The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) Afghanistan is one of OCHA’s country-based pooled funds (CBPFs). It was established in 2014 for swift and strategic humanitarian action in Afghanistan. The AHF is under the authority of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), which gives the HC a greater ability to target available funds to the most critical humanitarian needs and enable efficient and rapid response to emergencies.

With support from an Advisory Board, the cluster leads, OCHA Afghanistan, the Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) and an Administrative Agent, the HC directs the strategic and operational focus of the AHF with three key objectives:

1. To support humanitarian partners (national and international NGOs and UN Agencies) to address the most pressing needs in accordance with humanitarian principles.
2. To improve the relevance and coherence of humanitarian response by strategically funding assessed humanitarian action as identified in the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) process.
3. To strengthen coordination and leadership through the function of the HC and the humanitarian cluster system.

Only humanitarian projects responding to needs identified in OCHA’s HRP are eligible for funding during a AHF allocation. The HRP outlines the strategic and operational plan for the coordination of assistance by UN agencies and NGO partners in Afghanistan and is developed in consultation with the clusters.

OCHA’s Grant Management System (GMS) is a standard online platform for the management of all CBPFs. AHF partners use this interface to submit project proposals and reports, and the HFU coordinates project review, monitoring and partner performance. The GMS Business Intelligence is a newly developed tool to display the data in a meaningful and useful structure, which will help users to analyse the ongoing business process with a consolidated view.

The HFU is the managing agent for the CHF, including oversight of the allocation processes and the entire funding cycle, from the opening of an allocation to the closure of projects. It does all this while providing technical support and policy advice to the HC and ensuring compliance with the minimum requirements outlined in the Global Guidelines for CBPFs. With technical assistance from OCHA’s Information Management Unit, the HFU also generates periodic public information products and an annual report at appropriate stages during the year. In addition, AHF projects are often featured in the monthly Humanitarian Bulletin distributed.

The AHF is administered by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules. Donors contributing to the AHF sign a Standard Administrative Arrangement (SAA), which includes information regarding the terms, conditions and payment modality of contributions. This is a standard agreement that donors use to channel the funding to various UN MPTFs. In addition, the MPTF maintains the publicly accessible GATEWAY with  statements of donor commitments, deposits, transfers and other financial information related to the AHF.

For additional information and resources on life-saving assistance through OCHA-managed pooled funds, including the Central Emergency Response Fund and the Financial Tracking Service, visit our We Fund page.