Emergency tarpaulins after a flood — donate emergency aid for food, water and shelter

What is emergency aid?

Emergency aid is food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter after a flood, earthquake or tsunami — not reconstruction, cash or a medical clinic.

Pakistan, Indonesia & Malaysia

How can you support this appeal?

Emergency aid — food, water, hygiene kits and shelter

Choose your donation

In short

Emergency aid is food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter in the first days after a flood, earthquake or tsunami. World Aid Network funds that work in Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia through local partners. Donate on this page. Gifts do not rebuild homes or fund medical clinics. Gift Aid is not currently available; future claims require HMRC recognition and eligibility checks.

Last updated 24 August 2026.

What is emergency aid?

Emergency aid is humanitarian help given in the first days and weeks after a sudden disaster — a flood, earthquake, tsunami or storm. For World Aid Network it means food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter in Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is not reconstruction, not cash to individuals, and not a medical clinic.

The impulse after a shock is universal. The quality of the response is not. A family without drinking water, a meal or a dry place to sleep does not need a five-year plan. They need those four things now. That is what emergency aid is.

This URL is the emergency aid explainer, with a donate form. It is not listed on the emergency appeals index. Search for “what is emergency aid” should land here. Search for a disaster relief charity programme should land on emergency relief. Search for Humanitarian Appeal checkout should land on the Humanitarian Appeal.

Food — ready-to-eat rations and dry staples bought nearby.
Clean water — purification, bottled water or a household filter. Not wells.
Hygiene kits — soap, jerrycans and sanitary items.
Temporary shelter — tarpaulins, tents and weatherproof sheeting.

How does emergency aid work?

You donate. Trustees release funds when disaster-driven need is confirmed in Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia. Local partners buy food, water, hygiene kits and shelter nearby and intend to distribute them to families. World Aid Network does not fly UK staff in and does not send cash to individuals. Partners aim to start within forty-eight to seventy-two hours of activation. Cut roads take longer.

International supply chains are slow. A partner who already knows the roads, the market and the families can move while a foreign team is still booking flights. Local purchase also means the money stays in a community that has already been hurt.

Each deployment sits under a signed agreement. Trustees receive itemised reports. We do not invent caseloads on this page. How grants are released is explained on how we work.

How is emergency aid different from humanitarian aid?

People use the two phrases as if they were the same. Humanitarian aid is the wider field: anything done to protect people in a crisis. Emergency aid is the first slice of that field — the food, water, hygiene kits and shelter that keep a family alive after a shock. World Aid Network’s Humanitarian Appeal is the standing checkout for that slice. This page explains the idea.

A Humanitarian Appeal guide on our charity-guides library explains why a focused appeal reaches families faster. That article is not this URL and not the checkout. If you searched “donate to humanitarian appeal”, use the Humanitarian Appeal. If you searched “what is emergency aid”, stay here.

We do not rank other humanitarian organisations. If you named the Disasters Emergency Committee, that is a separate UK body. Our standing disaster checkout is Disasters Emergency Relief.

How is emergency aid different from development aid?

Emergency aid is for the days after a disaster. Development aid is for years: schools, livelihoods, boreholes, clinics. World Aid Network’s disaster Object is the first of those jobs only. We will not spend a disaster gift on rebuilding a house or drilling a well.

Both jobs matter. Mixing them on one page is how donors think a tarpaulin gift will rebuild a street. It will not. Reconstruction sits outside our Objects. Permanent water infrastructure sits on other charities’ mandates — not this water charity and not this emergency aid guide.

If you want hospital care, that is a different Object: the Cancer Emergency Appeal or Gift of Sight Appeal. First Aid is a written UK skills guide. None of those are emergency aid.

What does emergency aid include?

Four things. Emergency food parcels sufficient for a family for days or weeks. Clean drinking water — tablets, bottles or a filter, not a new well. Hygiene kits so dirty water does not become the next outbreak. Temporary shelter — tarpaulins, tents, sheeting. Seasonal extras such as extra sheeting in winter sit on the winter relief guide. Partners kit what the ground allows that week.

Figures on this page are suggested donation amounts, not verified partner quotations or a menu for a named village. Suggested amounts are contributions towards emergency essentials. They do not guarantee a quantity or duration of supplies.

We do not send clothes, shoes or bottled water from Britain unless a partner has asked for a specific item in writing. Parcels arrive late and cost more than buying locally.

What an emergency aid gift typically becomes
Need	What partners buy nearby
Food	Ready-to-eat rations and dry staples suited to local diets
Clean water	Purification tablets, bottled water or a household filter — not wells
Hygiene kits	Soap, jerrycans and sanitary items
Temporary shelter	Tarpaulins, tents and weatherproof sheeting

Choose an amount to give

Every amount is a contribution to this appeal fund, not a fixed price for a treatment.

Why do the first 72 hours matter?

After a flood or quake, wells spoil and food stores are lost. Sphere’s Handbook sets 15 litres of water per person per day as established practice in an emergency. WHO says in a humanitarian emergency you should assume water is at risk of contamination until it is treated. Partners aim to start within forty-eight to seventy-two hours of activation.

The Sphere Handbook is the sector’s minimum standards, not a World Aid Network delivery claim: https://spherestandards.org/handbook/. WHO’s note on water in humanitarian emergencies is https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/water-sanitation-and-health/environmental-health-in-emergencies/humanitarian-emergencies. Diarrhoeal disease remains a leading killer of young children where water is unsafe (WHO fact sheet: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease).

The cameras leave. Thirst does not. A standing gift on this page, or a monthly gift, means trustees are not waiting for a new headline before they can release funds.

Why does local delivery matter for emergency aid?

The organisations best placed to help are already there. World Aid Network funds locally registered partners. They know the roads, the suppliers and the families. We do not deploy UK staff for disaster response. Local purchase is faster and cheaper than a container from Britain. The useful thing you can do is give money, not pack a box.

A foreign logistics chain has customs, flights and warehousing. A partner with a purchase order can fill jerrycans the same day the road reopens. That is how emergency aid works when it is done well. How we work explains the grant chain. We do not send cash to individuals.

Should I send food or bottled water from Britain?

Money is more useful. Partners buy food and purify or buy water nearby. Parcels from the United Kingdom arrive late, cost more than they help, and often duplicate what is already on the ground. A card gift on this page is how you donate emergency aid from the UK. If your mosque, church or workplace is collecting, bring the money here.

A Digital Shoebox Appeal is a £25 Medical Kit assembled in-country — still not a packed cardboard box from Britain. Clothes and shoes from UK attics are almost never the right response unless a partner has asked in writing.

How do I donate emergency aid from the UK?

Keep emergency relief selected. The gift is marked for the Humanitarian Appeal so it funds food, water, hygiene kits and shelter. You can also give on the emergency relief programme or any named disaster checkout. A monthly gift keeps kits ready. Gift Aid is not currently available; future claims require HMRC recognition and eligibility checks.

From the United States or Canada, use the give-from-the-USA page for dollars. World Aid Network is a UK charitable organisation, not a US 501(c)(3) and not a registered Canadian charity. Gifts are generally not tax-deductible there.

If you want the gift restricted to drinking water only, use Clean Water Charity or the Clean Water Emergency Appeal. If you want food only, use the food aid charity page or the Hunger Crisis Appeal.

How is this different from emergency relief?

This page owns “what is emergency aid” as a concept. Emergency relief is World Aid Network’s disaster programme hub — floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, monsoon and winter, plus how donations are held. Both fund the same four things. The programme detail and disaster-type guides live on emergency relief.

If you searched “disaster relief charity UK”, go to emergency relief. If you searched “what is emergency aid”, stay here. We will not pretend they are different products. They are different search jobs.

How is this different from the Humanitarian Appeal?

The Humanitarian Appeal is the standing checkout on the appeals index for food, water, hygiene kits and shelter in a humanitarian emergency. This page is the explainer for emergency aid, with a donate form that uses that same appeal. You can give on either page. Search for Humanitarian Appeal should land on the checkout. Search for emergency aid should land here.

The Humanitarian Appeal guide in the library explains why focused giving is faster. It is not the checkout and not this URL. Crisis Appeal is a separate standing checkout when a crisis hits. It is not the Hunger Crisis Appeal, which is food-only.

How is this different from the Crisis Appeal?

Crisis Appeal is a named standing checkout — food, water, hygiene kits and shelter when a crisis hits. Emergency aid is the type of help that checkout buys. Please stay here if you wanted the definition. Neither is the Hunger Crisis Appeal.

Disasters Emergency Relief is another standing disaster checkout. It is not the Disasters Emergency Committee. Indonesia Emergency Appeal is for earthquakes and tsunamis there, including Flores on 15 August 2026. Pakistan Floods Appeal is for monsoon flooding in Pakistan.

How is this different from the Indonesia Emergency Appeal and Pakistan Floods Appeal?

Those are named, country-restricted checkouts. The Indonesia Emergency Appeal is food, water and shelter after earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia. The Pakistan Floods Appeal is the same four things for flood-affected families in Pakistan. This emergency aid page is the generic explainer.

A gift here, through the Humanitarian Appeal, can be released to whichever Object-country disaster trustees confirm next. A restricted Indonesia or Pakistan gift cannot be moved to the other country. That is the point of a named appeal.

How is this different from a water charity gift?

Clean Water Charity is restricted to emergency drinking water — purification, bottles and filters, not wells. Emergency aid includes water and also food, hygiene kits and shelter.

The named water checkout is the Clean Water Emergency Appeal. Flood relief explains why contaminated water is the first threat after a flood. Do not ship bottles from Britain on either page.

How is this different from food aid?

The food aid charity page and the Hunger Crisis Appeal fund emergency food parcels. Emergency aid includes food and the other three needs. Please use those pages if you want nutrition only.

We do not run agricultural development or school-feeding programmes. Emergency food is parcels after a shock or an acute hunger crisis, bought nearby.

How is this different from First Aid?

First Aid is a free written guide for a UK emergency: call 999, stop bleeding, cool burns, help someone choking, start CPR. It is not a fundraising appeal and not a British Red Cross course. Emergency aid is overseas disaster kits. Please do not donate to First Aid — there is no such fund.

For UK courses and the first aid app, use https://www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid. If someone in front of you is unresponsive, call 999. This page will not help them.

How is an emergency aid donation held?

Disaster gifts are held for emergency food, clean water, hygiene kits and temporary shelter under our second charitable Object. We do not send cash to individuals. We do not claim a 100% donation policy. Card fees apply. How grants move is on how we work. The 100% donation policy guide explains why overhead slogans mislead. Gift Aid is not currently available; future claims require HMRC recognition and eligibility checks.

If a specific disaster is already funded, trustees can hold the gift for the next qualifying emergency in Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia. Restricted named-appeal gifts stay on that appeal. A standing fund means trustees do not have to start a new campaign each time.

Can I give monthly to emergency aid?

Yes. A monthly donation keeps food, water, hygiene kits and shelter ready before the next monsoon or quake. Please set up a regular gift on this page. You can change it later. A one-off gift is welcome too. You can also give in memory of someone — write to [email protected].

Monthly giving explains the year-round product. In-memory giving is for funeral and tribute gifts. A gift in your will is legacy giving — Gift Aid does not apply to will gifts. The UK will-writing guide is how to make a will, not how to donate emergency aid.

Which countries receive emergency aid from World Aid Network?

Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia only — the countries in our charitable Objects. Donors may give from any country. Delivery is through local partners, not WAN-operated camps. We cannot redirect a restricted country gift to somewhere outside those three.

Malaysia is in the Objects for medical care and for disaster relief when a qualifying emergency is confirmed. Named live disaster checkouts you will see most often are Indonesia and Pakistan. The standing Humanitarian Appeal covers all three.

What your support is for

Support emergency food, safe water, hygiene supplies and temporary shelter for disaster-affected families.

Programme: Emergency relief
Countries covered: Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia
Organiser: World Aid Network
Public reporting: First report not yet published

A standing appeal for eligible emergency relief through local delivery partners. Deployment depends on assessed need, access, partner capacity and trustee allocation; it has no guaranteed response time.

How we will report on this appeal

We publish an appeal’s figures only after they are reconciled and checked. The first report will appear here with its reporting period, money received, payments to partners and what was delivered. A missing figure means it has not been published yet.

How donations are used Read appeal updates

What are the latest appeal updates?

How we report

No verified delivery updates published yet

Dated reports will appear here after review. Each published update will distinguish money received, payments to delivery partners and the care or relief reported. Photographs of people require permission to publish.