The 48-hour response mechanism is a fast-track funding tool that enables humanitarian actors to take immediate action within days of a crisis.
Meron Berhane, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), explains how, from Gaza to Sudan, this modality balances speed with oversight to ensure humanitarian actors can respond when it matters most.
Tell us what this mechanism is and how it works.
The 48-hour response mechanism was introduced in December 2022.
Instead of waiting for a new allocation process and grant agreement, which can take weeks, funds are pre-positioned with selected partners in advance.
These partners are chosen based on their geographical coverage and operational capacity to deliver integrated, multi-sector responses.
When a crisis strikes or escalates, the partner notifies OCHA at the country level, which then consults with the Humanitarian Coordinator and relevant counterparts. Within 48 hours, OCHA provides written approval, authorizing the use of the pre-positioned funds.
Expenditure becomes eligible from the date of approval, and within 20 working days, the project is updated to capture the planned activities.
In short, the mechanism bridges the gap between preparedness and immediate action, without compromising accountability. Explicit authorization before deployment ensures oversight, while refunding unused funds maintains financial integrity.
How well does the modality serve its purpose in responding to sudden-onset emergencies?
It is a very effective way to provide critical funding at critical times.
In Gaza, the mechanism has helped scale up humanitarian activities within days following the escalation of the war in October 2023.
In Sudan, the mechanism has been imperative to avail funding to affected communities in a volatile and complex setting due to the ongoing war.
How does this model align with the Humanitarian Reset?
The 48-hour response mechanism embodies the Humanitarian Reset’s call to shift power closer to crisis-affected communities by enabling rapid, flexible funding directly through trusted local and national partners.
This model strengthens localized response capacity while maintaining accountability, ensuring that frontline actors, often women-led and community-based organizations, can act immediately when emergencies strike.
In doing so, the modality advances the Humanitarian Reset’s vision of dignity, equity, and resilience through localized leadership.
