House 350 Block 21 Abdullah AlTayeb Street, Riyadh
P.O. Box 913, Postal Code 11111 - Khartoum – Sudan
Tel: +249 1870 86000 Fax: +249 1870 86000
Email: chfsudan@un.org
http://workplan.unsudanig.org
16 November 2009
Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) – Briefing Note
The Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) for Sudan is a pooled funding mechanism for humanitarian activities in Sudan;
first established in 2005 as a pilot project and fully implemented and operational since 2006. Only humanitarian
projects included in the UN and Partners Work Plan for Sudan (the Work Plan) are eligible for CHF funding. The main
objective of the CHF is to provide early and predictable funding and to support the timely allocation and disbursement of
donor resources to the most critical humanitarian needs of Sudan under direction of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC).
The CHF is designed to give the HC greater ability to target funds to the most critical needs, encourage donor
contributions and allow rapid response to unforeseen needs. Both the Work Plan and the CHF help advance
humanitarian aid reforms as proposed in the Secretary-General’s report, In Larger Freedom, such as strengthened
response capacity, more predictable and timely funding to organizations, strengthened coordination, as well as donor
endorsement of good humanitarian donorship principles.
Under the CHF, donors pool their funds; however, the HC manages the funds with support from OCHA and UNDP. OCHA
serves as the CHF technical unit and is responsible for managing the allocation process, whereas UNDP is the
administrative agent managing the disbursement of funds to recipient organizations.
The Allocation Process
There are two mechanisms for allocation: a standard allocation mechanism used for allocating the bulk of funds and
ensuring early funding for priority projects, and; a rapid onset mechanism used in the event of unforeseen needs. An
emergency reserve of no more than 10% of committed funds is kept aside.
The CHF Advisory Group, c