Governance and guidance

The Lebanon Humanitarian Fund (LHF) is a pooled funding mechanism under the overall authority of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), supported by an Advisory Board, OCHA and the Response Sector Leads. The HC determines the Fund’s strategic focus, sets the allocation amounts, approves projects and initializes disbursements. The HC chairs the LHF Advisory Board that is comprised of senior-level representatives of donors, UN agencies, NGOs and observing organizations.

The core function of the LHF Advisory Board is to support the HC on strategic focus, ensuring that the allocations are in line with humanitarian priorities identified in coordinated humanitarian response planning in country, and that the main objectives of the Fund are met.

Sector Leads support the LHF processes at two levels:

  1. At a strategic level, to ensure that there are linkages between the proposed projects, humanitarian response planning and sector strategies.
  2. At an operational level, to provide technical expertise to the process of project prioritization and evaluation, and to promote sector coordination amongst humanitarian agencies.

Under the overall supervision of the OCHA Head of Office, the Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) ensures adequate and efficient management of the Fund, including the coordination of allocation processes and oversight of the entire funding cycle from the opening of an allocation to the closure of projects, while providing technical support and policy advice to the HC. The HFU oversees accountability requirements, including risk management and operational modalities, as well as coordination with other units of OCHA Country Office and sub-offices. Further, the HFU ensures donor contributions are channeled to partners in compliance with the minimum requirements outlined in the LHF Operational Manual and OCHA’s Global Guidelines for Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs).

LHF Operational Manual

The Operational Manual (OM) for the LHF is issued by the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and endorsed by the Advisory Board (AB) to set the general direction and strategic focus of the Fund. The HC and AB review the manual annually to ensure its continuing relevance and effectiveness. This Manual describes the objectives, governance arrangements, allocation modalities, risk management and accountability of the Fund. The Manual details the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.

LHF Partner guidance note on reporting cases of Fraud and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
CBPF Partner Guidance Note on Financial Misconduct - August 2021
CBPF Partner Guidance Note on Sexual Misconduct - August 2021