“It gave us the strength to believe in tomorrow.” How anticipatory cash helps families prepare for disaster
“I feared I couldn’t feed my children,” shared Abdul Rahim, 61, from Dawlat Abad District in Afghanistan. “But the day I received the cash I could breathe again. It wasn’t just survival; it gave us the strength to believe in tomorrow.”
Abdul remembers the moment he thought his family nearly ran out of options during the Afghanistan drought in 2025.
He was one of thousands of people to receive anticipatory cash through OCHA-managed pooled funds – an approach that releases funding before disasters peak and is transforming humanitarian response.
With the cash, Abdul bought food, medicine for his sick wife and school supplies for his youngest daughter. His family was not spared the hardship of drought, but the support gave them a crucial lifeline.
Acting early together
Anticipatory action uses forecasts to trigger funding to help people prepare for an imminent disaster.
In Afghanistan’s 2025 drought, the OCHA-managed Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund released US$16.6 million before conditions worsened. Nearly half went to multipurpose cash, coordinated across agencies to ensure families received the same level of support. People also received drought-resistant seeds, livestock protection and mobile health services.
For the first time, CERF and a country-based pooled fund pre-arranged money under the same framework. This meant faster, more coordinated assistance at the exact time families needed it.
A lifeline in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, anticipatory cash has shown what’s possible when data, financing and coordination come together. Since 2020, OCHA has coordinated frameworks for floods and cyclones, using CERF funding to help partners act before disaster hits.
In July 2024, CERF released $6.2 million within 16 minutes, topped up by $3 million from partners.
Within five days, 600,000 people received help before floodwaters peaked. More than half of CERF’s allocation was in cash. Families used it to buy food and medicine, or to pay for safe transport.
“I have no idea how we’re going to survive,” said Renubala, who lives along the banks of the Jamuna River. “But this money will help us a lot.” She used part of her cash to build a raft so her family could move around safely.
Evaluations later showed that families who received cash before the floods had better food security and mental health and avoided harmful coping strategies, such as selling income-producing assets or skipping meals.
Results across regions
Beyond Afghanistan and Bangladesh, anticipatory cash has helped families in Ethiopia, Niger and Somalia.
“The cash assistance came when I had no lunch or food that day. Then we immediately bought rice. I paid off debts to a shop and grocery store. I bought other food with the remaining money,” shared a woman, 37, who received CERF-funded World Food Programme anticipatory cash assistance in Somalia.
Findings from these regions highlight that households with early cash had more food, kept their children in school, repaid debts and avoided selling off essential assets. Women and girls reported feeling safer, and families were more likely to remain in their homes instead of being displaced.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, explained: “Anticipatory cash delivers what the Humanitarian Reset promises: provide aid when it counts, dignity for people, and maximum impact for every dollar. It works, and OCHA’s pooled funds are the most strategic way to scale it.”
Why cash matters
OCHA is scaling multipurpose cash – the primary activity in 70 per cent of OCHA-facilitated anticipatory action frameworks in 2025 – because it gives people decision-making power, recognizing individuals are best placed to understand and respond to their own needs.
In 2024, cash made up 42 per cent of anticipatory action funding released through the Central Emergency Response Fund. Most of the funding was multi-purpose allowing families to decide what was most urgent: food, medicine, school fees or repaying debts.
In some contexts, cash alone may not be sufficient. In these situations, cash is complemented with in-kind assistance or services – an approach known as “cash+”.
Investing in the future
In some countries, anticipatory cash is now being delivered through national social protection systems. This allows money to reach families faster, reduces costs and embeds preparedness into Government disaster planning. In Fiji, for example, the Government will transfer funds directly to families when cyclone triggers are reached.
With climate-related crises becoming more frequent and severe, anticipatory cash represents not just an innovation, but a necessity.
For Abdul, the difference was immediate. “It wasn’t just survival,” he said. “It gave us the strength to believe in tomorrow.”
Read the full story: Act Early, Act together, Empower People. Lessons learned from Anticipatory Cash through OCHA’s Pooled Funds.