In June and July 2024, the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds allocated grants in 15 countries amounting to $246 million to enable essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance. Of this amount, the CBPFs allocated $214.5 million while CERF allocated 31.5 million, all through its Rapid Response Window. For more information about allocations, please visit the CBPFs’ Data Hub and CERF’s website.
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
as of 31 July
Allocation in focus: Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to climate-related shocks and stresses, including monsoon flooding events. CERF has therefore facilitated an Anticipatory Action framework for flooding in Bangladesh to enable partners to get ahead of predictable hazards. On 4 July 2024, forecasts of severe floods triggered this framework and CERF swiftly disbursed $6.2 million just 16 minutes after receiving early warnings, targeting the Jamuna River Basin as part of a coordinated effort. This prompt activation facilitated the delivery of life-saving assistance, reaching over 500,000 people before the monsoon floods. Of the total allocation, $4.3 million (69 per cent) went towards multi-purpose cash assistance, putting the decision-making power with its recipients.
As of 31 July 2024, total income (paid and pledged) to CERF is slightly lower than at the same time in 2023 : $464.9 million in contrast with $481.4 million in 2023. It remains crucial that additional resources be made available to CERF to allow the Fund to respond to rising needs. The second round of the UFE is under preparation and will be announced by the ERC in the coming period.
Fundraising for the CERF Climate Account continues. For more information, see the Flyer on the CERF Climate Account.
CERF Allocations
COUNTRY-BASED POOLED FUNDS
as of 31 July
Allocation in focus: In South Sudan, rising malnutrition and food insecurity are being driven by economic downturn, intercommunal conflicts, and climatic shocks. The situation is further exacerbated by the influx of returnees and refugees fleeing conflicts in Sudan. In response, the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund launched a $20 million allocation in June, targeting nearly 300,000 people in areas where needs are expected to increase. This allocation is supporting an integrated multisectoral approach, and has a strong focus on food security and livelihoods, nutrition, health, WASH, and protection. The allocation also supports the Flagship Initiative, led by the Emergency Relief Coordinator and piloted in South Sudan, which emphasizes community-led responses to prioritize local needs. To this end, $1.5 million of the allocation is dedicated to supporting the creation of interactive community groups, aiming to identify contextually relevant income-generating activities and to provide micro-grants to community-based organizations that are best placed to engage with local communities.
By the end of July, total expected income for CBPFs reached $685.6 million, compared to last year’s $889.4 million. The largest Humanitarian Funds are the Sudan HF ($99 million), the Ukraine HF ($79 million), followed by the Humanitarian Funds of Afghanistan ($48.5 million), Ethiopia ($42.1 million) and Yemen ($39.2 million). Income predictability remains one of the biggest challenges faced by pooled funds for sound planning and response capacity.
CBPF Allocations
Pooled Funds Story
Providing a lifeline for women affected by crisis
Baghdis, Afghanistan.
Gul Jan, 55 years old, is supporting her grandchildren. “I came here today to receive some cash,” she explains. “My grandchildren will be so happy, as I will buy them good food and clothes.”
Afghanistan is experiencing the ongoing impact of decades of conflict, years of drought conditions, and chronic and continued poverty. The situation has worsened with the severe economic decline since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Water scarcity, poor food security, and health, nutrition, shelter, and education-related needs all remain high. In 2024, an estimated 23.3 million people will require humanitarian assistance to survive.
The Afghanistan Humanitarian Funding supports the cash project in Baghdis Province that is helping Gul Jan and her family. Women are managing the cash distributions to female-headed households, thereby creating a safe and accessible space for recipients.
Restrictions on women’s work and freedom continued to tighten during 2023, with implications for education, healthcare, and other sectors. Throughout Afghanistan, the role of female aid workers in humanitarian response remains critical. For many women like Gul Jan, being able to interact with a woman service provider is critical to feeling safe.
Launched in 2014, the OCHA-managed Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) has become a cornerstone of humanitarian response in the country, exceeding $1 billion in disbursements in the last ten years. In the past decade, the AHF has supported Afghan non-governmental organizations and women-led organizations to empower and enable the country’s worst-affected communities.
Adapted from an original story from OCHA – read more about the work of the AHF. For more information: visit the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund website, and for real-time contribution and allocation data go to the Pooled Funds Data Hub.