ActionAid UK has announced big changes to its child sponsorship model. The charity, launched in 1972, lets donors pick children in poor countries to support, but new co-chief executives Taahra Ghazi and Hannah Bond say this method carries racial and paternalistic tones. They want to "decolonise" the charity's work by shifting aid from sympathy to true partnership with communities worldwide. Ghazi said, "Most of our supporters are relatively well-off people and many of them are white, so if you’re asking them to choose a picture of a brown or black child and choose the country they come from – effectively, that’s a very transactional relationship and quite a paternalistic one." Child sponsorship funds 34% of ActionAid's global work across 30 countries. The new leadership wants to change the model by 2028 so communities shape the aid they receive. Bond added, "We value our sponsors and remain committed to making sure their support continues to have a real impact." The current system has faced criticism for promoting "poverty porn" and racist attitudes. Save the Children ended its sponsorship program in 2023, calling it expensive and outdated. ActionAid's future focus will be on feminism, anti-racism, and funding grassroots groups, especially women's rights groups, through partnerships and collective fundraising. Bond said, "ActionAid’s future is about solidarity, justice and how we can really drive forward change." Independent expert Themrise Khan called child sponsorship "highly problematic and racist," urging for better state welfare and education systems instead. ActionAid's move marks a new chapter in global aid, aiming for respectful and just support rather than transactional charity.