Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)

The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) was established to ensure the immediate availability of unearmarked financial resources while a formal emergency appeal is being prepared. Based on its initial needs assessment, any National Society can request a DREF allocation to launch an emergency response operation.

Managed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the fund helps bridge the gap between the onset of a disaster and the arrival of the first donor contributions in response to an appeal. DREF operates through two distinct mechanisms: Initial funding, available to the IFRC and National Societies, to initiate operations for large-scale disasters (loan facility); Response funding for National Societies, intended for small- to medium-scale disasters or health emergencies that do not require an international appeal (Emergency Appeal – EA), or where external support is not anticipated (grant facility).