Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF)

Assistance Strategy

Terms of Reference

UN Photo/Fred NoyThe objectives of the Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) is to support the timely allocation and disbursement of donor resources to the most critical humanitarian needs under the overall oversight and coordination of the Humanitarian Coordinator. It is only used for projects classified as "humanitarian" under the Work Plan.

The Sudan CHF is intended to improve humanitarian outcomes by providing committed funds earlier than under previous arrangements; strengthening the planning and coordination process; tying the funding allocation to the Work Plan; broadening participation in the Work Plan; channelling funds towards the most urgent needs; and by ensuring that funds are available for rapid responses to unforeseen circumstances. To achieve these objectives, the CHF has been designed to accommodate the following principles:

• The CHF should operate as a single fund;
• Donors should make commitments and transfer money to the CHF as early as possible;
• The CHF should use the Work Plan as its primary allocation tool;
• Allocation and disbursement procedures should be rapid and transparent;
• There should be no overall additional reporting burden on recipients;
• The CHF should maintain a reserve for rapid response to unforeseen circumstances;
• The operation of The CHF should meet acceptable fiduciary standards.

The Humanitarian Coordinator is responsible for the allocation of funds based on priority needs and absorptive capacities. In allocating funding, the Humanitarian Coordinator may request advice from the Advisory Group, comprising representatives of donors, the UN, NGOs and others as deemed necessary. The Advisory Group will ensure that the activities funded under the Sudan CHF are harmonized with those funded bilaterally by the donors. The Humanitarian Coordinator is also supported by the Administrative Agent (AA), a Technical Support Unit, and a Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.

There are two mechanisms for allocating funds:

• A standard allocation mechanism, used for allocating the bulk of the Sudan CHF resources and ensuring early funding for priority projects.
• A rapid onset mechanism, used in the event of unforeseen needs or emergency circumstances. No more than 10% of committed funds is kept aside for the Rapid Response Reserve.

To support uniform and consolidated financial reporting, the Sudan CHF is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules. UNDP serves as the Administrative Agent (AA) on behalf of the Participating UN Organizations. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) serves as the CHF technical unit and is responsible for managing the allocation process in Sudan. For participating NGOs, funds are channelled through UNDP performing an additional oversight function as a Participating UN Organization.