Start Fund Annual Report

Case study: Pacific Islands of Vanuatu and Tonga

The small Pacific island of Vanuatu is the world’s most vulnerable country to natural hazards, as it is located on the earthquake prone ‘ring of fire’, sits at the centre of the Pacific cyclone belt and is already suffering from the impacts of climate change. Neighbouring Tonga is a very close second. This year the Start Fund responded to crises in both.

In September 2017, the volcano on the island of Ambae, Vanuatu, started erupting. By the end of the month, the government had ordered a complete evacuation of the island, home to about 11,000 people. Soon after, Save the Children raised the alert and along with CARE International were awarded funding to undertake a joint response to this unprecedented displacement. They provided children with a safe place to learn and play, which allowed their parents time to deal with other urgent issues during their displacement. They also distributed essential hygiene and dignity kits to help mitigate the risk of disease outbreak.

The Start Network continues to work on extending the global reach of the Start Fund, which now spreads well beyond countries renowned for major disasters, to smaller – often more vulnerable – locations. More country level member teams and their local partners are becoming familiar with the Start Fund and raising the alarm when disaster strikes.

On 12 February 2018, Tonga was devastated by cyclone Gita, the worst storm to hit the country in 60 years. Around 50,000 people were affected as the cyclone damaged and destroyed homes, leaving families without shelter and basic resources. Oxfam immediately raised a Start Fund alert and CARE International were selected to provide vital water, sanitation, hygiene and shelter to the most vulnerable people. CARE International worked in close partnership with two local organisations: Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation Tonga Trust (MORDI) and Live & Learn Environmental Education. Within just a few days of the storm hitting, shelter and hygiene kits were distributed, roofs had been repaired and support provided to families who had lost everything.

Just two weeks after the cyclone hit, when other humanitarian agencies were only starting to respond, through the Start Fund, CARE International and partners had already completed the emergency phase of their own response and were well into the planning of early recovery.

Image: © Save the Children, alert 191 Vanuatu | A child-friendly space established in response to the eruption of volcano Ambae.
Image: © Bill Flinn, CARE UK, alert 217 Tonga | Homes were completely destroyed by cyclone Gita.

Case study: Anticipating violence during high-stakes elections

Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. The Start Fund enabled members in Kenya to act early to mitigate the risk of election violence, through a collaborative, informed response.

In August 2017, the people of Kenya went to the polls to vote in a fiercely contested presidential election. Ten years earlier, when the election result was disputed, more than 1,000 people died and 600,000 were displaced. Two months prior to the August elections, there were already signs of unrest and Start Network members became increasingly concerned about the developing tensions in the country and the growing risk of violence. In June 2017, ActionAid, Islamic Relief, Trocaire and World Vision conducted an inter-agency context analysis ahead of the election, using the Good Enough Context Analysis for Rapid Response (GECARR) tool, supported by the Start Fund’s Analysis for Action grant. The analysis considered likely hotspots for violence and produced recommendations for a range of likely scenarios.

The findings from the GECARR analysis triggered a Start Fund anticipation alert on 17 July 2017. Start Network members released £300,000 to fund a consortium project (submitted by 11 members and led by ActionAid). It focused on six high-risk counties and aimed at filling gaps in the Kenya Government National Contingency Plan. Agencies prepared for potential unrest by strengthening coordination between organisations, monitoring for signs of potential violence such as hate speech, and working with faith leaders to promote peace building. They also trained local organisations on humanitarian assessments, pre-positioned supplies in high-risk areas, set up safe spaces for children, and worked to help communities develop their own plans in case violence erupted.

As feared, there were considerable levels of tension throughout the country from July to November: more than 70 people died because of riots and protests. The ongoing drought in Kenya made some communities more vulnerable and compounded the tension.

Through the Start Fund response, conflict prevention interventions increased adoption of constitutional mechanisms by communities to address political grievances. There was significantly less conflict than in previous elections.

The result of the August election was annulled, and the election rescheduled, as had been forecast though the GECARR process. In November, President Uhuru Kenyatta was finally sworn in. Tensions and risks during this period remained extremely high, but the flexibility of the Start Fund meant that agencies were able to extend the project while it was still needed. Bijay Kumar, Executive Director of ActionAid Kenya, explained that this flexibility ‘was key to providing appropriate responses in a changing political environment.

Image: © Dorcas Aid, alert 175 Kenya | Start Network members and partners run a peace forum with community leaders to talk about the risks of election-related violence.
Image: © Dorcas Aid, alert 175 Kenya | Relief items are distributed as part of a wider collaborative effort to mitigate the risks of election-based violence and displacement.

Case study: Responding to disease outbreak in Yemen

The world is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War and Yemen is at the centre of this catastrophe.

In 2017, Yemen fell into the grip of a severe cholera epidemic on an unprecedented scale. By the end of the year, more than 900,000 suspected cases were reported, making it the worst outbreak of the disease in recorded history. It became clear that existing aid was not enough to counter the spiralling number of cases, so in May 2017 Start Network members raised an alert to the Start Fund. Within 53 hours, around £300,000 was awarded to International Medical Corps, Relief International and Save the Children to implement life-saving rapid response programmes.

Image: © Save the Children, alert 200 Yemen | A father holds his daughter as nurses provide a vaccination against diphtheria.

The agencies focused on both treating the disease and preventing further spread, looking to long-term approaches including water quality monitoring. Health and sanitation specialists ran education sessions, distributed family hygiene kits, and mobilised community health volunteers to identify suspected cases and refer them to the nearest health centre .

Not long after the cholera outbreak, Yemen faced yet another blow when an outbreak of diphtheria struck the country. In December, the Start Fund received its 200th alert and awarded £154,863 to Relief International and Save the Children, which they used to train healthcare providers on better treatment and reporting of cases, and to set up isolation centres. They also ran awareness campaigns and education sessions at clinics, schools, markets, mosques and community gatherings.

Image: © Relief International, alert 200 Yemen | A beneficiary is seen filling out relevant documents to receive support to tackle the outbreak of Diphtheria.

This response demonstrated how the Start Network is leading for change in humanitarian aid. In Yemen, local coordination and decision making within the Start Network enabled the rapid release of aid which reached people suffering from cholera and diphtheria within just days. Agencies were not delayed by the need for cumbersome grant applications and were allowed high flexibility to adapt their work to the situation as it evolved.

Thanks to the Start Fund’s rapid response mechanism, many lives may have been saved. But while new cases of disease were in decline in early 2018, the situation continues to deteriorate in Yemen and the risk of a surge in cases increases with seasonal rains. The Start Fund is working closely with members to act in anticipation of further spikes in disease outbreak during this devastating protracted crisis.

Image: © Save the Children, alert 200 Yemen | A young girl is treated for diphtheria.