New report finds local disaster responders remain locked out of time-critical funding

New research from GNDR and the Centre for Disaster Protection, drawing on survey responses from more than 300frontline civil society organisations across more than 70 countries, finds that fewer than one in ten can access funding immediately after a disaster strikes.

London, 15 July 2026 – The Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR) and the Centre for Disaster Protection (the Centre) today publish Localising Disaster Risk Financing: Voices of the Frontline, a new reportrevealing that local and national civil society organisations (CSOs) struggle to access time critical disaster funding when needed most, despite often being first on the ground when shocks hit.

Survey respondents broadly believed pre-arranged financing could reduce barriers to funding through faster response, more predictable resources, and earlier engagement with local actors. But access to these mechanisms remains concentrated at the top, with local organisations largely confined to consultation or delivery roles and with little say over decision-making or financial control.

Key findings include:

·       Fewer than 10% of organisations surveyed can access funding immediately after a disaster strikes.

·       Nearly 90% of members believe pre-arranged financing can help reduce barriers to accessing funding.

·       More than three-quarters of members report being affected, or expecting to be affected, by cuts to international aid, with local and national organisations hit hardest.

·       Two-thirds of members believe local CSOs deliver more cost-effective disaster response than international actors, citing proximity to communities, contextual knowledge and lower overheads.

·       More than 80% of members operate in contexts of fragility and conflict, where they are often the only actors able to reach communities that others cannot safely or practically respond to.

The report sets out seven recommendations:

·       Partnerships of intent, not of expedience – bring local and national CSOs into the governance, design and decision-making of pre-arranged finance, not just community consultation.

·       Glue for a fractured system – use pre-arranged finance to fund coherent, end-to-end disaster risk management, rather than fragmented, siloed programmes.

·       Capacity building: gap or trap? – deliver capacity development where it’s valued, but stop using it as a precondition for funding or delivery.

·       Focus on fragility – prioritise participative pre-arranged finance in fragile and conflict-affected settings, where local actors are often the only ones who can respond.

·       A two-way conversation – treat pre-arranging finance as a chance to rebalance power, putting CSOs in the rooms where decisions are made.

·       Risk sharing, not risk shifting – simplify compliance and application requirements that currently favour larger, well-resourced organisations.

·       An efficiency multiplier – recognise that funding local actors directly is not just equitable, but more cost-effective, at a time when aid budgets are shrinking.

Daniel Clarke, Executive Director of the Centre for Disaster Protection, said: “The findings paint a picture not only of the system as it is, but of how it could be, if those entrusted to respond to disasters were also entrusted to help shape the decision-making and financing architecture around those risks. This is a long, complicated conversation and there are no easy answers. This report aims to provide a platform for the unique perspectives and priorities that GNDR’s members bring to this topic, so that collectively we can at least start to ask some of the right questions.”

Marcos Concepcion Raba, Executive Director of GNDR, said: “GNDR is committed to localising disaster risk financing, enabling faster and more predictable responses by ensuring funds are available for local actors when needed, supporting proactive planning and early actions to minimise disaster impacts. We hope this report will spur the disaster risk reduction community to bring a paradigm shift, push for policy change, and guide donors and financial institutions in addressing the gaps and challenges in the localisation of disaster risk financing.”

The full report is available at: Localising Disaster Risk Financing: Voices of the Frontline

- ENDS –

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Centre for Disaster Protection
The Centre for Disaster Protection (the Centre) is a technical and policy advisory organisation focused on improving how the world plans and pays for disasters.

About GNDR
The Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR) is a network of more than 2,000 civil society organisations across 132 countries, committed to working together to improve the lives of people affected by disasters worldwide.

PR Contact
Dulce Pedroso, Head of Communications

dpedroso@disasterprotection.org