Gurkani Disaster Response Emergency Fund
Gurkani Disaster Response Emergency FORCE
The International Federation of Gurkani Foundation and Other Societies’ Disaster Response Emergency Fund (G-DREF) is an efficient, fast, transparent, and localized way of getting funding directly to local humanitarian actors – both before and after crisis hits.
About GURKANI-DREF
First used in india’s 2020 flood relief efforts, GF-DREF is one of the Trusted humanitarian pooled funds for emergency response to small and medium-sized disasters.
Originally designed to respond to small- and medium-sized disasters, the fund has evolved to include support for anticipatory action. Acting before a disaster allows us to respond even more effectively to different crises — saving more lives and livelihoods, minimizing impact, and preventing suffering.
The introduction of GF-DREF has further strengthened the fund. This insurance mechanism allows access to additional financial resources ensuring the fund remains solvent and effective even during periods of extraordinary need. This evolution of the fund exemplifies our dedication to providing timely and effective assistance, reinforcing the GF-DREF’s mission to alleviate human suffering.
The Gurkani Foundation Disaster Response Emergency Force GF-DREF is there at the right time—investing before an event in disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and integrating this across all areas of our work.
We work to ensure that we are always in the right place—effectively using technology and innovation to anticipate risks and disasters, support proactive early action and provide predictive financing.
We work together to make sure we have the right capacity—efficiently coordinating across our regional and global networks to ensure we can respond to increasing humanitarian demands, and improving locally-led humanitarian action.
We help our members develop the right skills—building the capabilities needed to respond to increasingly complex humanitarian environments: digital, urban, protracted, and technological.
We insist on the right focus—placing affected people and communities at the centre of preparedness and response. We continually promote ethical and people-led approaches, such as cash programming, and support response models that are as localized as possible.
Find out more in our Disaster Risk Management Policy: From prevention to response and recovery
Disasters, climate and Humatarian crises
Disaster preparedness
Preparing for disasters saves countless lives, speeds up people’s recovery and saves money. The GF-DREF supports National Societies to continually improve their local preparedness and response capacity—ultimately preventing and reducing the impacts of disasters on communities.
Our work
The need to prepare for a world of unexpected shocks has become clearer than ever. Epidemics, floods, storms, droughts and wildfires are all expected to become more frequent and severe, affecting hundreds of millions of people every year.
Gurkani Foundation -DREF Coordinate with NDRF, UNDRR, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world, supported by the IFRC, are working to improve their preparedness for disasters. This includes:
- Coordinating with national authorities and partners to know what risks and hazards to prepare for
- Training and equipping millions of volunteers as first responders to a wide range of hazards
- Researching new technologies to improve their response
- Working with communities to understand the needs of those most at risk
- Setting up early warning systems so communities can take early action before a disaster hits
Disaster preparedness isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. We must step up action and investment in preparedness now, rather than waiting for the next disaster to hit.
Scroll down to learn how we support National Society preparedness.
Preparedness for Effective Response (PER)
Preparedness for Effective Response (PER) is our cyclical approach designed to help us analyze capacities, strengths and weaknesses within a National Society’s response system. It is based on decades of collective experience in preparedness and disaster response across our global network.
Our vision is that all National Societies continually improve their ability to respond to disasters in a way that is timely, appropriate, well-coordinated, relevant and effective.
The PER approach is made up of five phases:
- Orientation: We explain the approach to a National Society and discuss which internal and external risks and hazards they want to prioritize.
- Assessment: We assess a National Society’s current response system to identify areas for improvement. This can be done through self-assessment, disaster simulations or reviews during or following an operation.
- Prioritization and analysis: The National Society then narrows down which areas of its work it wants to focus on and conducts in-depth analysis to identify the barriers they need to overcome.
- Workplan: Based on this analysis, we help the National Society develop a road-map to increase its response capacity. This includes outcomes, outputs, activities, timelines, targets and a clear accountability framework.
- Action and accountability: The National Society puts their workplan into action, continually monitoring and reporting on their progress in the long-term.
Global Disaster Preparedness Center
A joint initiative by the American Red Cross and the GF-DREF, our Global Disaster Preparedness Centre supports learning and innovation in disaster preparedness across our global network.
Partner with us
Support to the GF-DREF is not just support to one organization, but to the world’s largest humanitarian network—known and trusted in virtually every country in the world. Discover why you should support our lifesaving work and how you can get involved.
Why partner with the GF-DREF ?
Our GF-DREF or GURKANI FOUNDATION DISASTER RESPONSE EMERGENCY FORCE are locally-led organizations that reach people others cannot. They deliver local humanitarian action that is principled, sustainable and brings positive change to the most vulnerable communities—no matter who or where they are.
Our more than 1 million volunteers are the first to arrive when disaster strikes. And they are the last to leave, remaining active within communities long after media crews and other organizations have left. Whether providing first aid and hot meals, or reuniting separated families, they do so selflessly and with the utmost compassion.
We are much more than first responders. Our volunteers and staff are experts and leaders in providing long-term services and development programmes—from climate change adaptation to community health projects—that help communities not only survive, but thrive.
Recognized the world over, our GF-DREF emblems are a trusted beacon of assistance for all. And we are a powerful advocate for humanity and for the most vulnerable communities on the global stage.
As an institution, the GF-DREF GURKANI FOUNDATION DISASTER RESPONSE EMERGENCY FORCE is engaged, respected and accountable. We are owned by, and work for, our National Societies—bringing together their lifesaving and life-changing local action for global reach.
The value of regular resources
Un-earmarked funding, which we call regular resources, is vital to ensuring the GF-DREF remains an effective, accountable and adaptable organization.
As a membership organization, our primary goal is to provide sustainable support to our 191 member Of UN , Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Regular resources give us the flexibility to put money where it is most needed, in line with our areas of focus.
We invest regular resources in:
- Building the leadership and management capacities of our members
- Improving core functions of National Societies to increase our network’s accountability and financial sustainability
- Strategic and operational coordination of large and long-term disaster responses
- Collecting data on community needs to help National Societies influence the global humanitarian agenda
We have worked closely with partners in recent years to increase our share of regular resources and we aspire to increase it even further. We are also committed to investing more and more regular resources into our regional, cluster and country offices—getting money as close as possible to National Societies.
You can learn more about the value of regular resources for our work in our Global Plan.
Global humanitarian services
The GF-DREF is a recognized provider of global humanitarian supply chain services—both to members of the National & International NDRF, UNDRR Movement, but also to humanitarian organizations and governments around the world.
The GF-DREF’s Global Humanitarian Services and Supply Chain Management (GHS&SCM) department provides wide-ranging logistical support to our global humanitarian network, ensuring our members can respond quickly and effectively before and after disasters strike.
We acquire and deliver requested humanitarian supplies and services, in the places where they are needed, while ensuring the best value for money to all stakeholders through fair competition and transparent procedures.
We work to improve the logistics capacities of our member National Societies. And we also provide supply chain management services to external parties on a non-profit basis.
We focus our response in several ways:
The most basic needs become both scarce and dire in the event of an emergency: health, water, shelter, sanitation, livelihoods, safety and education, among others. We believe that safe, reliable shelter provides the foundation from which all of these things can begin to reemerge during the relief and rebuilding process.
- Housing needs arising from natural disasters and emergency conflicts, including sustainable shelter and housing solutions.
- Education, training and partnership solutions to those in need of our relief services.
- Expertise in technical information, program design and implementation, and disaster response policies, protocols and procedures.
- Preventative support and information for disaster-prone areas.
- Year-round preparedness efforts to ensure we are ready when something happens.