Responding to sudden-onset humanitarian crises

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) leads the UK government’s response to humanitarian crises overseas, including those caused by conflicts, natural disasters, extreme weather events, and diseases. Some crises occur suddenly, such as earthquakes, and are known as sudden-onset crises. Others emerge over time and can become protracted crises which require long-term support, such as those due to drought or conflict. Each crisis can require a different response, depending on factors including its location and the immediate impact of the crisis. FCDO responds to these crises through its overseas network of 280 posts, supported by geographical directorates and central teams. Before FCDO was created by the merger in 2020, this work was done by the Department for International Development (DFID).

FCDO’s Humanitarian Crisis Response Department (HCRD) coordinates efforts to respond to sudden-onset humanitarian crises centrally, providing guidance and support to posts and regions. Most responses are managed between HCRD and teams in posts or regions. When a crisis overwhelms normal structures, FCDO can enter crisis mode to coordinate a response that may involve humanitarian, political and consular components. Since 2021, HCRD has supported 19 sudden-onset humanitarian responses.

Most of the cost of FCDO’s crisis responses is counted as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). The ODA budget is due to reduce from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income by 2027. However, FCDO aims to maintain a leading humanitarian role, prioritise spending on crises such as Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, and support multilateral organisations that respond to humanitarian emergencies.

Scope of the report

This report examines whether FCDO responds effectively to sudden-onset humanitarian crises. Such crises require rapid decisions on whether and how the UK should intervene, and a surge of funding, staff and specialist capabilities to provide a response. These demands can place pressure on FCDO’s capacity and funding, creating risks to value for money, at a time when FCDO is reducing its spending and workforce. In this report, we examine:

• FCDO’s strategy and approach to sudden-onset humanitarian crisis response;
• FCDO’s humanitarian capacity and core capabilities needed to continue responding; and
• the cost, speed and impact of FCDO’s responses and the extent to which it evaluates and learns lessons from previous crises.

We do not examine FCDO’s management of long-term ODA programmes, or foreign policy or consular responses which do not have a significant humanitarian dimension.

Conclusions

FCDO has strong operational arrangements in place for responding rapidly and effectively to a range of humanitarian crises. It maintains and uses deployable capabilities and partnerships which enable it to quickly mobilise expertise and relief items and to achieve positive humanitarian impacts.

FCDO is now operating in a context of increasing humanitarian demand and significantly constrained resources, which means that it will increasingly have to prioritise its responses in future. It has a high-level vision for its rapid response capabilities, with a focus on preparedness and resilience. FCDO lacks,

however, a strategic assessment of its future needs for humanitarian capabilities, as well as consolidated performance and cost information. Without addressing these limitations, particularly as resources tighten, FCDO risks undermining its ability to maximise the long-term effectiveness and value for money of its crisis response function.