When disaster strikes – be it an earthquake, flood, war, or health crisis – the quickness and reliability of aid can be the difference between life and death. This is where the emergency relief NGOs come in. They specialize in emergency situations and provide food, shelter, medical help, and hope to those in need around the world.
There are thousands of nonprofits in the world, and how do we know which ones are really making a difference? In this guide, we highlight the top humanitarian organizations of 2025, focusing on the most trusted organizations for emergency relief and disaster relief. When looking at transparency, on-the-ground presence, and past project success, these not-for-profit agencies rise above the rest!
Join the global movement — Start your emergency relief fundraiser on WhyDonate and make an immediate impact where it’s needed most.
Table of Contents
What Makes a Great Emergency Relief NGO?
Not all NGOs are equal. Donors today want peace of mind that their dollar is making a difference. Here are the main qualities that distinguish the best disaster-response nonprofits on the planet:
Transparency & Accountability
Measurable and trusted organizations publish detailed financial reports and present evidence of the use of donors. These organizations are rated on transparency and accountability by watchdog organizations such as Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and GiveWell.
Speed of Response
Emergencies demand immediate action. The best NGOs have logistics infrastructure and supply chains to mobilize within days, not weeks.
On-Ground Capacity
NGOs with trained local staff and volunteers can mobilize and implement a more qualified response than organizations that are strictly reliant on international staff.
Proof of Impact
Donor confidence and integrity are derived from demonstrable evidence like meal counts, shelter statistics, or other measurable outcomes that demonstrate accountability for changing lives.
Top 12 Emergency Relief NGOs to Support in 2025
Each NGO listed below has been evaluated in terms of its global reach, governance, and impact on the ground. The following NGO emergency relief organizations are often seen among the best in the world.
1. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is a world leader in medical assistance where it matters most, during emergencies, conflicts, epidemics, and natural disasters. MSF operates in more than 70 countries around the world, and they offer the rapid deployment of doctors and healthcare workers to provide health intervention, surgical assistance, vaccination, and maternal health. MSF was working hard in 2025 in Gaza, Yemen, and Sudan. What makes MSF unique is its no-nonsense, impartial, and independent care of the vulnerable, including working where others do not go. Their transparency and reporting from the field generate tacit trust from funders and governments.
2. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
The IFRC is a global network of 192 national societies, motivated by humanitarian response. The IFRC is known to coordinate and mobilize many volunteers in response, and they respond to disaster relief, health emergencies, and displacement crises. Their international and community structure allows for large provisions of food and shelter, health services, and disaster preparedness training. Their widespread presence enables them to activate aid at the local level faster than most organizations, making them crucial during events like earthquakes and floods.
3. International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Established at the request of Albert Einstein in 1933, the IRC is dedicated to helping people whose lives have been ripped apart by conflict and disaster. They work in more than 40 countries and in 28 U.S. cities, providing clean water, health care, education, and economic empowerment. In 2025, IRC’s work in Afghanistan and Eastern Africa was particularly impactful due to providing displaced communities with not only emergency relief but also long-term recovery programs. Their focus on evidence-based effect, efficiency, and innovation makes them unique in the humanitarian sector.
4. CARE International
CARE International addresses the underlying factors contributing to poverty and provides lifesaving assistance in times of emergencies. With a prioritized focus on women and girls, CARE provides food, clean water, economic opportunities, and reproductive health care. CARE responded to over 100 emergencies in 2024, including cyclones in Southeast Asia and droughts in the Horn of Africa. The gender lens ensures vulnerable populations can access equitable assistance during emergencies.
5. Save the Children
Save the Children has fought for children’s rights in emergencies for over a hundred years. They work in over 100 countries and provide access to healthcare, education, protective services, and nutrition for children affected by conflict, displacement, and natural disasters. Their work ensured that thousands of children had continued education and trauma care in Gaza and the Rohingya refugee camps in 2025. Save the Children’s robust monitoring and emphasis on long-term well-being make them an important participant in any disaster relief environment.
6. Islamic Relief Worldwide
Islamic Relief works in over 40 countries and provides emergency relief and long-term development interventions based on Islamic humanitarianism. They deliver programmes that include food distribution, medical services, and access to clean water in response to floods, earthquakes, and war. Their emergency relief efforts in Syria and Pakistan were characterized in 2024 by both scale and speed. Islamic Relief is well-trusted in Muslim-majority countries, where they often reach communities overlooked by other NGO’s.
7. Direct Relief
Direct Relief is a medical assistance organization that operates in emergencies in direct partnership with local health providers. They deliver medicines and medical supplies to areas affected by conflict, monsoon season disease outbreaks, and earthquakes. What differentiates Direct Relief is its logistics—they were one of the very few organizations that shipped oxygen and medical supplies into India during the COVID crisis. By 2025, Direct Relief opened more mobile health clinics and started drone delivery to better serve remote communities.
8. World Vision International
World Vision is a faith-based NGO that aims to help children, families, and communities thrive. Their emergency support includes shelter, food, water, and psychosocial help. They operate in almost 100 countries and were key contributors to aid operations for the Haiti hurricane and Ethiopia’s internal conflicts in 2024. What makes World Vision stand out is that they actively engage with local partners and seek to return ownership of recovery and resilience planning to communities.
9. Malteser International
Malteser International is the humanitarian arm of the Order of Malta with a primary focus on healthcare, disaster response, and development. They deploy medical teams, hygiene training, and emergency nutrition to disease and disaster-affected areas. In 2025, they initiated a number of significant projects, including mobile health units in Ukraine and refugee support in Jordan. Although smaller than many other NGOs, Malteser International is strong in their health care focus and faith-based approach to humanitarianism. As such, they are nimble and highly respected in highly vulnerable communities.
10. Medair
Medair is a humanitarian NGO based in Switzerland that delivers life-saving relief in remote and devastated settings. Their work has human health service (one of four core sectors) as well as services to provide clean water and sanitation, and provide shelter. Medair made news in 2025 with the Nepal landslide response when Mount Gurja posed the risk of landslides, and deployed field teams with portable clinics within 48 hrs of the landslide. Medair’s unique strength is in its ability to reach “last-mile populations,” or individuals cut off from the traditional act of humanitarian and emergency assistance, while complying with their high standard of accountability and medical ethics.
11. WFP (World Food Programme)
With a mandate to focus primarily on hunger and food insecurity, the World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. WFP is active in over 120 countries and provides life-saving food assistance during all types of disaster relief operations, including during earthquakes, floods, and conflict scenarios. In 2025, WFP ramped up cash-based transfers, recognizing that displaced families deserve not just food but dignity and nutrition during a crisis. Few organizations respond at the same scale as WFP does, and no organization matches its logistics expertise, making it a critical player in any significant emergency relief response.
12. UNICEF
UNICEF has been protecting children in crises for decades by providing access to education, clean water, health care, and shelter. In 2025, their emergency relief program reached millions of children displaced by natural disasters and war in places like Gaza, Sudan, and Myanmar. While UNICEF contributes to short-term interventions, it has a strong focus on long-term resilience, with an emphasis on ensuring children can return to their thriving selves once a crisis has abated. Their deep relationships with governments and local communities contribute to their reputation as one of the most trusted names in NGO emergency relief around the world.
Inspired by these organizations? Create your own emergency relief fundraiser on WhyDonate and support them directly.
How to Support These Organizations
There are many ways to support humanitarian organizations:
- Donate directly: Make one-time and/or recurring donations.
- Fundraise: Organize an emergency fundraiser on platforms like WhyDonate platform and get friends and networks involved.
- Corporate Matching: There are tons of companies that will match their employees’ donations.
- Volunteer: Some NGOs have options for on-the-ground and/or remote volunteer opportunities.
Want to do more than donate? Launch your own crowdfunding campaign for disaster relief and involve your community in giving hope.
Final Thoughts
During environmental and humanitarian crises, emergency relief non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide communities with the vital assistance they need to survive and rebuild; organizations such as WFP, Red Cross, MSF, and UNICEF continue to show why they are some of the best humanitarian organizations in the world.
Regardless of whether you decide to donate, volunteer, or run a fundraiser, any contribution you make helps. Together, we can help to enable these NGO emergency relief organizations to save lives, restore dignity, and help people regain hope and purpose in their lives.
FAQs About Emergency Relief NGOs
1. What do emergency relief NGOs do?
NGOs providing emergency relief provide the immediate assistance and aid needed during a crisis — food, shelter, water, and medical aid during unprecedented events such as wars, disasters, and deadly epidemics. Emergency relief NGOs work fast and don’t waste time on bureaucratic nonsense, saving people’s lives during humanitarian disasters.
2. What is the difference between disaster relief and emergency relief?
Disaster relief NGOs provide relief and aid during a natural disaster such as floods, earthquakes, etc. Emergency relief NGOs provide resources and solutions during a humanitarian crisis that could also involve war, health crisis, famine, and displacement. Many NGOs do both.
3. Can I get involved with emergency relief by using crowdfunding?
Yes! Crowdfunding for relief has grown to provide NGOs with immediate funding. Sites like WhyDonate allow individuals and communities to raise funds in a rapid manner and send them directly to the same established NGOs that make a measurable impact.
4. Which NGOs are the best to give emergency relief?
The following are usually top of everyone’s list: MSF, Red Cross, Save the Children, CARE, UNICEF, and the WFP. These are the big ones, but these NGO emergency relief organizations are generally more transparent, responsive, and can provide direct results.
Be the reason someone survives a crisis. Start your emergency fundraiser now and join WhyDonate’s global network of changemakers.
