Action Against Hunger's emergency response team in South Sudan.

Disasters and emergencies

We're at the forefront of saving lives following major crises.

We’re a humanitarian agency, responding to conflict, disasters and emergencies, as and when they happen.

Our emergency response teams around the world deliver rapid, effective life-saving aid. We then make sure that short-term interventions become sustainable solutions.

In recent years, we’ve responded to every major humanitarian crisis in the world — including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen and Syria.

 

Our emergency response in numbers

  • 66

    We responded to 66 emergencies around the world in 2022.

  • 22

    22 of the emergencies we responded to were a direct result of conflict.

  • 234

    The average length of our emergency response is 234 days.

How we respond to emergencies

With emergency teams on call 24 hours a day and a constant stock of essential supplies ready to deploy at all times, our internationally-renowned emergency response teams make sure urgent humanitarian assistance can be delivered anywhere in the world. Whenever and wherever it’s needed most.

After a disaster strikes, our teams immediately analyse the needs of the local population affected by the disaster. This helps us understand what kind of support is needed most — for example nutrition, food security, or water, sanitation and hygiene services.

We then team up with government agencies, local partners and community leaders to bring efficient, effective relief to communities.

Recent examples of our emergency response work

  • Helping war-torn communities in Yemen – the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
  • Responding to the Rohingya refugee emergency in Bangladesh.
  • Stopping the spread of the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Supporting communities affected by Hurricane Eta in Nicaragua.
  • Reducing mortality rates among pregnant women and children under five in communities affected by conflict in northeast Nigeria through nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene services.
  • Responding to floods in Afghanistan by distributing hygiene kits and other non-food items, as well as rebuilding shelters and restoring safe water sources.
  • Supporting communities in Turkey and Syria impacted by the devastating earthquake.
  • Closing monitoring and preparing to respond quickly to the growing need in Sudan.
Bushra wears a mask in Al-Harakat Camp in Idlib, Syria.

DEC

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) brings together the leading UK aid charities to raise money and work together to help people impacted by major disasters. The DEC is made up of 14 members from among the biggest humanitarian and development charities in the UK. Action Against Hunger is the DEC’s newest member, joining in September 2018.

How we work together
Action Against Hunger emergency response in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Start Fund

As members of the Start Network's Start Fund – which is made up of 42 aid agencies – we’re able to respond early and fast to emergencies and ensure decision-making is collective and as localised as possible. The Start Fund provides rapid financing that allows us to respond to the many humanitarian crises around the world that don’t hit the headlines.

Learn more