The campaign focuses on the child's perspective and aims to build on a trend for parents to sponsor children on behalf of their own children.
The ad, called 'Lila', shows the child telling her story followed by a parental voiceover. Lila explains how she never has enough to eat and the water she drinks makes her sick. The ad is designed to resonate with parents and to encourage them to become child sponsors, making a regular donation of £15 a month to the charity.
It will air until Christmas on E4, Five Life, Five US, Living TV, Living TV2, More4 and MTV among other channels.
Guy Farley, who has worked on feature films including the recently released 'The Flock' with Richard Gere, composed the music for the ad.
Gail Cookson, client service director at WPN, said: "Recently, ActionAid has noticed a trend for parents to sponsor children on behalf of their own children. For WPN, this all-important insight provided a basis for a whole new creative approach.
"Rather than an impersonal adult voiceover narrating a child's struggles, the story is told by a young British girl."