When Disaster Strikes, People Step Up: The Future of Humanitarian Response

Another brutal moment. More needs, less funding. That’s the all too familiar humanitarian equation. The reality is clear:

So what happens when the going gets even tougher as the gap between needs and resources increases?

At REACT Disaster Response, we know the answer. Communities step forward. Volunteers step forward. People step forward.

We’re not starting from scratch. We’ve spent the last decade demonstrating that volunteers - when trained and deployed effectively - can be the future of disaster response. The potential is massive. The time to scale is now.

We’ve seen this model work in Ukraine, in Türkiye, in Morocco, in flood zones across the UK. The list goes on. In the past year alone, our teams have:

• Trained civilians in frontline medical skills in Ukraine.
• Delivered life-saving flood response across the UK and in Brazil.
• Helped children return to school after Hurricane Beryl.

Since 2015, we’ve supported over two million people in the aftermath of crises. And with our 10-year anniversary on the horizon, we are now, more than ever, committed to help the hard-to-reach, and the most vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Agile, fast, relentless. Our highly trained volunteer model isn’t a fallback, it’s the future.

Unlike many organisations, we don't benefit from government funding. REACT is building a financially resilient model with diverse income streams so we can continue delivering.

But this is bigger than just funding. It is also about value and how best to achieve a carefully considered effect, rethinking how humanitarian aid is delivered across the sector.

From where we stand, a volunteer-led approach isn’t just a sticking plaster; it’s the future of effective, resource-smart humanitarian response, with the potential to be an effective arm of domestic and foreign policy too by ensuring we reach those in crisis when they need it most.