In eastern Myanmar, local communities in the mountains of Southern Shan State, are using inventive approaches and early warning systems to prepare for and protect each other against the effects of extreme weather events, which are predicted to…
News and blogs
An outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has spread into the major north-western city of Mbandaka, only 50km from the border with Republic of the Congo, raising fears of a wider epidemic.
The region of the Sahel in East Africa has suffered recurring droughts since the 1980s, devasting harvests, economies and traditional farming ecosystems. SOS Sahel Ethiopia, a national Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), works to improve the living…
The Start Fund was activated and within 7 days £200,000 was allocated to five Start Network members who implemented mitigation projects on the ground. The projects included early warning systems analysis, food and seed distribution and drought…
As the first phase of the MERF was ending we commissioned an independent research report to help answer these questions, build a more robust evidence base and feed into any modifications for the next phase of the MERF. The research ‘The Migration…
When a fire ripped through Ellias Mollah, a ‘slum’ in Dhaka, the Start Fund Bangladesh provided help when there was no other support, meaning the people in Ellias Mollah who lost their homes, could quickly access cash to rebuild, and did not have to…
The PHEP project was set up to better prepare and prevent disease outbreaks in Gambella, Ethiopia. Below we introduce some of the people who were trained by the project.
The PHEP project, funded by UK aid through the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme, was set up to strengthen the system for reporting diseases, to better anticipate and respond to outbreaks.
On 26 December 2013, two-year-old Emile fell ill in a remote village in rural Guinea. His illness was characterised by a high fever, diarrhoea and vomiting, and he died just two days later. His pregnant mother Sia, three-year-old sister Philomène,…
The Start Network is aiming to create national and regional hubs, which will be collectives of organisations in individual countries or regions. These hubs will function like local versions of the current international Start Network. When fully set…
The Disaster and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) Bangladesh Innovation Lab organised Capacity Building training at the Dhaka Community hospital on the 3rd April.
‘He just collapsed and died on the road as he was coming here’- The District Health Officer who oversees the cholera treatment facility in Lilongwe, Malawi, talks about the latest cholera death- a Chief from a neighbouring village. ‘Cholera is a big…