CARE: Global Humanitarian Surge Fund

CARE’s emergency response programs reached nearly 22 million people last year – across the spectrum from immediate aid to longer-term recovery. We increasingly face complex crises with multiple causes, including conflict and climate change, that pose constantly changing circumstances and require nimble and innovative approaches. Many emergencies receive little international attention and face lagging donor support. In all these cases, CARE is best prepared when we have access to flexible financial resources that can be directed quickly where they are needed most.

The Humanitarian Surge Fund helps CARE meet today’s challenges by maintaining a reserve fund that can be tapped at short notice – when lives are in the balance and there is no time to wait for traditional fundraising campaigns to ramp up. Early intervention helps ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable people. It also can galvanize global attention and catalyze additional grants – often much larger than the initial allocation. The Surge Fund is a smart investment that pays off many times over.

Links:

• https://www.care.org/get-involved/ways-to-give/support-key-priorities-at-care/humanitarian-surge-fund/

• Humanitarian_Surge_Fund_report_1224.pdf (PDF)
  

Whenever and wherever disaster strikes, the Humanitarian Surge Fund allows CARE to be among the first there, not only to deliver lifesaving aid, but also to help shape larger-scale, long-term relief and recovery efforts so that women and girls are at the center. Natural disasters are not gender-neutral, and neither is human warfare. Pre-existing inequalities and insecurities are laid bare and exacerbated in a crisis. When food is scarce, women and girls eat last and least. When communities become war zones, women and girls face far greater risks of sexual violence or harassment. Rapid response teams funded by Humanitarian Surge Fund resources provide on-site support to CARE’s country offices in emergencies, bringing in technical expertise in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); food and nutrition; logistics and communication; and health and gender. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, the Surge Fund makes it possible for CARE to conduct a rapid gender analysis, a tool innovated by CARE and widely adopted throughout the humanitarian sector that helps amplify women’s voice and leadership.

In addition to saving lives, reacting quickly to disaster helps position CARE in the spotlight, attracting the attention of major media as well as donors who are interested in helping communities to build back better and to be more prepared for the inevitable next emergency. With Surge Fund resources, CARE staff in disaster-prone areas can preposition supplies, provide training, and partner with local leaders to create meaningful crisis plans – building their capacity to mitigate their own risks. Disaster risk mitigation saves time and money. The Surge Fund also fills critical gaps and replenishes resources for disasters that may have faded from public consciousness. Long-running famines or refugee crises may not be in the news anymore, but the human suffering continues. We cannot look away.

How Your Gift Makes a Difference

Over the past year, the Humanitarian Surge Fund has made a critical difference in CARE’s ability to meet immediate needs after emergencies and help people in the most vulnerable communities begin to rebuild their lives. In the attached report, you can see examples of the impact made possible by Surge Fund supporters.

Links:

• Power in partnership: Strengthening localized emergency response
• CARE Disaster Response Work

• CARE Humanitarian Surge Fund Updates July 2024 (PDF)