Total 2024 Allocations (US$)
$315.3
Countries Assisted with 2024 Allocations
23
March
In March 2024, the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds allocated $48 million to enable essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance. Of this amount, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $7 million to support humanitarian efforts in Yemen to address food insecurity; the Sudan Humanitarian Fund allocated $38 million in response to the food security crisis; and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund allocated $3 million for anticipatory action based on forecasted floods.
CERF worked with seven critically underfunded countries in Africa, the Americas and the Middle East on the allocation strategies guiding the upcoming $100 million allocations from the 2024 Underfunded Emergencies (UFE) window that will boost their key lifesaving operations. As part of these allocations, the Emergency Response Coordinator (ERC) has for the second time committed an additional dedicated funding envelope of $3-4 million, to help strengthen collective Accountability to Affected People (AAP) measures.
April
In April 2024, the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds (CBPF) allocated grants across 18 countries amounting to $187.3 million to enable essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance. This marks the highest number of grants and the largest amount allocated in any month of the year thus far. Of this amount, the CBPFs allocated $94.2 million while CERF allocated $93.1 million, respectively $38.1 million through its Rapid Response Window and $55 million through the Underfunded Emergencies Window.
Angola, Malawi, Mongolia, Zimbabwe and Zambia received CERF allocations totaling $15.1 million to get ahead of the impacts of drought and cold waves linked to the 2023-2024 El Niño cycle. El Niño, characterised by unusual ocean warming, exerts widespread effects across continents, including droughts, cyclones, and floods. These events can lead to humanitarian emergencies, particularly in countries lacking sufficient prevention and resilience measures. Learning from previous El Niño occurrences, CERF has adopted a proactive approach ahead of the 2023-2024 El Niño cycle. By proactively allocating resources, CERF aims to facilitate more efficient, cost-effective, and timely responses to potential crises.
For more information about all allocations, please visit the CBPFs’ Data Hub and CERF’s website.
What’s new in the Pooled Funds?
Two new Regional Humanitarian Pooled Funds have been created - one for Asia and the Pacific and one for Latin America and the Caribbean. These new funds will build on the success of the first Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa covering Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The Regional Humanitarian Fund for Asia and the Pacific will enable swift, scalable and flexible responses to the wide range of sudden-onset crises common to the Asia-Pacific region, increase resources for protracted and underfunded crises, and improve funding for local responders while decreasing dependency on limited, existing funding sources. The Regional Humanitarian Fund will focus on countries with high levels of humanitarian needs, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. There will also be a focus on countries with existing inter-agency Anticipatory Action frameworks. In parallel, OCHA will continue to explore opportunities to open a first country envelope in the Philippines.
The Regional Humanitarian Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean will extend funding for local and national NGOs at the front-line of the humanitarian response. With local and national actors actively engaged in the Fund’s processes and governance, the Regional Humanitarian Fund will be well-placed to address locally identified priorities with locally identified solutions, being catalytic in improving context-appropriate humanitarian action and the quality of assistance. OCHA ROLAC will pursue a phased approach to the establishment and operationalisation of the Regional Humanitarian Fund. Given current humanitarian needs, Colombia and Haiti will be prioritised in the first phase as catalysts to establish the Fund, expanding to other countries based on needs and donor interest. Early funding is crucial to allow the new funds to respond to humanitarian needs in a more agile and scalable way, when needed, where needed.
Humanitarian Funds Annual Reports: detailed achievements of OCHA-managed pooled funds in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria Cross-Border, Venezuela and Yemen are reflected in the recently released annual publications: Country-Based Pooled Funds Annual Reports | OCHA (unocha.org)
The synthesis reports of the CERF and the CBPFs in 2023 can also be found here: Country-Based Pooled Funds 2023 in Review - World | ReliefWeb and CERF Annual Results Report: Enabling the delivery of fast and timely life-saving assistance to nearly 33 million people in 2023 | CERF (un.org)
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
as of 30 April
March Allocations (US$)
$7M
April Allocations (US$)
$93.1M
Total 2024 Allocations (US$)
$161.1M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in March and April
14
Amid depleted coping mechanisms, Yemen is grappling with escalating food insecurity and malnutrition, particularly in areas lacking recent food distribution. Rising food prices exacerbate the situation, with millions facing the threat of severe hunger. In response, in March CERF swiftly allocated $7 million to WFP to restart food distributions, targeting 1,000,000 affected people. The allocation aims to address urgent food security challenges while also targeting malnutrition rates and long-term effects of food insecurity.
The initial round of Underfunded Emergencies for the year, totalling $100 million across seven countries, is underway. Allocation proposals from Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Honduras have been approved. In DRC, a $20 million allocation in the context of violence-affected provinces facing acute needs and continuous displacement will aid UN agencies and partners in delivering life-saving assistance to over 679,000 affected people. The allocation targets vulnerable groups, including 431,000 children and 33,700 people with disabilities, both inside and outside IDP camps. Additionally, it emphasizes resilience-building through innovative approaches to food production to reduce future reliance on humanitarian aid, alongside reinforcing logistical support. This allocation complements a $20 million allocation also launched this month from the DRC Humanitarian Fund, reflecting a coordinated effort to enhance response effectiveness through collaborative planning and funding.
As of 30 April 2024, donors have contributed $338.7 million (total amount pledged and paid), which is 12 per cent less than the contributions end of April 2023. Projected income for 2024 is lower than 2023. It is paramount that additional resources urgently be made available to CERF to allow the Fund to respond to rising needs. Additional income is also needed to strengthen the Under-funded Emergencies (UFE) second round, for which planning will start in May. This is of importance given the low allocated amount in the first UFE round this year due to lack of resources.
With close to $100 million in committed CERF funding for Anticipatory Action (AA) frameworks in 2024, CERF's AA commitment is higher than ever, a contrast to the decrease in overall income. Efforts to increase donor contributions to the CERF Climate Action Account continue.
CERF Allocations
Underfunded
COUNTRY-BASED POOLED FUNDS
as of 30 April
March Allocations (US$)
$41M
April Allocations (US$)
$94.2M
Total 2024 Allocations (US$)
$154.2M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in March and April
9
Sudan is in the grip of a worsening hunger crisis, with nearly 18 million people already experiencing acute hunger ahead of the lean season. To address this, the Sudan Humanitarian Fund in March allocated $38 million, of which $31.5 million is supporting immediate food crisis relief. This response will support NGOs to distribute the items procured through the CERF and support essential complementary interventions through a multi-sector consortium. The grant will also support community-based organisations working in conflict hotspots and hard-to-reach communities, leveraging previous allocations.
Political instability in Niger, exacerbated by conflicts in northern Nigeria and border regions, is currently increasing humanitarian needs in areas already exposed to pre-existing vulnerabilities. Within this context, the Regional Fund for West and Central Africa has launched a $2 million allocation in Niger to provide humanitarian aid. The "Flagship Initiative" that is spearheaded by the Emergency Relief Coordinator is one of the initiatives being piloted in Niger that focuses on community-led responses to prioritise and address local needs effectively. The focus of this allocation, determined by community priorities in line with the flagship initiative, includes income-generating activities such as agricultural and small business support, alongside awareness-raising on protection risks, land rights, and community information regarding assistance opportunities and rights.
Donors have contributed $333.3 million (total pledged and paid) to the CBPFs as of 30 April 2024, which is 11 per cent less in comparison with end April 2023. The Yemen, Sudan and DRC Humanitarian Funds (HF) have received the largest bulk of the funding ($40, $37 and $30 million respectively), closely followed by the South Sudan HF ($28 million), the Afghanistan HF ($26 million), the Ethiopia HF ($22 million) and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) HF ($22 million). The seven HFs mentioned have received 61 per cent of the total CBPF contributions to date. Income predictability remains one of the biggest challenges faced by pooled funds for sound planning and response capacity of partners.
"The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached a disastrous stage, unlike anything we have seen before. In facing this unprecedented challenge, the OPT Humanitarian Fund is more crucial than ever. The Fund’s ability to act promptly in times of crisis underscores its indispensable role in addressing urgent and critical needs within the OPT"
Jamie McGoldrick,
Humanitarian Coordinator, a.i., for OPT
CBPF Allocations
Pooled Funds Story
Access to safe water is a daily necessity – and a fundamental human right
Ethiopia, East Hargaghe and Oromia regions.
“We used to spend hours fetching water,” recalls Misriya Teha, who lives in Lemi village in East Hargaghe. A neighbor, Aliya, had to rely on sending her kids to fetch water. “They wasted precious time and missed school,” she says.
After five consecutive failed rainy seasons since late 2020, communities affected by the prolonged drought in southern and southeastern Ethiopia were relieved to see good 2023 belg rains. This brought temporary solace, replenishing water sources in some areas and rejuvenating pasture. However, continued assistance is critical while recovery continues over the next few years. Water points remain contaminated, and many areas simply lack access to improved water infrastructure.
Emergency provisions for drought-affected people
In Oromia, sixty-year old Zeyineba Omar Obadi got water from a local pond. But it was not safe water. The years of drought have rendered the pond contaminated. “We are getting water from polluted ponds, polluted by animal waste and dirt. We frequently got sick but we had no other option here,” she said.
With funding from the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund, International Rescue Committee provided a temporary fix for situations like Zeyineba’s, where there is no safe water available: emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene assistance in the form of water treatment chemicals. “Now we have what we need to treat the water. We can use it to drink, wash, and cook. We get sick less often.” Zeyineba hopes such chemicals can remain available.
Investing in water infrastructure
Poor water infrastructure continues to limit people’s access in many rural areas. For humanitarians, improving water infrastructure for underserved communities is a key priority.
With support from the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund, Care International constructed seven solar-powered community water supply schemes in the area, reaching about 45,000 people with clean water.Health facilities in Alola, Chella, Chira, Finte-bas, Biko and Rogge were also connected to the piped water through the solar water schemes. Access to safe drinking water at a convenient distance from home has become a reality. “Now, I can fetch water every day without interruption, thanks to the solar-powered system,” Misriya said.
“We don’t have to worry about fuel costs or generators breaking down. Clean water flows right into our village.” Aliya’s children aren’t missing school any more. “They can focus on their studies better now,” she said. Bedriya Abrahim, who lives in Gende Kebira village, also pointed out that, “We were at the mercy of the generators before. Now with the solar-powered systems, it’s much more reliable.”
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