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During the recently completed research piece conducted for the Start Network on the work of the Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF), a number of tensions were revealed that go to the heart of the problem of humanitarian interventions in mixed migration situations. One is what we are calling the "nexus dilemma" where, when designing a response to specific or general mixed migration crises, it is not clear how exactly to categorise the needs, who should fund the response, and who is best placed to carry it out.

Between August 2018 and October 2019, the Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF) funded three 3-month long projects in Morocco. These short-term projects have allowed insight through key informant interviews into the scale and complexity of challenges relating to the needs of migrants in an urban context. Two of these projects specifically concentrated in Casablanca. The learning from this report reflects on some of the lessons learned when implementing a migration humanitarian response in an urban context, both in an informal urban camp and in a setting that has a more geographic spread.

The evolving nature of mixed migration, particularly its drivers, politicisation and corresponding flows, continues to challenge humanitarian actors to respond in a way that is appropriate, adapts with learning, and adheres to humanitarian principles of independence and impartiality.

On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples we look back at the DEPP Innovation Labs project in the Philippines. Enhancing Traditional Food Source Management is one of the 40 innovative solutions supported by Philippines TUKLAS Innovation Labs that help communities better prepare for disasters. The project is implemented by a consortium of four non-governmental organisations: Plan International Philippines, Action Against Hunger, CARE Philippines, and the Citizens' Disaster Response Center. It is part of the Disasters Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) Innovation Labs, a programme that is managed collaboratively by the Start Network and the Communications with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network.

In June four humanitarian organisations from India joined the Start Network, and one of these is SEEDS. We spoke with Manu Gupta and Varghese Antony about their previous interactions with the Start Network and their motivations for joining.

Tropical Cyclone Harold, which slammed into Vanuatu’s northern provinces on 6 April 2020, proved to be almost as devastating. Hitting in the middle of a national state of emergency to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19, the response was even more challenging.

Coordination is one of the areas where the design of the Start Network’s ARC Replica pay-out in Senegal has been most ambitious.

Solidarités International y Première Urgence Internationale están ayudando a mitigar los riesgos urgentes que enfrentan los refugiados y migrantes venezolanos en el norte y a lo largo de Santander, Colombia, debido a la crisis de COVID-19. La crisis está afectando particularmente la salud, la higiene y la seguridad alimentaria de esta población. A través del apoyo del Start Fund COVID-19, las dos ONGI y sus socios locales Fundación Entre Dos Tierras y Red Humanitaria, están uniendo fuerzas para satisfacer las necesidades críticas de alimentación e higiene de esta población vulnerable.

Through the support of the Start Fund COVID-19, Solidarités International and Première Urgence Internationale and their local partners Fundación Entre Dos Tierras and Red Humanitaria, are joining forces to meet the critical food and hygiene needs of this vulnerable population.

Using local membership strength of a pooled funding mechanism to extend humanitarian support during a pandemic.