Global Results 2025
As conflicts intensified, climate shocks multiplied, and humanitarian funding faced unprecedented disruption, 2025 became one of the most challenging years in recent memory for international development and humanitarian organisations. Yet amid growing instability and shrinking resources, DanChurchAid (DCA) and partners demonstrated that local leadership, global solidarity, and long-term commitment can still deliver tangible results for millions of people.
Across 19 country programmes, DCA directly reached nearly 4.9 million people and indirectly reached more than 10.3 million through humanitarian assistance, climate adaptation, livelihoods support, human rights work, and public engagement initiatives. Working alongside 228 local and international partners, we responded to emergencies while helping communities build resilience and claim their rights.
Saving Lives in the World’s Most Fragile Contexts
Humanitarian needs continued to rise dramatically in 2025, driven by conflicts in places such as Sudan, Palestine, Ukraine, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In response, DCA expanded its emergency programming, with 82% of all people reached directly benefiting from activities under our Save Lives goal.
Cash assistance remained at the centre of DCA’s humanitarian approach. We increased our cash and voucher programmes from DKK 122 million in 2024 to DKK 196 million in 2025, reaching more than 730,000 people. Families used the support to access food, shelter, healthcare, and other essential goods while preserving dignity and choice.
The impact was significant. DCA-supported interventions helped reduce harmful coping strategies by 47%, while the proportion of households with acceptable food consumption rose from a baseline of 33% to 71%.
Protection and mental health support also produced strong outcomes. Across ten country programmes, 93% of participants reported improved wellbeing after receiving protection or psychosocial support services. Meanwhile, DCA’s explosive ordnance risk education reached communities living amid contamination from landmines and unexploded ordnance, with 99% of participants demonstrating increased awareness of the dangers.
In conflict-affected Syria, DCA combined mine clearance with livelihoods support, helping communities safely reclaim land, revive agriculture, and restore local economies. In Ukraine and South Sudan, we expanded clearance operations and restored safe access to critical infrastructure and farmland.
Communities Building Resilience on the Frontline of Climate Change
For millions of people, climate change is no longer a future threat but a daily reality. Through our Build Resilient Communities programming, we helped vulnerable populations adapt to increasingly frequent droughts, floods, and environmental degradation.
The results were striking. Among communities reached, 89% adopted new climate adaptation measures, while 93% implemented climate mitigation or environmental protection practices. From agroecological farming in East Africa to disaster preparedness systems in Nepal, communities were better equipped to withstand future shocks.
In Nepal, DCA-supported anticipatory action systems integrated meteorological data and agricultural analysis to provide early warnings for farmers, helping protect harvests before climate disasters struck. In Uganda, more than 2,000 hectares of land came under improved environmental management, reflecting a growing focus on landscape-level resilience.
Across 12 country programmes, 74% of supported participants reported increased income2025 Results Report
Livelihood programmes also delivered meaningful economic gains. Across 12 country programmes, 74% of supported participants reported increased income, with many engaged in climate-smart agriculture, green enterprises, food processing, or other sustainable livelihoods. Nearly 70% of those income gains came from sectors classified as green, demonstrating how environmental sustainability and economic opportunity can reinforce one another.
Standing Up for Rights in Shrinking Civic Space
At a time when civil society actors and human rights defenders face increasing restrictions worldwide, DCA continued supporting individuals and organisations working to advance participation, accountability, and justice.
Across relevant programmes, 84% of participants reported involvement in decision-making processes, while 92% demonstrated greater knowledge and recognition of their rights. Civil society organisations, social movements, and faith-based actors supported by DCA undertook 3,626 actions to hold authorities accountable, a significant increase from the previous year.
In countries such as Kenya, Nepal, Cambodia, and Uganda, DCA helped communities engage in public policy processes, advocate for land rights, monitor public spending, and challenge discrimination. Human rights defenders received targeted support to strengthen their safety and effectiveness, with 77% reporting feeling safer in their advocacy work.
In Cambodia, DCA-supported advocacy contributed to the resolution of long-standing land disputes affecting Indigenous communities, benefiting more than 9,300 people. In Palestine, legal assistance and emergency support helped civil society actors continue operating amid mounting pressure.
Local Leadership Driving Global Change
One of DCA’s defining achievements in 2025 was the continued investment in localisation and community-led action. We worked with 228 partners worldwide and expanded support for locally led initiatives, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Community-led response mechanisms were supported through 1,067 mutual aid groups across 16 country programmes, enabling communities themselves to identify priorities, design solutions, and implement responses. In Sudan, community groups received direct support to deliver life-saving assistance despite extremely challenging operating conditions.
Partnerships remained a cornerstone of DCA’s approach. Partner satisfaction remained high, with 88% of responding partner organisations reporting overall satisfaction with their relationship with DCA.
Mobilising Solidarity in Denmark
The story of 2025 was not only about action overseas. Back in Denmark, thousands of people chose to engage with global issues through volunteering, fundraising, advocacy, and sustainable consumption.
More than 15,000 volunteers supported DCA’s work, while public engagement on digital platforms more than doubled. We recorded 4,606 media mentions, strengthening our position as one of Denmark’s leading humanitarian voices.
DCA’s network of 104 second-hand shops generated DKK 54.9 million while promoting sustainable consumption. Meanwhile, our Wefood stores sold 408 tonnes of surplus food, preventing waste and linking local action to global food security challenges.
The number of monthly donors increased for the first time in years, providing an important signal that public solidarity remains strong despite a more polarised global environment.
Hope and Action in an Age of Disruption
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of DCA’s 2025 results is that they were achieved during a year when international aid budgets were under severe pressure. While many organisations struggled with funding cuts and uncertainty, we increased our total income to DKK 1.136 billion, allowing us to maintain and expand programmes where needs were greatest.
The year’s results tell a story of resilience – not only among the communities DCA serves, but also among the local partners, volunteers, faith-based actors, and supporters who continue to believe that another world is possible. Who continue to keep hope alive.
At a time when conflict, climate change, and inequality increasingly intersect, our experience from 2025 demonstrates that lasting change is most powerful when it is locally led, rights-based, and rooted in solidarity. And despite the many challenges ahead, the nearly 4.9 million people reached in 2025 stand as evidence that collective action continues to make a difference.