Somalia Humanitarian Fund 

Objectives

Fund scope

A multi-donor, country-based pooled mechanism, the Somalia Humanitarian Fund was established by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to support the timely allocation and disbursement of donor resources to address the most urgent humanitarian needs of vulnerable people in Somalia.  

Since 2001, the Fund has allocated mover US$465 million to humanitarian response initiatives. The Somalia Humanitarian Fund allows governments and private donors to pool their contributions into a common, unearmarked pot and deliver life-saving assistance to those who need it most. Resources create an opening for timely, coordinated and effective humanitarian responses  distinguished by context-specific focus and financial flexibility. To increase their specificity and impact, funds are prioritized according to municipality/local.

Strategic and results framework 

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund supports life-saving and sustaining assistance to Somalia’s most vulnerable groups. Allocations are granted according to urgent humanitarian needs outlined in the national Humanitarian Response Plan, or according to sudden emergency needs.  

Fund stakeholders rely on resources to expand the delivery of assistance in hard-to-reach areas by partnering with national and international NGOs. Fund-sponsored activities enable partners to strengthen coordination and leadership functions by leveraging the cluster system and addressing humanitarian needs in a collaborative manner. This approach closes gaps according to priority cluster(s) and/or regions, and it offsets financial imbalances between clusters.  

Fund partners contribute to the improvement of common services and programmes by supporting the delivery of humanitarian aid. Stakeholders have equitable access to resources and are encouraged to strive for cost-effectiveness and efficiency in their operations, as well as to ensure that interventions adhere to the basic humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.  

The following principles guide Fund allocations: 

• Continued focus on life-saving humanitarian response with focus on underserved and hard-to access areas; 
• Centrality of protection in all funded interventions; 
• Prioritization of direct implementation through international and NGO partners, accounting for 80% of available annual funding; 
• Support to local partners by channeling up to 40% of available funding directly through national partners (where feasible); 
• Support for the integration of responses across clusters and complementarity with other funding sources; and 
• Up-scaled pipeline funding for programmes and other support services provided by the United Nations or NGOs, up to a maximum of 20% of annually available funds. 

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund has two allocation modalities:
 

• Standard allocation. Funds are allocated early in the year for projects based on a strategy that identifies the highest priority needs as per vulnerability data and needs analyses.  
• Emergency reserve. Reserve funds are intended for rapid and flexible allocations in the event of unforeseen emergencies, or to address identified gaps. These funds can be allocated through individual reserve tranches or broader rounds, and are usually slightly faster and more geographically focused. 

Governance

Governance arrangements

Humanitarian Coordinator  

Supported by OCHA and the Advisory Board, the Humanitarian Coordinator is responsible for overall management of the Fund. Tasks include (but are not limited to) the approval, review and update of the Operational Manual; leading advocacy and resource mobilization efforts; approving direct costs for the Financing Unit; chairing the Advisory Board; ensuring various committees function according to Fund guidelines; making final decisions on projects recommended for funding, and ensuring complimentary use of allocations in conjunction with other sources of financing. 

Advisory Board 

The Advisory Board supports the Humanitarian Coordinator in steering Fund strategic direction and overseeing its performance. The Board advises the Humanitarian Coordinator on strategic and policy issues, representing the views of Fund stakeholders. On occasion, it serves as a forum to share information on funding coverage to strengthen donor coordination, discuss funding priorities, and review accountability mechanisms. 

Clusters 

Clusters support the Somalia Humanitarian Fund at the strategic level to ensure links between the Fund, the Humanitarian Response Plan and cluster strategies. At the operational level, cluster coordinators provide technical expertise and take part in prioritizing projects, reviewing and endorsing revision requests, supporting Fund accountability activities.  

Strategic and Technical Review Committees  

Strategic Review Committees (SRCs) are responsible for the strategic review of project proposals received by the Fund and may also support the technical review process. They are not representative bodies. Technical Review Committees are comprised of technical staff and OCHA Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPF) finance staff who assess the technical soundness, and financial quality of, project proposals based on SRC inputs.  

OCHA Head of Office  

Oversees the operations of the Fund in support of the Humanitarian Coordinator. As such, the Head of Office is responsible for the effective management of the Fund in accordance with the CBPF Policy Instruction handbook and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund Operational Manual.  

OCHA Somalia Humanitarian Financing Unit  

Responsible for the daily management of all programmatic and financial aspects of the Fund on behalf of the Humanitarian Coordinator and under the supervision and guidance of the OCHA Head of Office.  

Administrative Agent 

Funds are routed by way of a pass-through mechanism. Participating Organizations receive funds through the Administrative Agent, Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) Office. The Administrative Agent is responsible for the receipt, administration and management of contributions from donors, disbursement of funds to Participating Organizations, and consolidation and dissemination of progress reports to donors.  

Participating Organizations  

Implementation of interventions is the responsibility of Participating Organizations. Each organization is programmatically and financially responsible for resources received. 

Projects

Somalia Humanitarian Fund

Somalia Humanitarian Fund is currently supporting count_projects ongoing projectscount_globalInterregional and count_countries country-specific. This table shows the most recently approved ongoing projects.

All project financial information can be found in the Financials section, including delivery analysis by organization, theme and project; project financial status by country and by theme.

Somalia Humanitarian Fund

Results

Focus on results

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund supports life-saving assistance to Somalia’s most vulnerable groups. Allocations are granted according to urgent humanitarian needs (as outlined in the national Humanitarian Response Plan) or according to emergency needs.  

In this section you will find the latest editions of reports that detail Fund performance and results. In most cases, results are presented according to SDG contributions, signature indicators, and Fund outcomes. 

Contacts

Points of contact