Every year on the 20th of June, World Refugee Day is used to recognise and commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of refugees. It is important to recognise the difficulties that refugees face, and work towards a world where all refugees…
News and blogs
In May this year, members in Pakistan raised a Start Fund alert for a heatwave, the alert was activated. Members had collectively analysed weather forecasts and had raised the alert before temperatures reached deadly levels. Start Network's Sarah…
An interview with The Guardian: DEPP local partner speaks about disaster response and women's rights
In line with the Grand Bargain commitments, which came out of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, the Disasters & Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) has strengthened preparedness, created and supported collaborative networks, and…
The Start Fund, which provides rapid humanitarian aid for overlooked crises, is marking the second anniversary of the World Humanitarian Summit by sharing the impact of its 4th year, through its new annual report released today.
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…
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…
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.
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…
‘Rapid onset’ crises relate to the majority of Start Fund alerts and interventions. But this is not the whole story. In its pursuit of helping the world’s most crisis affected populations, the Start Fund has also changed lives for the better in…