Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) enable humanitarian partners operating in countries affected by natural disasters and armed conflict to deliver timely and effective life-saving assistance to people who need it most. They allow Governments and private donors to pool their contributions to support specific emergencies.
HOW CBPFs WORK
CBPFs are established by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) when a new emergency occurs or when an existing humanitarian situation deteriorates.
They are managed locally by the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) in consultation with the humanitarian community.
Contributions—mainly from Governments—are collected into single, unearmarked funds to support local humanitarian efforts.
Money is allocated through an inclusive and transparent process in support of priorities set out in coordinated Humanitarian Response Plans. This ensures that funding is available and prioritized at the local level by those closest to people in need.
There are currently 17 active CBPFs. They have received a combined total of US$706 million for 2016.
AN INVESTMENT IN HUMANITY
CBPFs help in-country relief organizations to reach the most vulnerable people and use available resources more effectively and efficiently:
• CBPFs are inclusive and promote partnership. Funds are directly available to a wide range of relief partners. This includes national and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who often have better local knowledge and access to hard-to-reach areas.
• CBPFs are timely and flexible. They support the delivery of an agile response in fluid emergency situations.
• CBPFs are efficient and accountable. They minimize transaction costs and provide transparency and accountability. Recipient organizations are thoroughly assessed; relief projects are monitored with regular reporting on achievement.
Following the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the UN Secretary-General put forward his Agenda for Humanity.
He stressed the critical role of CBPFs, and he called on donors to increase the proportion of humanitarian appeal funding channelled through CBPFs to 15 per cent by 2018. At current levels, that would translate to more than $1.9 billion per year.