The ACT Alliance humanitarian mechanism operates through two key components designed to respond to emergencies, conflicts, and natural disasters. One component is the appeals system, which supports large-scale humanitarian crises such as major earthquakes, wars, or typhoons. The second is the Rapid Response Fund (RRF), which allows national ACT members to quickly access funding to address small and medium-sized emergencies, enabling faster assistance to affected communities.
The Rapid Response Fund is currently undergoing a redesign and expansion to improve efficiency and better respond to global humanitarian needs in 2026. The initiative aligns with ACT Alliance’s commitment to localisation and to strengthening locally led humanitarian responses, as reaffirmed in commitments made at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit and the organisation’s 2024 General Assembly. The approach emphasises listening to local organisations and supporting community-led solutions in crisis response.
In 2025, the RRF was activated 17 times, distributing a total of $1,577,895 to support emergency interventions. Most of the responses took place in Asia and Africa, with additional activations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. Through these funds, ACT members provided critical assistance including food, water, hygiene supplies, shelter, cash assistance, household items, psychosocial support, and protection services to communities affected by conflicts and disasters.
A preliminary report on the 2025 results indicates that nearly 130,000 people benefited from eight completed RRF projects. Many of the remaining activations occurred later in the year and will be included in a final report expected in August 2026 once all activities are completed. The experiences from these projects have also provided valuable insights into improving future responses.
Lessons from the programme highlight the effectiveness of multi-purpose cash assistance as a flexible form of support for affected populations. The projects also strengthened collaboration among ACT members in several countries, with some partners working jointly on monitoring activities. Additionally, feedback mechanisms proved more effective when informal channels through community leaders were included, as beneficiaries often felt more comfortable communicating through trusted local figures. The programme also identified the need for increased investment in staff capacity within national ACT member organisations, which frequently rely on volunteers for programme implementation.
ACT Alliance is now seeking to expand the Rapid Response Fund to respond to a greater number of emergencies worldwide. To support this effort, the organisation has launched the Global Rapid Response Fund Appeal for 2026. The fund has already been activated six times during the first two months of 2026 to support emergency responses in Cambodia, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Madagascar.
