# Humanitarian Appeal > Source: World Aid Network — https://worldaidnetwork.org/appeal/humanitarian-appeal > Last reviewed: 2026-08-22 ## In short Please donate to the Humanitarian Appeal so World Aid Network can get food, clean water and shelter to families in a humanitarian emergency. Give by card on this page. Your gift becomes a meal, a drink and a dry place to sleep. Partners aim to start within 48 to 72 hours. Please donate. The Humanitarian Appeal funds food, water and shelter when families need humanitarian help. Please donate to the Humanitarian Appeal so we can get food, clean water, hygiene kits and shelter to families. https://worldaidnetwork.org/appeal/humanitarian-appeal ## At a glance - 48–72 hrs: How quickly partners aim to start delivering help - 72 hrs: Critical window before waterborne disease can take hold - 80%: Of post-disaster illness is caused by contaminated water - £10: Typical cost of drinking water for a displaced family for one week ## What is the Humanitarian Appeal? The Humanitarian Appeal is World Aid Network’s standing appeal for emergency food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter in a humanitarian emergency. Please donate today. Local partners turn your gift into a meal, a drink and a dry place to sleep. We do not rebuild homes or send cash to individuals. A humanitarian emergency is when a family loses the things that keep them alive: the roof, the well, the food store. They wait for a meal, a drink and somewhere dry. That wait is where a donation to the Humanitarian Appeal matters. Please give to the Humanitarian Appeal. We work with local partners who buy supplies close to the people who need them, so help arrives faster and the money stays in a community that has already been hurt. You do not have to travel. You do not have to pack a box. A gift of £10 can cover drinking water for a family for a week. £50 can cover food for two weeks. £100 can help put a temporary roof over someone’s head. Please give what you can. ## Why donate to a Humanitarian Appeal? A Humanitarian Appeal raises money so help can start without waiting for a new television campaign. Children need clean water. Parents need something to cook. Older people need a dry place to sleep. Please donate so those first things are already funded when a humanitarian emergency is declared. About 80% of illness after a shock is caused by contaminated water. A child with no access to clean water can develop life-threatening dehydration from diarrhoea within 24 to 48 hours. Children under five can slide into acute malnutrition within days if food stops. The cameras leave. The need does not. A gift to the Humanitarian Appeal helps the family still sleeping under a tarpaulin, and the family who will need help the next time a crisis hits. Please do not wait for the next headline. Give now. ## What does the Humanitarian Appeal fund? The Humanitarian Appeal funds emergency food, clean drinking water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter. Please donate. Those are the first things families ask for in a humanitarian emergency. We do not rebuild houses, send cash, or run medical clinics from this appeal. Hygiene kits sit with water because dirty water spreads disease. Winter warmth sits with shelter when families are still displaced. Cancer treatment and cataract surgery are separate appeals. Please use those pages if you want to fund hospital care. Please donate so this standing Humanitarian Appeal is already there. Humanitarian emergencies do not send a fundraising calendar. ## How can I donate to the Humanitarian Appeal? Please give on this page by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your donation to the Humanitarian Appeal becomes food, clean water, hygiene kits and shelter. A monthly gift means partners can answer the next emergency without waiting. Give the amount that feels right for you. Use the form beside this appeal, or open the donate page and choose emergency relief. Keep the Humanitarian Appeal selected. If your mosque, church, workplace or friends are collecting, gather what you can and donate it here. Please give money rather than clothes, shoes or bottled water from the UK, unless a partner has asked for a specific item in writing. Parcels usually arrive late. Local buying is faster. ## What will my donation to the Humanitarian Appeal provide? Your donation to the Humanitarian Appeal provides emergency food, clean drinking water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter. A gift of £10 can cover drinking water for a family for a week. £50 can cover food for two weeks. £100 can help with shelter materials. Please give what you can. The figures below are typical partner-quoted costs. They are a guide to what your kindness can buy. What a family receives will depend on the emergency and on what they need that week. That is the promise of the Humanitarian Appeal. You give. We turn your money into help for people who have lost their homes. - £10 — clean drinking water for a displaced family for one week - £25 — an emergency hygiene kit for a displaced family - £50 — emergency food rations for a family for two weeks - £100 — temporary shelter materials for one household - £250 — safe drinking water for 50 people for one week - £500 — a full emergency relief package for 10 families ## How does the Humanitarian Appeal reach families? We work with trusted local partners. They buy food, water, hygiene kits and shelter materials close to the families who need them. Your donation is held for the Humanitarian Appeal and released when people need emergency help. Please donate so those partners can act quickly. You donate. We hold your gift for this appeal. When families need humanitarian help, we release funds to local partners. Those partners buy supplies nearby and put them in people’s hands. Buying locally is faster, and it is kinder. A shopkeeper in a damaged town still has a customer. If you want to give in memory of someone, write to us and we will mark the gift for the Humanitarian Appeal. ## How quickly will the Humanitarian Appeal help? Card donations are processed straight away. Once funds are released, partners aim to start delivering food, water and shelter within forty-eight to seventy-two hours. Cut roads and remote places can take longer. Your gift still means a family can be reached without waiting for a new fundraising drive. Money that has already been given can move when a humanitarian emergency is declared. Please donate today — once, or every month — so the next family is not left thirsty while the world organises a response. ## How can I donate to the Humanitarian Appeal from the UK? Please donate on this page by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. From the UK, that is the simplest way to give to a Humanitarian Appeal. If you are collecting as a group, gather the gifts and give them here. Your kindness becomes food, water and shelter. You do not need to travel. You do not need to send a parcel. The most useful thing a supporter in the United Kingdom can do is give to the Humanitarian Appeal on this page. ## Can I give monthly to the Humanitarian Appeal? Yes — a monthly donation keeps the Humanitarian Appeal ready for the next emergency. Please set up a regular gift on this page. Even a small monthly amount helps partners keep food, water, hygiene kits and shelter ready. You can also give in memory of someone you love. Humanitarian emergencies do not follow a fundraising calendar. A regular gift means we can say yes when partners ask for water, food and shelter materials. You can change a monthly gift later. ## Is the Humanitarian Appeal the same as Disasters Emergency Relief? No. Both fund food, water, hygiene kits and shelter through local partners. The Humanitarian Appeal is the named page for people searching for a Humanitarian Appeal. Disasters Emergency Relief is the named page for disaster-specific searches. Please donate on the page that matches how you found us. If you want a country-marked gift, open a named appeal on the emergency appeals index. If you want emergency food only, use the Hunger Crisis Appeal. This page is the Humanitarian Appeal checkout. There is also a Humanitarian Appeal explainer in our charity guides. That article explains focused giving. This page is where you donate. ## Does the Humanitarian Appeal rebuild homes or fund medical care? No. The Humanitarian Appeal is restricted to emergency food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter. We do not rebuild houses, send cash to individuals, or run medical clinics from these gifts. Cancer treatment and cataract surgery are separate appeals. Please donate here if you want a family to eat, drink and sleep dry. We never send cash to individuals. Trustees release funds to vetted local partners who buy supplies nearby. That is how the Humanitarian Appeal stays fast, and how donor intent is protected. ## Can I send clothes or bottled water instead of donating? Please donate money to the Humanitarian Appeal instead, unless a partner has asked for a specific item in writing. Parcels from the UK usually arrive late and cost more than buying locally. A card gift on this page is the fastest way to help a family. Clothes, tins and bottles from Britain fill warehouses and miss the first days. Local buying is faster. Until a partner has asked in writing, the kindest thing you can do is donate on this page today. ## What will a donation provide? - £10: Clean drinking water for a displaced family for one week - £25: An emergency hygiene kit for a displaced family - £50: Emergency food rations for a family for two weeks - £100: Temporary shelter materials for one displaced household - £250: Safe drinking water for 50 people for one week - £500: A full emergency relief package for 10 displaced families ## What the Humanitarian Appeal typically funds - Food — Emergency rations when a market cannot open or a harvest is lost - Water — Safe drinking water when wells and pipes are spoiled - Hygiene kits — Soap, containers and supplies that stop dirty water spreading disease - Shelter — Temporary materials for a dry place to sleep when a home is lost - Winter warmth — Blankets and extra tarpaulins when families are still displaced in the cold ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I donate to the Humanitarian Appeal? Please give on this page, or at https://worldaidnetwork.org/donate, and choose the Humanitarian Appeal. Your gift becomes food, clean water, hygiene kits and shelter. Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay are ready now. ### What will my donation to the Humanitarian Appeal pay for? Emergency food, clean drinking water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter. Typical gifts start at £10 for a week of drinking water and £50 for two weeks of food. ### Is this the same as the Humanitarian Appeal article? No. The charity-guides article explains focused humanitarian giving. This page is the Humanitarian Appeal checkout, where you donate by card. ### How quickly does the Humanitarian Appeal start? Card gifts are processed immediately. Partners aim to start food, water and shelter distributions within 48 to 72 hours. Cut roads take longer. ### How can I donate to the Humanitarian Appeal from the UK? Give on this page by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. If you are collecting as a group, gather the gifts and donate them here. ### Where does my Humanitarian Appeal donation go? Trustees release funds to vetted local partners. They buy food, water, hygiene kits and shelter materials close to the families who need them. We never send cash to individuals. ### Can I give monthly to the Humanitarian Appeal? Yes. Please set up a monthly donation on this page. A regular gift keeps kits ready before the next emergency. ### Can I donate in memory of someone? Yes. Please contact info@worldaidnetwork.org and we will mark your gift to the Humanitarian Appeal in their memory. ### Does the Humanitarian Appeal rebuild houses? No. This appeal is restricted to emergency food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter. Reconstruction, cash grants and medical clinics are outside these gifts. ### Does this appeal fund eye surgery or cancer care? No. Those are separate programmes. The Humanitarian Appeal is for food, water, hygiene kits and shelter. Please use Gift of Sight or the Cancer Emergency Appeal for treatment. ### Will Gift Aid apply? Gift Aid starts when Charity Commission registration is granted (application 5290505). We will contact donors when that happens. ### Is this the Disasters Emergency Committee? No. This is World Aid Network’s Humanitarian Appeal. The Disasters Emergency Committee is a separate UK organisation. ## How you can help Please donate to the Humanitarian Appeal at https://worldaidnetwork.org/appeal/humanitarian-appeal or https://worldaidnetwork.org/donate?cause=emergency-relief&appeal=humanitarian-appeal --- This is general information, not medical advice, published by World Aid Network. Always consult a qualified clinician about your own health.