As AHA enters the middle of the year, Here are some of the highlights of AHA’s humanitarian progress, changes and challenges.
2024 continues to be a year where we are trying to transition away from our longstanding partnership with UNHCR as our primary funding source. As UNHCR closes its books in 2023 – for the second year in a row- with a significant gap in its budget needs, efforts to engage with other humanitarian actors are taking root, and the organization aims to diversify its portfolio of supporters. Notably, since January, the Head Office has launched two projects in Sudan through external partnerships. The first project has been all-hands-on deck assisting our teams with implementing emergency WASH and health care support for IDPs in North Darfur, that was funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Despite challenges like looting and destruction of our office compound, the head office oversaw the project and supplied much-needed water to IDP camps in El Fasher though not nearly enough to cover the immense needs in the overcrowded settlements. We completed the necessary procurement and logistics arrangements to supply medical supplies and medicines. However, there has been interruption in the logistics and medical supply arrangement due to the ongoing war.
In collaboration with International Medical Corps (IMC), The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), Vétérinaires Sans Frontières International (VSF), and International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), has launched a project funded by USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs (BHA). Over a five-year period, the project aims to strengthen the timeliness, reach, and readiness of 80 public health-focused local and national NGOs (L/NNGOs) in sub-Saharan Africa and MENA regions to respond to infectious disease outbreaks. AHA is the focal agency within the consortium and leads the task of mapping and working with L/NNGOs in Africa, including partnerships with local NGOs in Mali and Somalia. In Year 1, the project provides provision to strengthen our own team at the Head Office thus leading us to recruit a Public Health Officer, an Epidemiologist, a WASH officer, a MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning) Officer, and an Interagency Coordination Officer. The project also establishes an AHA Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) which should be positioned to respond humanitarian emergencies related to infectious diseases – a core capacity we have been seeking to build in years past. In addition, we stand to build our network of African NGOs in various countries where we don’t have presence currently (like Somalia and Mali), thereby paving a way for AHA to expand its footprint across the continent.
AHA is actively seeking funding opportunities outside of UNHCR and the UN system in general. We are responding to calls from Embassies, Foundations, and major donors, leveraging three decades of expertise. However, challenges were faced during this transitional period. While broadening our partner base and expanding work beyond humanitarian interventions, UNHCR is simultaneously reducing existing engagements with implementing partners. In a report to its Standing Committee in February 2024, UNHCR indicated that comparing the total funds available for 2023 with the total needs for the same year, it had a 49.7% funding shortfall, and donor pledges for 2024 offer little hope of narrowing the gap.
In Ethiopia, AHA is deepening its engagement with the World Food Programme (WFP) to identify new response opportunities in the forced displacement sector by monitoring the distribution of supplementary food to communities in the Oromia Region. Meanwhile, AHA remains a UNHCR partner in Rwanda and South Sudan, but the combined budget for both country operations in 2024 is only USD 400,000. This has put an undue burden on health care delivery. For now, our South Sudan health projects are for now augmented by partnerships with UNICEF (until the end of June 2024) and BPRM (until the end of August 2024). As we negotiate to extend these engagement into 2025, we are supporting our teams in Kigali and Juba submit appeals for new partnership. In Rwanda, the program with UNHCR has reduced from serving tens of thousands of refugees in five refugee camps to operating a single clinic at the Gashora Transit Centre, which shelter no more than 300 asylum seekers.
AHA’s partnerships in Cameroon and Uganda have been renewed albeit with 35% reduced budgets compared to years prior. An appeal to UNICEF seeks an extension for the health project in Cameroon, while in Uganda, AHA continues to provide health care services to urban refugees and implements SGBV prevention and mental health programs in Kyaka II Refugee settlement, in partnerships with UNHCR and FARMAMUNDI
In summary, AHA is navigating a challenging transition, balancing existing service success with the need to diversify its supporter base. With a strengthened program team, AHA aims to achieve success through project appeals. However, establishing a robust resource base for independent, unearmarked core funding remains crucial.
Moreover, AHA recognizes the need to expand its mission beyond traditional humanitarian response. While maintaining commitment to refugee protection, AHA aims to address complex risks—such as conflict, socioeconomic fragility, and climate change—by coordinating humanitarian, development, peacebuilding, and climate-related efforts. This broader approach aims to strengthen all communities, including refugees, in their ability to withstand future shocks.