New York, 2 February 2026 — The global humanitarian system is in one of the most disruptive moments in its modern history. In January, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—followed by other donor governments—canceled roughly 83% of its grants, triggering a structural contraction of humanitarian funding. These cuts are not temporary. They are forcing the closure of health facilities, nutrition programs, and classrooms, putting millions of people at risk of losing access to lifesaving services.
“The scale of today’s funding shock creates a rare but urgent opportunity: to rebuild a humanitarian system that is more adaptive, more resilient, and more honest about what works—and what does not,” said Jeannie Annan, Chief Research and Innovation Officer for the International Rescue Committee.
In response, the International Rescue Committee’s Airbel Impact Lab today released its Innovation Report, outlining five ideas that point to how humanitarian aid must evolve to survive—and deliver impact—under radically tighter constraints.
The report argues that the sector can no longer afford business as usual. With fewer dollars available, humanitarian actors must be far more selective, evidence-driven, and innovative about how aid is delivered. The focus must shift to delivering better outcomes per dollar, reaching people the system routinely misses, and unlocking new forms of capital and capability. As funding contracts, the report also argues that humanitarian impact will increasingly depend on adopting the best solutions available—regardless of whether they originate in academia, government, or the private sector—and scaling those that are proven to work.
“As the world’s largest humanitarian donor, the EU and its member states have a real opportunity to shape a new era for aid. By adopting and scaling these innovative approaches, they could ensure that every euro stretches as far as possible - both saving lives and supporting communities to thrive over the longer-term,” said Imogen Sudbery, Executive Director of IRC Belgium.
Drawing on more than a decade of research—during which Airbel has led about 20% of all impact evaluations and 25% of cost analyses in the humanitarian sector—the report highlights approaches already being tested and scaled across the IRC’s operations in 40 countries, reaching more than 35 million people.
The report highlights five ideas that are guiding what IRC is innovating - and why.
1. Cost-effectiveness is having a moment, but needs a movement
As aid budgets collapse, not all humanitarian programs deliver equal value. Years of Airbel-led research show that rigorously tested interventions can dramatically outperform average programming at comparable—or lower—cost.
For example, IRC’s Learning through Play initiative for children in refugee settings in Ethiopia had significant effects compared to the average humanitarian education intervention – increasing social-emotional learning fourfold and numeracy skills twofold over the course of a school year. By comparing these effects and its $40 per child cost to other education interventions, we believe this approach could allow us to reach up to six times as many children as some other interventions, with more impactful programming per dollar spent.
Beyond education, the IRC’s simplified approach to treating malnutrition —which streamlines treatment for acute malnutrition—is already being adopted by governments. It is over 20% cheaper overall than the standard protocol in operational and clinical contexts, while remaining equally effective in terms of recovery outcomes for malnourished children.
In a post-USAID-cuts world, cost-effectiveness can no longer be optional or anecdotal. Donors, governments, and implementers must systematically use evidence to prioritize programs that deliver the greatest impact for the greatest number of people.
2. AI helps us find those that are left behind
Roughly 75% of countries with humanitarian appeals have not conducted a census in over a decade, even as conflict, displacement, and climate change reshape populations. While no replacement for frontline workers, AI and data integration can be a force multiplier - and help close this gap.
Building on the IRC’s success with REACH- an IRC-led consortium funded by GAVI that has delivered 25 million vaccine doses to zero-dose children in conflict settings in Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia- Airbel is developing ReachMap, a tool that combines high-resolution satellite imagery with AI-powered route planning. By aligning vaccine delivery with real population distribution rather than outdated estimates, ReachMap could identify 10–20% more zero-dose and under-immunized children while reducing delivery costs by 15–25% per child.
In an era of shrinking budgets, the report argues, great precision is essential to target aid effectively, and is highly possible with AI and new sources of data.
3. With flexible capital, we can move from reactive to proactive
Humanitarian aid has long been designed to respond after disasters strike. But when funding is scarce, reacting late is both more expensive and less effective.
Airbel’s Follow the Forecast approach pairs predictive data—such as long-range weather forecasts—with real-time vulnerability analysis to trigger assistance before crises peak. By acting earlier, families can protect livelihoods, reduce losses, and avoid even deeper humanitarian need.
The report underscores that this shift is impossible without flexible funding, which allows agencies to respond to emerging risks. With aid funding plummeting, deciding where and when to deploy remaining resources becomes a strategic imperative.
4. Scale will be marked by the shortest distance
Distance remains one of the most overlooked drivers of failure in humanitarian delivery. Research cited in the report shows that children living farther from treatment centers arrive sicker and are nearly 50% more likely to drop out of care, even when effective treatment exists.
To address this, Airbel is testing new partnerships with private-sector distributors to shorten supply chains and move essential services closer to clients—particularly in remote or conflict-affected areas where public systems struggle to operate at scale. Through this model, IRC is testing whether essential health products can be delivered sustainably to areas underserved by public systems- increasing impact without increasing cost.
5. The next humanitarian breakthrough might come from the private sector
While public aid budgets are shrinking, impact investing is expanding rapidly, now exceeding $1.5 trillion in global assets.
Through Airbel Ventures, the IRC is investing capital in companies developing scalable products for crisis settings—from solar-powered connectivity for health clinics to logistics and data solutions. Unlike traditional grants, this model recycles returns to fund future innovation, creating multiple cycles of impact per dollar invested.
Its first investment is in Signalytic, a company providing low-cost solar devices that deliver reliable connectivity 97% of the time in health facilities, at roughly $3,000 per clinic. In regions where 60% of health facilities struggle with unreliable power, this reliability enables real-time supply management, electronic medical records, and more resilient primary healthcare delivery.
Bridging humanitarian expertise with private-sector innovation will be essential to sustaining aid delivery in a post-cuts landscape.
In this new funding era, the IRC has deepened our commitment to what works, including prioritizing flagship and transformative interventions- such as malnutrition treatment and cash assistance- for the most vulnerable clients and optimizing our use of resources.
About Airbel Impact Lab
Airbel Impact Lab is the research and innovation arm of the International Rescue Committee. It designs, tests, and scales evidence-based solutions that improve outcomes for people affected by crisis—ensuring that scarce resources deliver the greatest possible impact.