Iraq: Expanded Humanitarian Response Fund Bulletin No. 25 - January 2010

The Expanded Humanitarian Response Fund (ERF) aims to help fill critical humanitarian gaps within different sectors through readily available flexible funding for emergency response to:

1. Save lives and protect threatened livelihoods

2. Meet critical short-term humanitarian needs

3. Respond to sudden-onset complex humanitarian emergencies.

The maximum grant possible through the fund is US$400,000. ERF resources address needs arising from both natural disasters as well as conflict-related or other man-made crises.

ERF Project Updates for January 2010:

During January 2010, nine ERF projects involving 10 activities were underway. In addition to these projects, the Technical Review Committee (TRC) approved four new projects with a total value of US$1,179,856, These four projects will be submitted shortly to the Humanitarian Coordinator for final approval. The four newly approved projects provide support to vulnerable Iraqi families in the water and sanitation, education and agriculture sectors.

As of the end of January 2010, the TRC has recommended 94 project proposals for approval since the beginning of the programme in 2007. Of these, 80 have been completed. Currently the ERF team is reviewing 26 projects for eligibility. If all these projects were approved in their current form, funding would total US$5,122,441.

During January 2010, the most frequently funded sector continued to be water and sanitation at 28 percent, followed closely by shelter at 24 percent. Agriculture and protection projects represent only 6 percent of the total as of end January.