About the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP)

The Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) is a ten-year (2017-2027) partnership between the Australian Government and Australian NGOs.

Through the AHP, partners aim to save lives and alleviate suffering by supporting partner countries, local organisations and communities to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters and other humanitarian crises.

How we work

The AHP meets these objectives by focusing efforts both in disaster response as well as disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience.

In disaster response, the AHP uses Australian Government resources to leverage NGO networks and expertise to deliver effective humanitarian assistance. In the wake of crises to which Australia is responding, the partnership selects the best placed NGOs to assist those in need, in the most timely, cost efficient and effective way. 

In DRR and resilience, the AHP delivers the ten-year, AUD 100 million Disaster READY initiative across the Pacific and Timor-Leste. Using local, Pacific-based partners, Disaster READY supports Pacific communities and governments to better prepare for and respond to disasters. The program places specific emphasis on the inclusion of women, disabled people and faith based organisations in disaster preparedness. You can read more about Disaster READY here.

The AHP supports Australian Government commitments outlined in the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific and the Grand Bargain. These commitments include stepping up Australia’s engagement in the Pacific, increasing resilience and effective DRR at the community level, increasing accountability to affected populations, providing predictable and multi-year humanitarian funding, and supporting localisation and social inclusion.

A woman in an Oxfam vest helps an elderly woman complete a form at an evacuation centre in Dili. They are both wearing masks.

Above: AHP partners support arrivals at an evacuation centre in Dili, Timor-Leste, following widespread floods in April 2021. Photo: CARE in Timor-Leste

A woman wearing a headscarf and modest clothing shows charts to two young girls. The charts depict fruits and vegetables and other health information.

Above: A Save the Children midwife delivers an adolescent reproductive health session at a health post in Cox's Bazar. Photo: Lisa Ritchie, AHP Support Unit

AHP partners and consortia

The AHP supports effective collaboration and coordination between the Australian Government and Australian NGOs. Between them, they identify who is best placed to respond to a specific disaster or humanitarian crisis. NGOs can team up on a joint response, or tap into their extensive and established international networks to deliver effective humanitarian assistance.