When emergencies occur, no matter where or why, World Vision’s response needs to be as measured as it is rapid.

World Vision’s emergency relief activities seek primarily to save lives and reduce human suffering, protect and restore livelihoods, and reduce the risks faced by disaster- and conflict-prone communities. Because we’re a child-focused agency, our responses increasingly address the needs of vulnerable children. Emergency responses in conflict zones include working towards peaceful outcomes. We try whenever we can to integrate our emergency relief responses with our development and advocacy activities.

No two emergencies are identical. Some affect millions, some affect a single family. Some occur in an instant, others take years to develop. World Vision responds to several types of emergencies:

• Rapid-onset natural disasters, such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods and tsunamis;
• Slow-onset disasters, such as droughts and famine. Responses to these need to be pre-emptive;
• Man-made disasters, such as conflicts and wars;
• Chronic emergencies, which are low in profile and often forgotten or neglected; and
• Complex Humanitarian Emergencies, which can be caused by a number of political, social, economic and environmental factors.

• how many people are affected 
• the impact on infrastructure
• the immediate or projected mortality levels and incidence of epidemic diseases 
• the impact on community livelihoods
• threats to child sponsorship or other World Vision activities.

At all times, our emphasis is on taking all possible steps to alleviate human suffering. World Vision has an emergency management cycle that includes:

• early warning 
• preparedness 
• disaster mitigation 
• response 
• rehabilitation 
• transition towards transformational development.

Our Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs group acts globally to oversee and implement a range of systems, programs and relationships to manage emergencies. These include:

• the Global Rapid Response Team, consisting of relief experts who can be deployed to large-scale emergencies within 1 to 3 days;
• the Global Pre-Positioning Resource Network, which stocks emergency supplies and equipment into warehouses located across the world, from where they can be quickly airlifted to an emergency; and 
• the Emergency Preparedness Response Fund, which makes short-term funding available for emergency responses until other funds, from governments or public appeals, become available.

For a large-scale response, World Vision will collaborate with the United Nations and other international and local aid agencies. This helps to avoid duplication, maximise efficiencies and ensure that all areas of need are met and there are no gaps in the overall humanitarian response.