Our five-year international strategy, Rights To End Poverty 2005-2010, sets clear and ambitious priorities to guide our staff and partners, based on our deepening understanding of the causes of poverty and injustice.

It also provides clear direction for organising and governing the growing ActionAid family and its relationships with the outside world. Equally importantly, it sets out how we will make ourselves more accountable, both to the poor and excluded people with whom we work and to our supporters and funders.

Our strategy tackles head-on the unacceptable truth that poverty and injustice remain deeply entrenched in many neglected parts of the globe. As the world becomes wealthier, the gap between rich and poor communities and nations is not closing, but widening.

The implications for ActionAid are clear. If we are to fulfill our mission to eradicate poverty and injustice from the face of the earth, we must adapt to changing global realities, build on our successes and embrace change to improve our effectiveness and impact.