Independent by design
Prepare Now is an independently funded AidWorkers.com initiative. We do not receive government funding, accept government editorial control or sell a government position as neutral fact. AidWorkers brings decades of humanitarian crisis, conflict, famine and disaster experience to the question households actually face: what can I do if outside help is late, limited or absent?
Independence does not mean rejecting official material. Governments operate alert systems, emergency services, utilities, laboratories, geological agencies and health services. Their original documents can be essential. It means the institution is a source, not the editor of Prepare Now, and its claims are assessed with the same discipline as any other source.
Know what kind of message you are reading
Lawful order or immediate warning
Examples include a verified evacuation order, road closure, tsunami warning, gas exclusion zone or urgent clinical instruction. Confirm the issuer and area when time permits, then act. Do not delay for more reading.
Public service information
Examples include shelter locations, water notices, treatment access and transport changes. Check the date, eligibility, opening status and local area. Have a fallback because capacity and access can change.
General official guidance
Treat preparedness quantities, behaviour advice and policy explanations as evidence for a decision, not a universal ceiling or a promise of help. Compare jurisdictions, primary evidence and your household needs.
Political claim or press statement
Identify who benefits from the framing. Look for the underlying regulation, data, technical assessment, audit or inquiry. A confident announcement is not evidence that delivery matches the promise.
How Prepare Now evaluates a source
- Identify the issuer. Government department, public service, intergovernmental body, humanitarian organisation, researcher, manufacturer or commercial publisher all have different remits and incentives.
- Read the original. We prefer the regulation, alert, dataset, report, study or technical manual over a press release, headline or social post.
- Check scope and time. Country, region, hazard stage, affected group, publication date, update date and expiry can change the answer.
- Separate evidence from policy. A technical finding, a political choice and a legal requirement are not interchangeable.
- Cross-check consequences. We compare credible sources, humanitarian experience, practical constraints and observable conditions.
- Keep uncertainty visible. Where evidence is incomplete or institutions disagree, we say so and favour proportionate, reversible safety actions.
What our source labels mean
Every cited source on a preparedness guide carries an institution label and a context warning. Government funded, government controlled and intergovernmental sources are never presented as automatically impartial. Independent sources are not automatically correct either.
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
For information and current service context. Check the date, eligibility and jurisdiction, and do not change prescribed treatment without qualified advice.
For information and context. This combines technical work with member-state processes. Treat it as evidence and institutional guidance, not a guarantee that local services will act or reach you.
For information and context. Informed by humanitarian practice or civil society. Check the hazard, location, people affected, evidence and publication date before applying it.
For information and context. Research can have limits in sample, setting, timing and interpretation. Check the original study and whether it applies to your circumstances.
For information and context. Use the current edition and check the conformance level, scope and implementation requirements rather than treating the title as proof of compliance.
Why this scrutiny matters
Institutional information can be useful while institutional performance is still poor. These are documented examples, not claims that every public servant acted badly or that every official source is false.
COVID-19: delayed decisions, confused rules and leadership failures
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry described repeated cases of decisions being taken too late and found that confusion between advice and legal restrictions undermined public trust and compliance. The Sue Gray investigation separately found failures of leadership and judgement around gatherings on government premises while restrictions applied to the public. The lesson is practical: identify what is law, what is advice and what evidence supports it, while preparing early enough that a delayed announcement does not control every household option.
Rwanda: institutions can know, withdraw and still fail to protect
The United Nations inquiry into the 1994 genocide assigned responsibility across the Secretary-General, Secretariat, Security Council, UN mission and wider membership. It recorded inadequate mandate, resources, analysis and political will, including a reduction in mission strength after the genocide began. The lesson is not to reject every institution. It is to avoid treating institutional presence as a guarantee of protection.
Hurricane Sandy: large programmes still had delivery limits
US Government Accountability Office reviews found that federal programmes supported recovery and resilience, but state and local officials faced implementation, funding and coordination challenges. The lesson is to use available assistance while keeping records, fallback accommodation, cash, transport and mutual-aid plans that do not depend on one programme working quickly.
- UK Covid-19 Inquiry: Module 2 report in brief Independent public inquiry findings on central decision-making and governanceGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
- Sue Gray report: gatherings during Covid restrictions Official investigation into conduct on government premisesGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
- United Nations inquiry into actions during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda UN account of failures in mandate, resources, judgement and political willIntergovernmental institution
For information and context. This combines technical work with member-state processes. Treat it as evidence and institutional guidance, not a guarantee that local services will act or reach you.
- US Government Accountability Office: Hurricane Sandy resilience Official audit of federal programmes and recovery implementation challengesGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
A 60-second due-diligence check
- What exactly is being claimed, required or offered?
- Who issued it, who funds them and who is accountable if it fails?
- Is it current, local and intended for this stage of the incident?
- Is the message law, a live warning, clinical advice, service information or a recommendation?
- Can you find the primary document, evidence or data behind the summary?
- Do a second responsible source and observable conditions support it?
- What safe fallback protects you if help is delayed or the advice changes?
Core source library
The library intentionally crosses institutions and countries. A source appears because it contributes relevant evidence, not because Prepare Now endorses every policy, statement or action of the organisation that published it.
- UK Government: Prepare UK household preparedness and local risk guidanceGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
- Ready.gov US federal emergency planning, kits and hazard guidanceGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
- Government of Canada: Make an emergency plan Inclusive household planningGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
- New Zealand: Get Ready Practical plans, supplies and accessible formatsGovernment or public authority
For information and context. Useful for current rules, warnings, services and the institution's stated position. It is not a guarantee of timely help, completeness, neutrality or suitability for your household.
- Australian Red Cross: RediPlan Psychosocially informed household planningIndependent humanitarian or civil-society source
For information and context. Informed by humanitarian practice or civil society. Check the hazard, location, people affected, evidence and publication date before applying it.
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Community resilience and disaster risk reductionIndependent humanitarian or civil-society source
For information and context. Informed by humanitarian practice or civil society. Check the hazard, location, people affected, evidence and publication date before applying it.
- World Health Organization: WASH Water, sanitation and health evidenceIntergovernmental institution
For information and context. This combines technical work with member-state processes. Treat it as evidence and institutional guidance, not a guarantee that local services will act or reach you.
- US CDC: Emergency water Safe water during emergencies and treatment limitationsPublic-health or clinical service
For information and current service context. Check the date, eligibility and jurisdiction, and do not change prescribed treatment without qualified advice.
- UNICEF and WHO Joint Monitoring Programme Global drinking water, sanitation and hygiene dataIntergovernmental institution
For information and context. This combines technical work with member-state processes. Treat it as evidence and institutional guidance, not a guarantee that local services will act or reach you.
- World Meteorological Organization: Water resources Global hydrological conditions and extremesIntergovernmental institution
For information and context. This combines technical work with member-state processes. Treat it as evidence and institutional guidance, not a guarantee that local services will act or reach you.
- IPCC: Climate change and water Assessed evidence on climate impacts and water securityIntergovernmental institution
For information and context. This combines technical work with member-state processes. Treat it as evidence and institutional guidance, not a guarantee that local services will act or reach you.
- W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 Accessibility requirementsIndependent standard
For information and context. Use the current edition and check the conformance level, scope and implementation requirements rather than treating the title as proof of compliance.
Review, corrections and conflicts
- High-stakes pages show their sources, review date and jurisdiction limits.
- Material evidence changes trigger a content review and a new deployment version.
- Commercial relationships do not determine safety recommendations.
- Government funding or editorial direction is not accepted for Prepare Now content.
- Errors can be reported to hello@preparenow.org.
Research dataset
The working research library contains government, public-health, humanitarian, standards and scientific sources, a 100-topic content backlog and a historical inventory of more than 700 recoverable URL candidates from PrepareNow.org and Prepare-Now.com. Working files support editorial planning. Each public page cites the evidence it directly uses.
Browse the preparedness guides or learn why AidWorkers built Prepare Now.