - but tough choices must follow warm words

March 31 2010 - Government moves to inject new momentum into global efforts to tackle the climate crisis deserve an ‘A plus’ for enthusiasm but must be matched with bold action, warns Christian Aid today.

South Africa: Tackling HIV through youth mini world cup

March 26 2010 - With excitement surrounding FIFA’s glittering 2010 World Cup in South Africa reaching fever pitch, it’s easy to forget that this year’s host nation currently boasts the highest rate of HIV on the planet; an estimated 5.4 million people accounting for one fifth of all cases globally.

Last chance to nominate your Tax Superhero

March 26 2010 - Christian Aid is making a final call for nominations for its latest Alternative Tax Award – Tax Superhero of the Year. The charity created the Award to recognise the tremendous potential that good tax practice has to change the world.

Angola: Seven killed in latest forced land evictions

March 25 2010 - The latest in a series of brutal, forced evictions in Angola took place earlier this month when riot police swept through a provincial capital, Lubango, killing seven people, including four children between four and twelve-years-old.

Christian Aid joins global alliance to better reach those in need

March 24 2010 Christian Aid is to strengthen its ties with other church-based charities around the world to form an alliance providing emergency relief and development aid in 125 countries.

Gordon Brown and Rowan Williams praise Christian Aid's departing Director

March 23 2010 - Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams paid moving tributes this week to the work of Christian Aid’s Director, Dr Daleep Mukarji, who is standing down after 12 years.

Ongoing presence of armed groups in eastern Congo fuels use of rape as a weapon of war

March 5 2010 - Following recent brutal attacks on women by suspected FDLR rebels in South Kivu, DRC, Christian Aid is calling for more to be done to accelerate the voluntary demobilisation of armed groups in the vast central African nation.

Former Christian Aid worker: BBC’S Ethiopia allegations are ‘absurd’

March 4 2010 - Christian Aid humanitarian worker Max Peberdy strongly refutes allegations concerning the alleged misuse of aid agency funds in Tigray during the Ethiopian famine of 1984 – 85.

Sierra Leonean citizens slam impact of new tax on development

March 4 2010 - Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Sierra Leone have demanded an end to harmful tax policies and practices which they believe will actively obstruct efforts to eradicate poverty.

Christian Aid responds to Ethiopia allegations

March 3 2010 - The BBC has today published a story in which Christian Aid is mentioned alongside claims that aid for the 1984 famine was diverted by rebels to buy weapons. There are allegations in the story which are against all of Christian Aid’s principles and our initial investigations do not correspond to the BBC’s version of events.

Celebrity chef Kevin Woodford helps bowl over poverty

February 19 2010 - On Friday 26 March, ditch your sarnies and have a bowl of soup for lunch – and you’ll be helping to raise money for Christian Aid’s vital work with poor communities around the world.

Christian Aid welcomes G7 backing for campaign to drop Haiti's debt

February 7 2010 - G7 finance ministers have joined the growing chorus of demands for the International Monetary Fund to drop Haiti's debt burden, in a move welcomed today by Christian Aid.