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The Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF), funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), was established in January 2017 in partnership with the 15 member representatives of the Start Network present in the region. The MERF allows member organisations to react to a significant change of needs, or provide assistance to previously unidentified vulnerable groups. Its aim is to address the unpredictable nature of the mixed migration crisis across the Mediterranean that exacerbated an already difficult operating context for aid workers and made it difficult to plan for a response.

The Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF), funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), was established in January 2017 in partnership with the 15 member representatives of the Start Network present in the region. The MERF allows member organisations to react to a significant change of needs, or provide assistance to previously unidentified vulnerable groups. Its aim is to address the unpredictable nature of the mixed migration crisis across the Mediterranean that exacerbated an already difficult operating context for aid workers and made it difficult to plan for a response.

The Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF), funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), was established in January 2017 in partnership with the 15 member representatives of the Start Network present in the region. The MERF allows member organisations to react to a significant change of needs, or provide assistance to previously unidentified vulnerable groups. Its aim is to address the unpredictable nature of the mixed migration crisis across the Mediterranean that exacerbated an already difficult operating context for aid workers and made it difficult to plan for a response.

Over the past year, the Start Network has tested the flexibility of the Start Fund mechanism applied to one specific and highly volatile crisis context. The Mediterranean migration crisis has provided a testing platform for NGOs to use the Start Network’s peer review decision-making process to respond in one complex crisis. It aims to respond to rapidly changing contexts, spikes and emerging unforeseen needs within wider and highly politicised humanitarian response. The Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF), funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), was established in January 2017 in partnership with the 15 member representatives of the Start Network present in the region. Its aim is to address the unpredictable nature of the mixed migration crisis across the Mediterranean that exacerbated an already difficult operating context for aid workers and made it difficult to plan for a response. 

Refugees and migrants in Libya are among the most vulnerable groups in the context of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Due to the elevated level of insecurity and to the criminalisation of undocumented migrants, many are held in detention centres, with a number of studies pointing to their inadequate living conditions. On the other hand, very limited information is available on the protection needs and coping strategies of the wider population of refugees and migrants living outside detention facilities in Libya. In response to this gap, REACH, in partnership with the Start Network and NGO International Medical Corps conducted an assessment in three locations in Libya: Tripoli, Misrata and Sebha to shed light on refugees and migrants’ access to economic resources, housing and healthcare. The assessment was funded by the Migration Emergency Response Fund – managed by the Start Network – through its mechanism for collective information collection and analysis grants. REACH facilitates the development of information tools and products that enhance the capacity of aid actors to make evidence-based decisions in emergency, recovery and development contexts. For more information, please visit their website http://www.reach-initiative.org. 

As part of Start's Migration Emergency Response Fund, Network members Mercy Corps, ACTED and IRC have conducted an assessment of how different cash delivery mechanisms serve migrant and refugee populations in Libya.

A summary report of Oxfam's winterisation response in Serbia assisting migrants and refugees in need, as part of the Start Network's Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF).