The United Nations has received pledges totalling US$383 million from 36 donors for its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which finances critical relief operations around the world.
The United Nations has received pledges totalling US$383 million from 36 donors for its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which finances critical relief operations around the world.
The donations were made at a pledging conference for 2018, held in New York on December 8, 2017.
The UN announced that $100 million from these funds would go to meet critical needs in emergency situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Eritrea, Haiti, Mali, Philippines, Pakistan, Tanzania and Uganda, four of which are Commonwealth nations.
CERF has been run by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs since its formation in 2005, with the purpose of improving the ability of humanitarian efforts to help those affected by crises and conflict.
Last year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to expand CERF’s annual fund target from $450 million to $1 billion, in response to the huge increase in humanitarian needs from $5.2 billion in 2005 to $24 billion in 2017.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that the $1 billion CERF would support contingency financing at a time when, as of November 30, 2017, the global humanitarian funding gap stands at $11 billion and, on average, just 60% of response plans are funded.
CERF’s income for 2017 reached a record high of $504 million, $130 million of which was allocated to prevent famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
Further funds supported relief responses for Palestine refugees in Gaza, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean.
Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: “CERF is unmatched in its speed, global reach and scale of impact in enabling the humanitarian community to respond to people most in need in crises.”
Secretary-General Guterres said: “There is no sign of a let-up in humanitarian needs.
“$1 billion is an ambitious but achievable goal.
“A strong United Nations needs a strong CERF.”
