A new era of humanitarian action

Resource

Start Fund COVID-19: An Overview

As the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread and affect countries and communities all around the world, Start Network recognised the importance of utilising the experience of its members to manage and support responses to critical COVID-19-related humanitarian needs. As a result, a COVID-19 context-specific rapid response fund was established, drawing from the principles and best practices of the global Start Fund.

Resource

Knowledge, attitude and practice around heatwaves in Karachi, following a forecast-based heatwave messaging project.

The humanitarian impact of extreme heat is an increasing concern, especially in low-income countries with limited access to quality healthcare and informal dwellings which can trap heat. This report analyses the knowledge, attitude and practice of Karachi residents in relation to managing extreme heat. It was conducted in 2020 following a messaging campaign led by HANDS related to extreme heat. The project was triggered through a disaster risk financing approach, using a heatwave model to trigger funding automatically when extreme heat was forecast.

Resource

Review of Start Network's role in the current global response to COVID-19

Start Fund COVID-19, a funding mechanism created by Start Network, aims to provide anticipatory and rapid funding for local-level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic before larger funding instruments are available. Anticipation and early action to localised COVID-19 emergencies is critical to minimise the occurrence and impact of outbreaks in communities who are living in vulnerable contexts. By taking pre-emptive action and reducing the response time for emerging needs, the spread of the pandemic can be slowed, and its impact reduced – particularly in the poorest and most vulnerable places.

Resource

Start Financing Facility: Quantitative analysis of risk pooling

Start Network is working to provide more effective and efficient financing models for humanitarian aid. Specifically, to enable a predictable continuum of funding for when risks of different scale and severity start to materialise. This report, commissioned from the UK Government Actuary Department, provides technical advice around the funding of the Start Financing Facility (SFF). In particular, by providing a theoretical illustration of the financial implications of pooling a number of risks into a central risk pool. The paper investigates how the number, frequency and size of the risks will affect the demands on the central risk pool, and highlights options for the financial management of the pool.