In early October, heavy rainfall from two low pressure systems led to devastating flash floods and landslides in El Salvador. More than a 1000 people were forced to leave their homes as rivers burst their banks, mudslides in the country’s hilly interior cut roads, buried buildings, and flooded homes.
The economic crisis and widespread social unrest that has gripped Venezuela in recent years has led to the displacement of millions of Venezuelans. Families, in search of economic and social security, have fled across borders into neighbouring Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The Start Fund is filling a critical gap in this under-funded socio-economic crisis to respond to the needs of those displaced in Peru and Ecuador.
The Start Fund provides rapid financing to underfunded small to medium scale crises, spikes in chronic humanitarian crises, and to act in anticipation of impending crises, filling a critical gap in humanitarian financing.
In summer 2016, the Start Fund decided to revise the learning grant process and subsequently set aside one per cent of its total annual disbursement, to fund learning activities that went above and beyond project level for members of the Start Network to strengthen humanitarian response. This fund for learning maintained the name ‘one per cent learning budget’ and agencies could apply for a greater amount, anything up to £10,000 GBP, with a greater freedom of focus.
Start Network marks the launch of the newly branded ‘Start Fund Learning Grant’, formerly known as the ‘one percent learning budget’.
When you’re a girl, crises become exponentially more dangerous, both in the immediate effects and post-crisis recovery... On the International Day of the Girl, let us commit to investing in skills training and education for girls and livelihood activities for young women around the world who are facing crises.
Start Network member, The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) was awarded Start funds to provide a rapid response to families who had been affected by Cyclone Sagar in Djibouti. According to United Nations OCHA, it is estimated 830,000 people had been affected by the cyclone and 290,000 had been temporarily displaced.
A fresh outbreak of Ebola in the North Kivu province of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has become the focus of the 250th alert by the Start Fund.
Start Network is delighted to release details of new features added to its innovative Start Fund portal.
On April 17, Start Network received an urgent alert from two of its 42 member organisations, asking for rapid funding to combat a cholera outbreak in northeast Nigeria. The other members of the United Kingdom-based humanitarian network were quickly consulted, but they were divided over whether, of all the world’s pressing humanitarian needs, this one deserved some of the network’s precious funds.
