Common Humanitarian Fund launched
Aug 29th, 2008 by Nicolas Rost OCHA
Priority sectors receive $2.3m in humanitarian funding
The first-ever allocation of the new Common Humanitarian Fund in the Central African Republic was launched yesterday, 28 August, when the Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. allocated $2.3m from the fund to six priority sectors for urgent humanitarian action.
The funds will enable aid agencies working in the early recovery, education, food security, health, protection, and water, hygiene and sanitation sectors to provide emergency assistance to people struck by conflict and violence and to help them rebuild community infrastructures, roads and bridges. In CAR, half of the children do not go to school, many displaced people are not able to work their fields, and health services and drinking water are scarce and of poor quality. The CHF will also support the Humanitarian Air Service, which faces extreme funding shortfalls.
Following the allocation of funding to sectors, UN agencies and NGOs will now get together to discuss which projects of the Coordinated Aid Programme will receive funding. An additional $500,000 will be kept as a reserve so that humanitarian organisations can quickly respond to breaking emergencies. The fund and its predecessor, the CAR Emergency Response Fund, have received generous support from Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
