Donors Give Nearly $375 Million To UN Emergency Relief Fund

Donors Give Nearly $375 Million To UN Emergency Relief Fund

Donors pledged nearly $375 million today to the United Nations fund that ensures that humanitarian workers can quickly begin saving lives when a crisis strikes.

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has disbursed more than $2 billion in assistance since it was launched in 2006, making it the world’s largest source of humanitarian funding.

Managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the fund has enabled the fast delivery of life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters and other crises in some 80 countries over the past five years.

“CERF is a United Nations success story,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the start of the pledging conference held at UN Headquarters.

“It is flexible, and responsive to the needs of people. It provides a service, with low costs, that would otherwise not exist. And it has a clear, measurable impact.”

This year about $400 million has been disbursed by the fund to help some 29 million people across 45 countries, including for UN efforts to overcome the Horn of Africa crisis, the drought in Niger and the floods in Central America.

Mr. Ban noted that many, both in the developing and developed worlds, are facing financially difficult times, and it is essential that every dollar spent on humanitarian aid is spent to maximum effect.

“Money given to CERF is money well spent,” he told the representatives from governments, the private sector and civil society. “It is guaranteed to go to the people who need it most, in time to make a difference.”

The pledging conference was chaired by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos.

ENDS

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