The U.S. State Department announced more than $240 million in humanitarian and disaster response assistance to Catholic Relief Services on June 5, the first in a planned series of awards to vetted organizations focused on rapid crisis response worldwide.
State Department Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response Senior Bureau Official Ryan Shrum made the announcement in Rome alongside U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, and Permanent Representative of the United States to the U.N. Agencies in Rome Lynda Blanchard, CRS Vice President for Humanitarian Response Jennifer Poidatz, and Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Alistair Dutton.
Today, @StateDept announced more than $240 million in humanitarian assistance to @CatholicRelief (CRS). This funding will support CRS’ life-saving assistance around the world, leveraging faith in action to address humanitarian needs via their extensive network of local partners. pic.twitter.com/wqnsHxrI3q
— USForeignAssist (@USForeignAssist) June 5, 2026
"This grant is the first in a series of global State Department awards to trusted and vetted partners capable of rapidly responding to crises in America's interest," Burch said.
The funding will support multi-sectoral assistance — covering food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and shelter, among others — in countries with high levels of humanitarian need, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nigeria, and Sudan.
CRS already has staff in the DRC supporting the response to an Ebola outbreak. The funding will supplement those efforts and address other humanitarian needs throughout the country, the State Department said.
The awards are designed to enable implementing organizations to respond within 24 hours to crises. The State Department said the approach complements a historic memorandum of understanding and $3.8 billion in assistance provided through the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, while reducing bureaucratic grant management burdens on staff.
CRS works through a network of more than 160 Caritas chapters worldwide. The State Department cited the organization's response following Hurricane Melissa — when its local partnerships enabled assistance to reach Cubans without regime interference — as an example of its operational reach in challenging political environments.
The grant also includes support for a CRS global rapid response fund, allowing the organization to immediately activate local partnerships to respond to sudden-onset disasters or surges in need during ongoing emergencies, bypassing lengthy procurement processes.
Burch, speaking at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See on June 5, said the embassy hosted a roundtable on humanitarian relief that included the Community of St. Egidio, Doctors with Africa CUAMM, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Caritas Internationalis, and Catholic Relief Services.
The State Department said it is working with CRS, OCHA, and other implementers to ensure assistance is delivered efficiently while reducing administrative overhead and duplicative efforts.