On March 28th, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, with a significant impact on the country. The earthquake’s epicenter was located approximately 20 km northeast of Mandalay at a depth of 10 km, followed by a second aftershock of 6.4-magnitude. In response, Myanmar’s military junta declared a state of emergency in several affected regions, including Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, the Naypyitaw Council Area, and Bago.

The ACT Alliance forum in Myanmar consider this earthquake as a major crisis in the country. With the current ongoing security situation and conflicts, the current earthquake aggravated the overall situation. According to UN and government reports in Myanmar the current official death count is at least 1600 people have been killed, and many injured. The US Geological Survey estimated that the death toll could top 10,000. Efforts have been hampered by the shortages of heavy machinery. From the figures Mandalay state is one of the worst affected state in Myanmar with a population of around 1.2 million people. According to media and government sources, almost all the  state has been badly affected.

The earthquake caused extensive damage across multiple sectors. Healthcare facilities are overwhelmed, with hospitals in the affected regions suffering structural damage and struggling to accommodate the growing number of casualties. Transportation infrastructure has also been disrupted, with significant damage reported to roads, bridges, and key transport routes, which has hampered rescue and relief efforts.

Despite the continuously evolving crisis on the ground and communication challenges affecting needs assessments from the humanitarian community, several needs can already be underlined from rapid needs assessments conducted by the consortium’s local partners as well as the wider humanitarian community.

The rapid need assessments conducted by the ACT Alliance revealed that Food, NFIs, Shelter, Mental Health, WASH, livelihood are the main needs of the affected population.

ACT Alliance members Christian AID, Finn Church Aid and Swiss Church Aid (HEK/EPER) together with their local implementing partners have developed this appeal to address the urgent needs of around 60,000 affected people. The appeal is designed for a period of 12 months with a focus on providing Cash Assistance, shelters support, Food & NFIs distribution, WASH services, Education and Psycho-social support to the traumatized people. The total amount requested in the appeal is 5 million USD.

Myanmar Earthquake Appeal – MMR 251

On March 7, 2025, a hydrometeorological event in Bahía Blanca, located in the southern region of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, triggered severe flooding, with nearly 350 millimeters of rainfall recorded in just a few hours. According to the municipal mayor, the resulting water mass affected over 70% of the territory.

Approximately 2 million hectares of agricultural and livestock land are now underwater, with significant losses expected for rural producers. The Bahía Blanca district, which includes the localities of Bahía Blanca, General Cerri, Coronel Rosales, Punta Alta, and Ingeniero White, has a total population of 334,505. It is estimated that nearly 70% of the population—approximately 234,154 people—has been affected by the flooding, with around 90,000 homes directly impacted by rising waters.

The floodwaters have also caused extensive damage to infrastructure, destroying multiple bridges and inundating fields, homes, businesses, churches, and enterprises, even reaching the city center. The agricultural and livestock sector, local commerce, and industries have all been severely affected.

As Argentina enters the autumn season, falling temperatures and the potential for additional winter rainfall raise concerns about an increase in respiratory illnesses. Given the country’s complex economic situation, the risk of heightened social tensions, mental health challenges, and rising conflict among the affected population is growing.

The economic impact on local livelihoods is expected to significantly disrupt daily life and further strain the local economy. Protection risks related to gender-based violence and limited healthcare access for migrants—an issue highlighted by the director of the city’s main hospital—require close monitoring. Additionally, due to difficulties in cooking, the price of gas cylinders has risen, driven by speculation among local vendors. Food prices have also surged, and access to the city remains difficult due to disruptions on peripheral roads. If the situation persists, shortages of essential goods and raw materials could occur, further driving up prices.

Through the Rapid Response Fund (RRF), CREAS will provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the flooding in Bahía Blanca, with a primary focus on the most impacted areas—General Cerri and Ingeniero White. Key needs include psychosocial support (including GBV prevention) and WASH interventions (distribution of hygiene and cleaning kits), complementing donations received from the general public across the country. The project will run for two months, supporting 300 families (1,500 people) with household hygiene kits and providing psychosocial support to 100 individuals.

RRF 03 2025 Argentina Floods

As Ukraine enters its fourth year of full-scale war and the eleventh year of conflict, the humanitarian crisis remains severe and prolonged. The latter half of 2024 saw intensified hostilities, mass displacement, and worsening access constraints, leaving 12.7 million people in urgent need of assistance and  3.6 million internally displaced, having lost their homes and livelihoods. 9 million people projected to remain below the poverty line. The ongoing conflict, compounded by displacement, infrastructure damage, and restricted access to essential services, demands a sustained and adaptive humanitarian response.

Women, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities disproportionately impacted. Women-headed households face heightened economic insecurity, while 1.5 million children are at risk of PTSD and other mental health conditions. It is projected that early 10 million people in Ukraine will develop a mental health condition. Older persons, particularly those in high-risk areas, struggle with isolation and limited medical care, while persons with disabilities face severe access barriers to basic services. Gender-based violence remains a serious concern, as women and girls are at heightened risk of exploitation and abuse, exacerbated by their increased caregiving responsibilities.

Six members of the ACT Ukraine Forum (ChristianAid, CWS, Diakonia CRD, HEKS/EPER, HIA and LWF) are actively responding with an appeal to raise USD 17.576.268 over two years to addresse the humanitarian situation in Ukraine thgrough activities that balance emergency aid with early recovery.

UKR251 Appeal

UKR251 – Results Framework

The Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak presents significant challenges to the health systems in the Kagera Region and potentially neighbouring areas. Healthcare facilities, including faith-based institutions that constitute a vital component of the region’s healthcare delivery, face limited resources, inadequate preparedness, and the urgent need for surge capacity to manage the disease effectively. At the community level, widespread myths, misconceptions, and stigma further exacerbate the crisis, impeding early detection, prevention, and treatment efforts. For example, many communities associate the disease with witchcraft, which discourages individuals from seeking timely medical care and complicates containment measures. Vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, and individuals with pre-existing conditions, are at heightened risk, making a comprehensive and inclusive response essential.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) proposes targeted interventions to strengthen the health system and engage communities effectively. ELCT’s previous experience underscores the importance of leveraging faith-based networks, delivering accurate health messaging, and fostering community involvement to build resilience against outbreaks.

RRF 02 2025 Tanzania Marburg Outbreak

Since December 2024, armed violence between two Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) has intensified in the Catatumbo subregion, particularly in the municipalities of Tibú, Ábrego, Hacarí, Convención, Teorama, El Tarra, and San Calixto. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in a sharp increase in forced displacement and confinement, disproportionately affecting women, children, adolescents, social leaders, signatories of the peace agreement, and indigenous communities from the Barí and Yukpa peoples. The first clashes between these NSAGs were reported on January 16, 2025. Since then, hostilities have expanded across multiple municipalities, leading to displacement, movement restrictions, and heightened risks related to contamination from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

As a result, over 50,000 people have been forcibly displaced, primarily seeking refuge in the urban centers of Cúcuta, Tibú, and Ocaña. The scale of displacement has surpassed the response capacity of municipal administrations, prompting requests for support from departmental and national authorities. Approximately 57% of the department’s municipalities have been affected, with the highest number of displaced persons arriving in Cúcuta (23,066), Tibú (13,541), and Ocaña (10,285).

The ongoing conflict between NSAGs is spreading to other regions of the country, as armed actors continue to contest territorial control. Additionally, the humanitarian impact of the violence in Catatumbo extends beyond the region, both due to the large influx of displaced persons into urban areas and the strategic movements of NSAGs across different territories.

In response, the Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de Colombia (IELCO) is seeking to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced persons in Cúcuta and Ocaña over a five-month period. This response, implemented through the Rapid Response Fund (RRF) mechanism, aims to reach 2,500 individuals through four key interventions: (i) Protection services and advisory support; (ii) capacity-building on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and child protection; (iiii) Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA); and, (iv) psychosocial support.

RRF 01 2025 Colombia Catatumbo Crisis

After nearly 14 years of conflict, Syria remains a complex humanitarian and protection emergency characterized by ongoing hostilities and their long-term consequences, including widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, economic collapse, explosive ordnance contamination, diseases outbreaks, and one of the largest numbers of internally displaced people in the world, coupled by a devastating earthquake in 2023, the latest spillover effect of the 2024 Lebanon-Israel War Crisis, and the most recent internal change of Syrian regime. This build-up of events has devastated Syria’s economy and infrastructure, leaving 90 per cent of the population in poverty and relying on some form of humanitarian aid, says the UNHCR.

Regardless of how the situation unfolds, millions of Syrians will need help to get through this winter and beyond. “The country is not ready in terms of the availability of basic services; We are talking about health, education, water and sanitation, infrastructure, shelter, you name it. Those basic needs are not there even for the people who live in the country, let alone an additional influx coming from the outside”, said Adam Abdelmoula, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria on December 13th, 2024.

Since September 2024 as well, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to cross into Syria amid escalating hostilities in Lebanon; Many are being hosted by Syrian families and communities that are already vulnerable. Meanwhile, families in Syria continue to struggle to meet their basic needs.

In many ways, the humanitarian needs across the whole of Syria are currently at their highest since the start of the conflict in 2011 and the newest escalations are threatening the collapse of an already dire system; The security context in all of Syria remains highly volatile, unpredictable and rapidly fluctuating, with reports of escalating incidents across multiple locations.

A Snapshot of The Syria 2024 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) per OCHA 2024 highlights the urgency to address the continued violations of IHL and IHRL, weak justice system and lack/limited access to rule of law and legal remedies, basic services that are collapsing, an ongoing cholera outbreak, climatic shocks and providing emergency agricultural assistance as crucial in addressing food insecurity in Syria, lack of jobs, services, and assistance driving needs, more than 6 million children at risk, especially those out-of-school and with disabilities, volatile fluctuation and depreciation of the value of the SYP, shortage of fuel and energy, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and medical needs; Gaps where all requesting members of this appeal have been working non-stop to fill.

The 5th revision of this appeal has for change a much-needed update of the context, an amendment of the appeal geographic focus location to Syria only with halting of appeal activities in Turkey by beginning of 2025, an increase of the needed response budget, and a changed results framework with an inclusion of the recent effects of the escalations in both Lebanon and Syria on Syria in 2025; As well as welcoming EPDC as a new requesting member. The updated document is a result of both field and programmatic interagency coordination efforts, and assessments that ACT Requesting Members have undertaken individually and jointly to refine activities and holistically address fast-changing needs of communities from both Lebanon and Syria as targets groups, with a highlighted focus on the SCLR component.

The appeal has so far been covered with USD 15,349,755 including pledges; The needed budget with this revision is USD 6,517,074.

SYR231 REV.5 Syria Turkey Response

SYR231 REV.5 Results Framework

In the midst of the above, the ACT Syria Forum Members have also issued a statement to the world; Please find it here:  https://actalliance.org/act-news/a-message-from-the-act-alliance-syria-members/

Links to the previous versions:

https://actalliance.org/appeals-rapid-response-funds/syria-and-turkiye-syria-protracted-crisis-developing-the-resilience-of-affected-people-and-emergency-response-for-affected-communities-of-syria-turkiye-earthquake-syr231-revision-4/

Syria and Türkiye: Syria Protracted Crisis – Developing the Resilience of Affected People and Emergency Response for Affected Communities of Syria-Türkiye Earthquake – SYR231- Revision 3 – ACT Alliance

Syria and Türkiye: Syria Protracted Crisis – Developing the Resilience of Affected People and Emergency Response for Affected Communities – SYR231- Revision 2 | ACT Alliance

Syria: Syria Protracted Crisis – Developing the Resilience of Affected People and Emergency Response for Affected Communities of Syria-Türkiye Earthquake- SYR231- Revision 1 | ACT Alliance

SYRIA: Syria Protracted Crisis – Developing the Resilience of Affected People – SYR231 | ACT Alliance

The Israeli bombardment across Gaza has forcibly displaced at least 85% of the population; The widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure has left almost the entire population of Gaza without access to clean drinking water or adequate nutrition, with approximately 2.2 million people at risk of famine, and OCHA estimating that 0% of the population in Northern Gaza having access to any clean drinking water. Gaza’s healthcare system is no longer functional, and both medical personnel and patients are being continuously subjected to military attacks.

Gaza has been under a complete electricity blackout since the 11th of October 2023 and has also faced regular and sustained communication blackouts.

The ongoing war poses a significant threat to vulnerable populations, particularly children who bear the effect of its impact. Around a million children urgently require mental health and psycho-social support. Complicating matters, approximately 17,000 children are separated from their parents or unaccompanied. Crosscutting protection issues of GBV, MHPSS, and women’s access to healthcare are also under supported.

In terms of food security, there is an increased strain as 2.2 million people are facing imminent risk of starvation, necessitating urgent intervention.

The destruction of health infrastructure and collapse of the healthcare system has put the population at high risk, particularly the most vulnerable groups, such as the chronically ill, the injured, pregnant women and children under five. Without access to essential medical services, these people face serious threats to their health and well-being.

The education sector has been significantly impacted, leaving 625,000 students, representing the entire student population, without access to education.

Additionally, the West Bank and East Jerusalem have also witnessed a series of alarming incidents that escalated tensions.

The 1st revision of this appeal has for change an update of the context, the onboarding of three new requesting members: CA, FCA and DKH, an increase of the needed response budget, and a changed results framework. The updated document is a result of field and programmatic interagency coordination efforts, and assessments that ACT Requesting Members have undertaken individually and jointly to refine activities and holistically address fast-changing needs of communities in different areas of IoPT. The appeal has so far been covered with USD 3,119,019 including pledges; The needed budget with this revision is USD 9,628,080.

PSE231 REV.1 Gaza Conflict Appeal

PSE231 REV.1 Results Framework

Link to the previous version:

https://actalliance.org/appeals-rapid-response-funds/occupied-palestinian-territories-act-palestine-forum-emergency-response-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territories-gaza-conflict-pse231/

Tropical Storm Sara, which struck Honduras on November 14, 2024, caused widespread devastation, including floods, landslides, and river overflows that destroyed homes, crops, and infrastructure. The disaster affected 247,010 people, with 16,090 evacuated and 8,927 sheltered. The storm isolated 2,490 communities, damaged road networks, and hampered aid distribution, with many areas accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles. Despite ongoing recovery efforts, residual rains from a cold front continue to hinder progress, leaving many families without homes or livelihoods and exacerbating food insecurity in rural areas, where recovery is slow and access to basic services remains limited.

The storm has severely exacerbated food insecurity and hygiene shortages in Honduras, affecting over 247,000 people who lost essential crops like maize and beans, along with their food reserves. Flooding and damaged infrastructure have disrupted food access in over 2,000 communities, while losses in the livestock sector amount to approximately USD 4.3 million, impacting cattle farming, beekeeping, fishing, and milk production. Many families also face shortages of basic hygiene products, increasing health risks. With 55,000 families in urgent need of food and hygiene supplies, and 2.8 million people already requiring humanitarian assistance prior to the storm, immediate support is critical to address worsening conditions.

CASM aims to assist 1,124 families affected by the crisis over a period of three months. These efforts include the distribution of 1,124 basic food kits to provide essential food and nutritional support, sustaining each family for at least 15.8 days. Additionally, CASM will deliver 1,124 personal hygiene and cleaning kits to address urgent hygiene needs.

RRF 17 2024 Honduras Hurricane Sara