Aid agencies will be enabled to tackle looming disasters before they have occurred, under a pioneering project being launched today by a fast-growing humanitarian network.
They will be able to secure financial support in anticipation of flooding, a refugee exodus or other foreseeable emergencies from the Start Fund, which is backed by three governments and the European Union.
By acting in advance to assist people likely to be affected rather than waiting until after a disaster has struck, aid workers will be able to reduce avoidable suffering and loss of life.
Under the new “anticipation window”:
- Decisions will be taken collectively by the 42 members of the international Start Network, based on their assessment of the expected emergency.
- Independent advice and bespoke forecasts from a network of climate scientists, agricultural experts and other data analysts will be used to assess the risk of an emergency, and to gauge the most effective measures to respond.
- Funding will be on its way within 72 hours of the original alert if the Start Fund agrees that intervention is needed, in line with its original objective to enable rapid response to emergencies.
The initiative is supported by a grant of 1.1 million euros (£933,000) to the fund by the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department. It will make the Start Fund the first pooled global fund that routinely enables aid workers to intervene before a forecast emergency.
Sean Lowrie, director of the Start Network, said: “Intervening before a crisis saves more lives than waiting until it hits. This is an important moment for the Start Fund as it builds on our ambition to make humanitarian aid more effective. It will be a powerful incentive for aid agencies to take earlier action to spare avoidable suffering, and learn how to build the systems that will enable us to do so.”
The Start Fund has responded to more than 80 crises since it was launched in April 2014 with a remit to respond to smaller “below the radar” emergencies that would otherwise be overlooked. Over the past year it has supported interventions in anticipation of crises in six countries – Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Uganda, Zambia and Mali – and now aims to make this a normal part of its work.
Mike Noyes, humanitarian manager of Action Aid, who has sat on Start Fund decision making committees for more than two years, said: “All too often, we can see a disaster developing and are powerless to act as funding only comes when something hits the news. With anticipation funding from Start, we are now able to step in when forecasts tell us a drought could become a famine, or a political crisis could lead to people being displaced - acting to prevent or reduce the impact."
The new development of the Start Fund has been welcomed by other humanitarian agencies. In a joint statement, Alexandra Rüth and Maarten Van Aalst, heads of the German Red Cross and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre respectively, said early action to reduce risks and prepare response had become “increasingly a priority for the overall humanitarian sector”.
The Red Cross Movement has been developing its own forecast-based financing mechanism, drawing on weather and climate information, similar to one aspect of the system that the Start Fund will use. The two leaders said: “With excitement, we highlight the fact that forecast-based action is slowly becoming normalised… There is still a way to go to develop the right tools and processes which will enable this common vision to become a reality – some of which are specifically addressed in the Start Fund Anticipation Window programme.”
Anthony Craig, a senior adviser at the United Nations World Food Programme who co-chairs the leading inter-agency coordination group on humanitarian preparedness, risk and early warning, said: “Early response and focused preparedness actions are critical in reducing the impacts of man-made and natural hazards. Credible early warning, supported by strong evidenced-based analysis is a critical ‘enabler’ to this, as it allows timely action to be tailored to the situation.
“We can only capitalise on this early warning if, taking a well-informed ‘no-regrets’ mindset, funding is available quickly, including for situations that may be politically sensitive. This points to the type of arrangements foreseen by the Start Fund Anticipation Window.”
Start Network was originally a group of 15 British humanitarian agencies, impatient at the slow pace and duplication of effort in aid delivery, which came together to develop an emergency response fund. It has now grown to 42 members, 17 of which joined this year, spanning five continents. It aims to lead for change in the humanitarian system and manages aid programmes that contribute to this objective.
The Start Fund is the first multi-donor pooled fund managed exclusively by NGOs and was created in April 2014 to fill a gap in humanitarian funding. It has received 130 alerts, been activated 85 times and disbursed £18.5 million to reach 4.9 million people.
- An animated video explaining how the Start Fund works and introducing the new anticipation project can be seen here https://youtu.be/L_PqX_L1B0s
- See www.startnetwork.org for more details on Start Network.
Notes for Editors:
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The Start Fund is financed jointly by the UK Aid (DFID), Irish Aid (Government of Ireland), the Government of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
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To assist in its Anticipation Window the Start Fund has convened a group of early warning experts known as Forewarn (Forecast-Based Warning Analysis and Response Network). The group meets monthly to conduct inter-agency risk analysis, provide technical advice to members on anticipatory interventions and investigate new approaches to event forecasting.
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Other initiatives from Start Network include Start Labs, developing new ways to fund crisis response, and Start Engage, helping communities in disaster-prone regions to prepare for future crises.
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Members on November 30, 2016 are: Action Against Hunger (ACF); ACTED; Action Aid; Adeso; Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA); ARDD-Legal Aid; Cadena; Cafod; Care International; Caritas Bangladesh; Caritas Sri Lanka; Catholic Relief Services (CRS); Christian Aid; Community World Service Asia; Concern Worldwide; Cordaid; Doctors of the World; Dorcas; Goal; Handicap International; Help Age International; International Medical Corps; International Rescue Committee (IRC); Islamic Relief Worldwide; Mines Advisory Group; Mercy Corps; Muslim Aid; Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC); Oxfam; PARC; Plan International; PRO-VIDA; Qatar Charity; Relief International; Save the Children; Solidarites International; Tearfund; Trocaire; War Child; Welt Hunger Hilfe; World Jewish Relief; World Vision