ReliefWeb

The year 2020 has unfolded with growing humanitarian needs due to the ‘triple threat’ of flooding, desert locust infestation and the COVID-19 pandemic, coming on top of other persistent drivers of needs such as armed conflict and protracted displacement. The SHF first standard allocation prioritized lifesaving humanitarian response to underserved and hard-to access areas through direct implementation by the best-placed responders where possible. The allocation also came at a time where a sustained response was required at many locations to mitigate the triple threat. The allocation also supported integration of response across clusters and complementarity with other funding sources while ensuring the centrality of protection in all SHF-funded interventions.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, five projects were funded through the reserve allocation. The projects covered health, water, sanitation and hygiene, logistics and camp coordination and camp management. The interventions included integrated scale-up of COVID-19 activities within at-risk IDP sites through a multi-partner joint approach to alleviate site-level challenges and promote community-led support within these IDP sites.