A double alert for the Start Fund has resulted in an activation for two simultaneous crises in Somalia and Nigeria. This weekend a project selection committee in Nairobi allocated £191,268 to Relief International and Christian Aid to respond to the flooding in Somalia, while the Start Team in the UK awarded £65,000 to Save the Children to respond to the cholera outbreak in Nigeria.
Both alerts were raised on Thursday, and an Allocation Committee teleconference on Friday morning agreed that the fund should be activated. They agreed an envelope of £200K for Somalia and £125K for Nigeria.
In keeping with the Start Fund’s ambition for decision making that is as light touch and localised as possible, it was agreed that the larger £200K activation should be discussed by a local project selection committee, while the smaller £125K activation could be handled by the Start Team. This is part of our effort to balance the transactional costs for our members with our decentralisation agenda.
Colleagues from ACF Somalia, Christian Aid, Tearfund and Relief International met on Sunday morning in Nairobi to discuss the four proposals received in response to the Somalia flooding. They agreed that the Relief International and Christian Aid proposals provided the most multi-sectoral coverage and responded to the needs that were presented. Together these projects will provide emergency food, water trucking, hygiene kits, non-food items, shelter and protection for 29,950 people. The committee recommended the agencies coordinated with other NGOs responding to the crisis to avoid duplication of interventions.
The Start Team also met on Sunday morning and agreed that of the two proposals received for the cholera response, the Save the Children project should be funded on the basis that it had addressed the access issues present in Northern Nigeria, where the outbreak was concentrated. This project will distribute drinking water, hygiene kits and waste disposal containers in the affected IDP camps and conduct hygiene awareness sessions, hoping to reach 35,098 people affected by the disease.
Read the Somalia flooding briefing notes from ACAPS and Development Initiatives here.
Read the Nigeria Cholera briefing notes from ACAPS and Development Initiatives here.
This is the second Start Fund activation for Somalia.