IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund 2024 Annual Report
Overview
The IFRC-DREF experienced a pivotal year in 2024, expanding its capacity to meet increasing humanitarian needs while improving efficiency, accountability, and adaptability. With CHF 85.3 million allocated across 167 operations, the fund supported 97 National Societies and reached more than 24 million people affected by crises, including natural disasters and socio-economic emergencies. This marks a significant increase from 2023, driven by the growing impact of climate change and complex emergencies worldwide.
The year 2024 was marked by record fundraising results, from CHF 17.1 million in 2019 to CHF 91.6 million in 2024. This figure includes CHF 77 million Swiss francs from voluntary contributions from over 55 donors and partners, and CHF 14.4 million was received from insurance payouts. To address the increasing scale and frequency of disasters, the IFRC enhanced the IFRC-DREF with a pioneering indemnity insurance policy which expands the fund’s capacity, ensuring resources are available even during high-demand years.
In September 2024, IFRC-DREF Insurance was activated for Super Typhoon Yagi in Asia, providing CHF 14.4 million additional capacity for the rest of the year. This enabled 31 additional IFRCDREF allocations in 2024 and targeting 1.6 million additional beneficiaries.
New mechanisms, such as the IFRC-DREF Insurance, helped increase funding capacity, while stronger collaboration and improved processes enhanced the speed and effectiveness of responses. The Anticipatory Pillar made great strides with 29 protocol submissions, including the first submission of epidemics EAP. Meanwhile, the Response Pillar focused on improving the delivery of timely support for small and medium-scale emergencies.
In 2024, continuous improvement remained a priority. The IFRC-DREF launched training programs and peer-learning initiatives that reached 180 individuals across 39 National Societies. A newly introduced Feedback Process gathered insights from National Societies and IFRC staff to inform future decisions on the Fund’s future. Reviews of key operations helped identify areas for improvement in community engagement, logistics, and reporting, ensuring the fund stays responsive to evolving challenges.
Accountability and compliance were strengthened through regular audits, quarterly reviews, and the adoption of digital tools to promote transparency. The IFRC-DREF also strengthened its focus on localization, supporting National Societies to lead crisis responses and helping them fulfill their humanitarian mandates during extraordinary events through timely financial assistance.
The year was marked by major operations across the regions: in Africa, responses focused on epidemics and floods; in Asia-Pacific, disaster readiness and response capacity saw significant advances. Europe, MENA, and the Americas also recorded successful operations addressing a range of emergencies. These achievements reflect the IFRC-DREF’s core mission—saving lives, strengthening communities, and evolving to meet the demands of an increasingly complex global environment.
