From 7 to 8 August, UNOAU facilitated the deployment of a Finance and Budget Officer as part of the Standing Surge Capacity (SSC) for a short-term assignment in support of the African Union Peace Fund (AUPF) Secretariat. This officer was the first of two officers from the SSC to deploy. The second officer will deploy at the end of August to support the communications role in the AUPF Secretariat. After two days of induction at UNOAU, the Finance and Budget Officer commenced his assignment at the AUPF Secretariat, which will mainly consist of developing financial guidelines for the use of the Fund and the Crisis Reserve Facility (CRF). The recruitment and deployment of the Finance and Budget Officer was finalized by UNOAU in close coordination with the UN Department for Operational Support (DOS), after receiving a formal request from the AUPF Director to provide staff in support of the operationalization of the AUPF, particularly to fill the current gaps in the Finance and Communications areas. The Under-Secretary-General (USG)for DOS, Mr. Atul Khare, approved the use of the Knowledge and Experience Exchange Program (KEEP)to fund the two officers from the SSC to quickly deploy to UNOAU in support of the AUPF Secretariat.