Humanitarian Emergency Fund: annual report 2024-2025

Ministerial Foreword

Angus Robertson,

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution,

External Affairs and Culture

Millions of people around the world remain in great danger from climate change and violent, protracted conflicts which are themselves often exacerbated by progressively worsening global warming.

Global headlines remain dominated by conflicts in the Middle East, in particular Gaza, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions have been forced from their homes and millions more are in acute hunger, in desperate need of reliable humanitarian support. Efforts to tackle this injustice have been severely undermined by swingeing cuts to aid budgets by the United States and the UK government.

Despite pressures here at home, the Scottish Government remains committed to being a good global citizen, making sure Scotland plays its part in tackling the worst humanitarian crises, not only those that make the headlines, but also those lower profile crises where countless others are on the brink of survival.

That is the key aim of the Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF) with a commitment to spend at least £1 million each year, advised by 8 of Scotland’s leading aid charities. In 2024-5 that figure was exceeded with £2.51 million released to HEF member charities over the year.

More than 30 percent of this was provided to four HEF members for their life saving operations in Sudan, Chad and South Sudan. Over 2 years of brutal civil war has made this the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with more than 10 million now forced to survive away from their homes with a further 3 million now in makeshift camps across the country. The report details Islamic Relief’s response in the Ghedaref region within Sudan, Tearfund’s response in Chad to the West and Oxfam and Christian Aid’s efforts in South Sudan.

In May 2024, Islamic Relief and Oxfam were funded to respond to devastating floods in Kenya. In August 2024, Christian Aid in Zimbabwe and SCIAF in Zambia were awarded funds to respond to drought related hunger crisis. In February 2025, Oxfam, Christian Aid and SCIAF received funding for a severe food crisis in Malawi as crops failed again due to a record shortage of rain.

Despite the severe challenges of getting aid supplies into Gaza, the Disaster Emergency Committee’s 15 member charities have been able to adapt their responses to save lives. The DEC’s Appeal was twice supported during the year with smaller proportionate sums awarded to Mercy Corps and SCIAF for related responses in Lebanon and Syria.

This report provides comprehensive details on the impact of these projects and how the Fund’s expert members collaborate here in Scotland and around the world to improve the effectiveness of their work. You’ll see that in many of this year’s funded projects that direct cash transfers for the most vulnerable people are often the best way to provide efficient and speedy relief.

HEF funded charities are also working hard to shift power to local partners so they can bring their invaluable knowledge to get better results. These approaches demonstrate our shared commitment to be increasingly led by communities that are most affected by disasters, equalising the power imbalance whilst also fostering equality and human rights within humanitarian response.