Iraq: Expanded Humanitarian Response Fund Bulletin No. 26 - February 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 February 2010

As of the end of February 2010, the Humanitarian Coordinator has approved 94 project proposals since the beginning of the programme in 2007. Of these, 83 have been completed. Currently the ERF team is reviewing 36 new projects for eligibility. If all these projects were approved in their current form, funding would total around US$6,000,000.

During February 2010, 12 ERF projects (with a total of 14 activities) were underway. In addition to these 12 ongoing projects, the Humanitarian Coordinator approved four new projects which will provide support to vulnerable Iraqi families in the water and sanitation, education, and agriculture sectors. Furthermore, the Technical Review Committee (TRC) recommended another project for approval by the Humanitarian Coordinator with a total value of US$289,420.97 within the education sector for the rehabilitation of 12 schools in Baghdad.