Yemen: Humanitarian Pooled Fund (YHPF) - Reserve Allocation, 20 – 26 April 2015

Overview

The Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund (YHPF) aims to promote a strategic and coordinated response towards the highest humanitarian priorities of the Humanitarian Response Plan or due to acute emergency needs. With the launch of the OCHA Global Guidelines for Country-based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) in February 2015, the Yemen Emergency Response Fund (ERF) became the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund. The Guidelines establish minimum standards for the management of pooled funds with an emphasis on accountability and control mechanisms.

The YHPF Advisory Board, on 10 April 2015, decided to focus the YHPF on responding to the impact of escalating conflict in Yemen. The Fund will, therefore, operate within the reserve allocation mode for the next three months. This decision will be reviewed at the end of this period. OCHA will open the reserve allocation window for grant applications in the period 20 to 26 April. This reserve allocation will be the first one. OCHA is likely to announce similar allocations at intervals as the situation evolves in Yemen. The Reserve Allocation will follow the priorities outlined in the Flash Appeal and complimentary funds will also be sought through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The Flash Appeal is based on the Yemen humanitarian contingency plan, as well as on needs identified through inter-agency needs assessments. Allocation will be focused on the highest priority lifesaving humanitarian response in the health, water and sanitation, protection, food security, nutrition, logistics, shelter and non-food items sectors. The estimated resource envelope for allocations is US$10 million, based on pledges made by donor partners of the fund. Clusters will undertake initial prioritization of interventions to highest needs and OCHA’s Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) will further prioritize projects that Clusters have submitted on the basis of project review and scoring by the Clusters. The decision whether to fund a project will be subject to approval by the Humanitarian Coordinator. The Advisory Board has raised allocation ceiling to US$1 million, with a minimum US$200,000.

The fund will continue to prioritize disbursement of funds through NGOs (70%) and the UN and IOM (30%). In order to manage risk in a highly volatile environment with limited presence of staff to monitor the implementation of grants, the YHPF will make direct grants through large NGO partners and the UN and IOM with the following criteria: Due Diligence assessment passed (NGOs); Positive track record in implementing previous ERF and YHRP funded projects; Active participation in humanitarian coordination system in Yemen; Cluster technical review passed - including demonstrated project and financial implementation capacity on the ground.

Since the YHPF has not completed partner capacity assessments, all NGO partners will be considered high- risk and will fall under strict operational modalities: disbursement in several tranches, frequent reporting cycle, mandatory auditing and field monitoring security allowing. OCHA will facilitate the allocation through clusters’ strategic and technical project reviews until grant agreement signatures and disbursement. The approved projects can be implemented from the day that the implementing partner signs the grant agreement.

With the rapidly escalating conflict and urgent unmet humanitarian needs, the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund continues to actively mobilize and seek new resources and donors to contribute to the Fund.