CHF Afghanistan - Factsheet (July 2016)

Main Objectives

The Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) - Afghanistan is a country-based pooled fund (CBPF) financing mechanism for humanitarian organisations under the oversight of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). It is used to provide anticipated and timely funding towards prioritized needs and critical gaps in the humanitarian response. The objectives of the CHF are to support projects addressing the most pressing needs in accordance with humanitarian principles, to improve the relevance of humanitarian response and to strengthen coordination and leadership through the HC and the Cluster System. The CHF is built on a robust Accountability Framework, ensuring transparency and inclusiveness in humanitarian financing.

Fund Management Structure

The HC is responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the CHF, with guidance in matters of policy and strategy setting from an Advisory Board, comprised of members of the humanitarian community representing nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), UN agencies and donors. The OCHA Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) provides technical support to the HC on the CBPF processes and acts as the managing agent for CHF-funded projects. Cluster leads and members at the national and regional level, along with OCHA’s Regional Offices, feed into the identification process of priority needs and target sectors, geographical areas, and activities for the allocation strategy that is developed by OCHA’s Strategy and Coordination Unit (SCU).

Eligible Organisations

Grants are accessible to international and national NGOs who have successfully passed the CHF eligibility process, as well as to UN agencies and International Organization for Migration (IOM). The eligibility process for NGOs is comprised of two inter-linked steps, a Due Diligence desk review followed by a comprehensive Capacity Assessment; each with its own review and feedback system. Following the completion of the Capacity Assessment, NGOs are provided with detailed recommendations on how to strengthen their organization.