When an earthquake struck Vanuatu just days before Christmas 2024, Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific and the Australian Government demonstrated how trust and agility can save lives. Together, they rapidly mobilised funding and resources to ensure that women’s groups, LGBTIQA+ partners, and disability-led organisations were at the centre of relief and recovery efforts.

On December 17, 2024, a powerful earthquake struck Vanuatu, leaving communities devastated just days before the holiday season. Within 24 hours, Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific (UAF A&P) reached out to its long-standing partner, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), leveraging the trust built through the AIR Partnership. That trust proved invaluable.

By December 21, DFAT had approved an additional AUD 200,000 in emergency funding, enabling UAF A&P to swiftly disburse six grants to some of the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in the affected areas – including Ni-Vanuatu women’s organisations, LGBTIQA+ partners, and a disability-led group.

Despite the logistical challenges and the holiday period, UAF A&P mobilised with urgency and care. Their feminist grant-making model – designed for flexibility and responsiveness – allowed them to meet immediate needs such as food, water, shelter, and medical supplies, while also laying the groundwork for longer-term recovery.

This model unfolds in three layers: Security and Wellbeing grants address urgent survival needs; the Resourcing Resilience grants support recovery and healing post-crisis and Webs of Safety and Care grants help build sustainable, community-led safety systems.

Through this approach, UAF A&P is committed to supporting Vanuatu partners not just in the aftermath, but throughout the rebuilding process – including coastline rehabilitation efforts like mangrove and coral planting, led by local women’s groups working to mitigate climate change and protect their communities from coastal erosion.

The success of this response had ripple effects. Drawing on lessons from Vanuatu, UAF A&P was able to mobilise internal resources even faster following the Myanmar earthquake in March 2025. Building on this momentum, DFAT entrusted UAF A&P with additional humanitarian funding for the Pacific, ahead of the upcoming cyclone season – ensuring that women and non-binary activists are resourced to prepare and respond.

This story is a testament to what feminist humanitarian action can achieve when trust, agility, and community leadership come together. It shows that with the right partnerships and models, aid can be fast, inclusive, and transformative – reaching those who are often left behind, and empowering them to lead their own recovery.