Strategies
Shift from colonial top-down resourcing models to those that locate resources close to, and within, communities
Invest in Global Majority and community-driven resource models that meet local needs. Shift away from top-down models that reinforce global disparities and colonial harms.
Why It Matters
People living through a crisis know their communities best and understand the nuances that shape how a crisis unfolds.
By resourcing feminist movements, we put resources directly in a community’s hands, which leads to stronger, more effective crisis response.
What It Looks Like In Practice
In late 2025, Cyclone Ditwah caused catastrophic damage across Sri Lanka. It brought intense rainfall, destructive winds, and widespread flooding and landslides, affecting more than 1.1 million people. Research by World Weather Attribution later showed that climate change made Cyclone Ditwah’s rainfall 28% to 160% more intense. Hundreds of people were killed or went missing, and over 233,000 were displaced at the peak of the crisis. Within days of Cyclone Ditwah’s landfall, Urgent Action Fund-Asia & Pacific supported 19 local women-led organisations that were already embedded in their communities and knew exactly what kinds of relief would help the most. One local partner conducted a rapid needs assessment and convened meetings with district officials to help ensure that humanitarian relief would actually reach those who were most affected. Other local partners supplied survival essentials to people in their areas, including food, water, medicine, dignity kits, and cleaning and repair equipment. Women workers, single mothers, widows, older people, people with disabilities, sex workers, and low‑income families—many of whom lived in areas that experienced the highest rates of flooding—received specific support.