In 2024, ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund (RRF) continued to play a pivotal role in addressing small and medium-scale humanitarian crises. Unlike large-scale disaster appeals, the RRF focuses on localized responses and is primarily accessible to national members, except in cases where only international members are present in a country affected by a disaster. By prioritizing local actors, the fund supports ACT’s strategy of localizing humanitarian aid, ensuring faster, community-driven responses.
Local churches are central to ACT’s rapid response capabilities. Their established presence and long-term relationships with community members enable immediate communication with local leaders and faster delivery of aid. This close community connection allows ACT to respond efficiently and effectively to emerging disasters.
During 2024, the RRF funded 21 responses across 17 member organizations, reaching over 120,000 people, with women comprising 56% of the beneficiaries. These responses spanned Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In total, $2,175,182 USD was disbursed, nearly matching the income of $2,164,863 USD received for the fund.
Cash assistance represented 27% of the interventions, an increase from the previous year, reflecting its effectiveness in providing dignity to recipients and supporting local markets. Other aid activities included food distribution, provision of seeds and livelihood support, water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH), psychosocial support, health care, shelter and household goods distribution, and disaster preparedness and risk reduction initiatives.
Looking ahead, ACT Alliance plans to strengthen the RRF as a cornerstone of its humanitarian strategy, with a goal to expand the fund to $10 million USD annually by 2027. The 2024 responses included countries such as Afghanistan, Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Colombia, and Honduras, demonstrating the fund’s broad geographic reach and impact.
