Emergency Response Funds (ERF)

Emergency Response Funds (ERFs) have been established in 20 countries since 1997 to provide NGOs and UN agencies with rapid and flexible funding to address critical gaps in humanitarian emergencies. ERFs, also known as Humanitarian Response Funds in some countries, are usually established to meet unforeseen needs not included in the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) or a similar concerted humanitarian action plan.

ERFs predominantly fund NGOs and actively support local NGO capacity-building. They are relatively small compared with the CERF and CHFs (less than US$10 million per year) and provide small- to medium-size grants.  Funding decisions are taken by the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and the Humanitarian Country Team, after a thorough consultation and prioritization process. HCs oversee the ERFs, while OCHA provides the day-to-day management and financial administration of the Funds.

As of February 2013, there are 13 active ERFs in Afghanistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan, State of Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Zimbabwe.