Country-Based Pooled Funds 2022 in Review

Executive summary

Executive Summary and Highlights

In 2022, the CBPFs allocated a record $1.2 billion, enabling partners to address the humanitarian needs of an estimated 47 million people caught up in cri-ses, with a focus on the most vulnerable, including women, children and people with disabilities. This was made possible by the highest ever level of support from Member States, international organizations and the private sector, which contributed $1.3 billion to the Funds. (see page 10)

Diversifying the donor base

The donor base continued to diversify and funding from the private sector increased significantly. While the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) and Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF) mobilized significant levels of funding, several other CBPFs fell short of their fund-ing targets at a time when fully resourced CBPFs are more critical than ever.

The Funds responded to 2022’s most challenging humanitarian crises

The CBPFs employed a flexible mix of Standard and Reserve Allocations to achieve the right balance of inclusivity, speed, focus and customized processes for optimum results. Approximately $655 million was channeled through comprehensive Standard Alloca-tions open to all eligible partners. Another $566 million was channeled through Reserve Allocations using lighter allocation processes available to preselected partners. The Funds were instrumental in responding to acute humanitarian needs, most significantly those arising from conflict ($866 million allocated, or 71 per cent), climate-related and natural disasters ($274 million, or 23 per cent) and disease outbreaks ($65 million, or 5 per cent). (see page 13)
The Funds demonstrated unparalleled agility and flexibility to meet humanitarian needs, with some Funds, such as Afghanistan and Ukraine, more than tripling in size. Moreover, the Regional Fund for West and Central Africa (RHFWCA) continued to provide regionally coordinated funding, enabling agile and flexible responses.

Reaching the most vulnerable

The Funds continued to promote effective program-ming to ensure that assistance and services were accessible for the most vulnerable people. In 2022, more than 24 million people receiving life-saving sup-port through the CBPFs were women and girls. More-over, the Funds enabled life-saving support for over 21 million children under 18 and more than 4 million people with disabilities. (see page 25)

Supporting women and girls

In 2022, the Funds championed support for women and girls, strengthening gender considerations in project reviews and allocating funding specifically to address gender-based violence (GBV). To advance women’s empowerment and prevent sexual exploita-tion and abuse (SEA), the Funds allocated some $58 million to projects dedicated to addressing GBV, as-sisting almost 3 million affected people.
The Funds also provided some $55 million to local women-led/women’s rights organizations (WLOs/ WROs) and helped develop the capacity of numerous WLOs/WROs, strengthening their participation in the Funds. They also fostered greater consideration of gender in allocation strategies, prioritization processes and funding decisions. (see page 30)

Promoting localization

In 2022, the CBPFs were leading sources for ad-vancing localization and leveraging the comparative advantages of local and national organizations. With their broad partner networks, the Funds enabled front-line NGOs to deliver humanitarian assistance efficient-ly, capitalizing on their proximity to affected people and harnessing their local knowledge and social networks.
Some $441 million (36 per cent of the total allocated) went to local and national organizations. $345 million directly and $96 million that was sub-granted through partnerships with international NGOs and UN agencies.
The direct funding to local and national organizations accounted for 28 per cent of the total amount allo-cated by all Funds, and 8 per cent through subgrants, exceeding the 25 per cent global benchmark set at the World Humanitarian Summit. Beyond increasing the quantity of funding, CBPFs focused on providing the quality of funding that matches the needs of local and national organizations, advancing their participation in the governance of the Funds, strengthening their capacity and increasing the visibility of localization. (see page 30)

Promoting anticipatory action

Beyond directly enabling life-saving assistance, the CBPFs used funding strategically to strengthen the humanitarian response. In 2022, the CBPFs promoted early responses to deliver critical assistance to people in need ahead of predictable hazards, thereby ensuring more efficient, effective and dignified humanitarian action. (see page 13)

Delivering cash assistance

To empower affected people to make their own choices about the assistance they need the most, the Funds continued to prioritize the use of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and multi-purpose cash (MPC) assistance when feasible. The CBPFs allocated a total of $188 million for CVA (or 16 per cent of all funding), including $52 million for MPC programming. (see page 18)

Consolidating governance and operations

In 2022, the CBPFs made significant progress in strengthening their governance, with the launch of the revised CBPF Global Guidelines as a major mile-stone. The revision process was highly consultative – with input from the CBPFs’ global advisory bodies, the Pooled Fund Working Group (PFWG) and the CB-PFs-NGO Dialogue Platform – helping ensure that the Funds continue to adapt to the evolving contexts. (see page 42)

Achieving high standards in fund performance

The Performance of all CBPFs is assessed through a common performance framework underpinned by five key principles: inclusiveness, timeliness, flexi-bility, efficiency, and accountability and risk man-agement. In 2022, the CBPFs continued to promote inclusiveness and diversity in partnerships, govern-ance and allocation processes. By the end of April 2023, there were 2,387 partners eligible to receive CBPF funding, including 1,284 local and national NGOs, 1,084 international NGOs 1 and 19 UN agencies. OCHA also further enhanced the flexibility of the Funds to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and able to operate in dynamic and constantly evolving contexts.
In line with 2021, the Funds’ disbursement speed in 2022 remained within the 10-day target. The CBPFs also continued to ensure value for money by efficiently discharging their functions with minimum operational costs. (see page 36)

Commitment to risk management

In 2022, OCHA continued to invest in enhancements to strengthen accountability and oversight, in line with the strong reputation it has built for risk-based management of CBPFs. With increased donor con-tributions in 2022 and a stronger drive for localiza-tion, OCHA took significant steps to enhance tools, policies and capacities, to ensure potential risks that could affect the organization’s ability to deliver aid are effectively managed. These efforts demonstrate OCHA’s commitment to ensuring the effective and ef-ficient use of donor funds, and to managing risks and promoting accountability in CBPF-funded operations. (see page 41)