Background
Responding to humanitarian crises is a key part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO’s) development work. These crises are caused by factors such as conflict, natural disasters, disease or weather events. They can occur suddenly or escalate rapidly.
All crises are different and require a different response, depending on location and the assets that FCDO has in the area. When crises arise, FCDO needs to take rapid decisions on if and how the UK should respond.
In 2024, the UK spent around £1.5 billion on bilateral humanitarian assistance programmes, an increase of over half a billion pounds from 2023, reflecting increased demand in the global humanitarian system. However, the UK aid budget is planned to reduce from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income by 2027.
Our 2016 report on the then-Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) response to humanitarian crises found that DFID was well placed to identify and respond quickly to sudden onset crises, but did not have an overall policy framework for prioritising its intervention on protracted crises. DFID merged with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 2020, and we examined this in our 2024 report.
Scope
This study will examine FCDO’s response to sudden onset humanitarian crises and whether it is cost effective. It will consider whether FCDO:
- has an effective strategy for managing and responding to sudden onset humanitarian crises
- has the resources and capability to respond effectively to sudden onset humanitarian crises
- is implementing its humanitarian crisis response effectively and whether it is evaluating and learning lessons from previous crises
NAO team
Director: Leena Mathew
Senior Audit Manager: Paul Wright-Anderson