Cash Relief for Families Affected by the Middle East Conflict
The GiveDirectly team is actively monitoring and scoping three areas where we may deploy emergency cash. We’ll update this page as we have more information.
Help us get cash to families hit hardest by the escalating conflict in Iran and across the Middle East — wherever the need is greatest.
The US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began February 28 have triggered a fast-moving humanitarian and economic crisis.
The conflict has expanded across the Middle East, threatening mass displacement and disrupted supply chains, inflating energy and food prices across the globe. When prices spike, families in poverty (near and far) feel it first and hardest.
Crises like these are why we have an emergency cash fund. Cash will help cover:
- 🍛 Essentials like food, water, & medicine
- 🏨 Transport and shelter for displaced families
- 📱 Mobile airtime and healthcare costs
- 🏚️ Repairing homes, farms, & businesses
Where we’re monitoring for a potential emergency cash response
We’re currently actively monitoring for three potential emergency cash responses following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East:
🇱🇧 Lebanon: displacement from active fighting
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have already triggered displacement in a poor area. We’re tracking needs on the ground and assessing whether emergency cash can reach affected families quickly.
🌍 Turkey and neighboring countries: potential mass refugee flows
If the Iran conflict escalates into sustained ground fighting or civil unrest, we could see refugee movements comparable to those caused by the Syria and Ukraine wars. We’ve worked in Turkey before and are scoping delivery infrastructure in all neighboring countries now so we’re not starting from scratch if it happens.
🌽 Malawi and our other African countries of operation: food and fuel price shocks
This crisis isn’t only about people fleeing bombs. Fuel and fertilizer prices are spiking. In a landlocked country like Malawi, where families spend most of their income on food and everything moves by truck, a shock like this arrives fast and hits hard. We’re assessing whether targeted cash can help buffer the worst of it for the families we already work with. Learn more →
We’re building now so we can move fast when the need is clearer, but haven’t launched yet as we gather more information.
Your donations reach those in greatest need fast
Donations through this page go to our flexible emergency cash fund, which supports families affected by disasters across the world.
Cash aid can be delivered quickly and remotely, bypassing fragile supply chains and letting families meet their own needs rather than waiting for others to guess for them.
People impacted by crises consistently say they prefer cash relief over donated goods and the evidence backs them up.
⏱️ Why donate before we’ve launched a cash program?
Because the gap between “crisis declared” and “cash delivered” is when the need is the greatest. Your donation to our emergency cash fund means we have resources ready to move the moment we identify a viable, verified path to families in need without waiting for slow fundraising cycles to catch up to fast-moving events.
We’ve done this before. When Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica, when LA fires broke out, when an earthquake devastated southern Turkey, donors who gave to our emergency fund meant we could act in days, not weeks.
🎯 How we’ll decide where to launch
We use a rigorous framework to assess whether and where to launch:
- 📊 Poverty level: are impacted families already very poor and unlikely to receive sufficient government aid?
- 🏚️ Displacement & damage: are people moving in major numbers and are homes damaged or destroyed?
- 💸 Cash feasibility: can we deliver via mobile money? Can we enroll and pay families remotely and safely?
- 📈 Secondary shock indicators: are food and fuel prices rising fast enough in our existing countries of operation to justify targeted top-up payments?
We won’t deploy just because a crisis is in the news. We’ll deploy when we have evidence that cash can reach people who need it.
Updates
LIVEThe GiveDirectly team is actively monitoring and scoping three areas where we may deploy emergency cash. We’ll update this page as we have more information.
Heavy displacement is being reported across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut amid intense airstrikes. Around 30,000 people are being hosted and registered at government-designated collective shelters. Many more are sleeping in their cars or on the side of roads, or are stuck in traffic on roads leaving the south.
Around 100,000 people have left Tehran in the first two days following the attacks, according to local estimates.
Press
Frequently Asked Questions
How will my donation be used?
Donations through this page will go to our emergency cash fund. We will draw from this fund if we are able to launch a response to the Middle East Crisis. The fund will also be used to reach others impacted by disasters across the world.
Who would be eligible to receive money?
We will use damage and poverty data to identify the highest-need communities, and then enroll and pay impacted families. The exact process is still being determined and we’ll update here when confirmed.
When would people start receiving cash transfers?
We’re still determining the size of the cash payment each family will receive to help them recover and rebuild their lives. The transfer amount will be designed to cover the cost of common post-disaster recovery items. We will update this page with more details when confirmed.
What is GiveDirectly?
We’re a nonprofit that lets you send money directly to the world’s poorest, no strings attached. In the last decade, we’ve delivered cash to over 2 million people across 15 countries, and we research the impacts it can have for families in need.
What if I’d like to make a major gift?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at info@givedirectly.org.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, donations are tax-deductible in the United States. We accept all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, checks, wires, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and more.
If you’re giving outside the U.S., you can still give to this campaign, but your gift may not be tax-deductible. Reach out to us at info@givedirectly.org with any questions or for more information on ways to give.