Following high levels of interest from members, Start Network reopened the Start Fund COVID-19 for a second call for alerts on 11 May. Based on learning from the first call for alerts, as well as a country prioritisation exercise, this call was…
News and blogs
Mental Health Awareness Week in 2020 has taken on a more pressing and immediate priority in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, given the implications for the mental and physical wellbeing of billions across the globe.

Thoughts from our members: satisfaction levels and why they would recommend start network membership
The Start Network’s 2020 Member Assembly Representative Survey has revealed some key insights into satisfaction levels amongst our membership, reasons why members would encourage other organisations to join the Start Network and feedback on how we…
While those in urban Laos prepare to manage the extended lockdown of the nation, ethnic minority women in remote communities are facing the protracted reality of issues that predated the pandemic including malnutrition, gender-based violence, and…
Following a limited top-up to the Start Fund COVID-19 fund, an additional 12 alerts have been activated. This brings the total number of activated alerts to 17, amounting to over £3.8m in funding.
One of the ways that Start Fund Bangladesh is shifting more power to local organisations is by ensuring they have more access to funding for operations costs, otherwise known as the Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) method, this enables them to improve…
Iraq is a very fragile country facing multiple political, economic, social and security challenges after the ISIS crisis. Since October 2019, the political situation has been unstable, with massive civilian protests and a gap in governance at the…
Dan’s commitment to working with local actors first started when he worked for Christian Aid back in the nineties, and he has always been keen to see localisation in the Start Network agenda. Dan is now leaving War Child to take up the position of…
Across the world, we have seen a consistent rise of disease outbreaks in the past decade and Start Fund has been instrumental in responding to many of them, including Cholera, Dengue fever, Ebola, and Lassa fever. Using project data from 12 activated…
Despite restrictions on movement, limited supplies and the ever-present threat of the virus, Start Network members in the Philippines are continuing to deliver aid to the communities they work with.
We have helped to mitigate the damage of impending disasters and, in some cases, managed to stop crises from forming altogether as a result of well-timed, pre-emptive action. Through these experiences, we have built a strong body of evidence that…
Six years ago today, Christian Aid made the first alert to a new aid financing mechanism. The Start Fund’s first alert to food insecurity in South Sudan went on to disburse just over £300,000 to Action Against Hunger, Christian Aid, Plan…