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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 CEO at Farm Africa, but we were able to chat with him one last time about the need for system change in the humanitarian sector and how the Start Network is attempting to do this.

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 Start Fund alerts and post-project learning exchanges from 2018 and 2019, we’ve developed four disease-specific learning papers and seven key lessons for COVID-19.

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 points to the value of early interventions to save time, money, and lives.

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 International and Tearfund within three days of the alert. Originally conceived as an antidote to the limitations of the large pooled funds and traditional emergency appeals, in 2020 the Start Fund has come of age, a recognised pillar within humanitarian financial architecture and a force for transformation in its own right.

En début de ce mois de Mars 2020, une pluie torrentielle accompagnée d’un vent violent s’est abattue sur la zone de sante de Kalima en territoire de Pangi, Province du Maniema en République Démocratique du Congo causant plusieurs dégâts matériels et humains. 

Earlier this month, torrential rain accompanied by violent wind fell on Kalima in Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, causing both material and human damage. 

The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting all of us, our families, our communities, our way of life, and for Start Network, the content of our work.

The ‘Evaluation of the Start Fund’s Preparedness to Scale-up’, is Humanitarian Outcomes’ third learning project as a Start Fund partner and easily the most challenging one. The evaluation coincided with a period of quite fundamental and fast-moving change for the Start Fund, including a recent shift in the status of the organisation to a newly independent charity.

Local and national-level organisations, working in partnership with Start Network members, are key to the planning and implementation of Start Fund projects. Through collaboration with these local partners, Start Network members gain the access and community knowledge that are needed for effective interventions. The Start Network’s ongoing 2020 Local Partner Survey has also revealed some key benefits of involvement in Start Fund projects for these local organisations. Three key areas that have emerged from interviews with Start Fund local partners worldwide are: increased capacity, improved credibility, and heightened visibility.