Secretary-General appoints three new advisers to UN emergency fund

Men in Grenada try to fix a roof in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. The hurricane caused severe damage to infrastructure, services and livelihoods in Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica. Photo: OCHA/Jolene Muir

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed three new members to the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Established by the UN General Assembly in 2005, the Advisory Group provides the Secretary-General with policy guidance and advice on the use and impact of CERF through the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Since 2006, CERF has provided more than US$9 billion in life-saving assistance to people across over 110 countries and territories. This was made possible by contributions from 133 Member States and observers, as well as corporate donors, foundations and individuals.

In the first half of 2024, CERF made more than $240 million available in 30 countries, including for the crisis in Sudan and for mitigating the humanitarian impact of extreme weather triggered by El Niño across several countries. Most recently, CERF announced a $4 million allocation for urgent humanitarian responses to Hurricane Beryl in Grenada, Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

With CERF being a critical resource that enables prompt and efficient action to respond to humanitarian crises, the Advisory Group plays an instrumental role in managing the fund efficiently and ensuring that assistance reaches those most in need.

“As the gap between humanitarian needs and the resources we need to address them continues to widen, CERF remains a reliable and vital tool to ensure effective and rapid responses to humanitarian emergencies,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “I thank the members of the Advisory Group who have wrapped up their terms and look forward to working with the new advisers.”

The new Advisory Group members are:

Brazil: Ambassador Mr. Ruy Pereira, Director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil
Ethiopia: Ambassador Dr. Shiferaw Teklemariam, Commissioner for the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission
Luxembourg: Mr. Christophe Schiltz, Director General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs at Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defense, Development Cooperation, and Foreign Trade

The Advisory Group comprises 19 members representing Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Latin American and Caribbean region, North America, and Oceania. CERF Advisory Group members serve a single three-year term.

Media contacts:

In New York: Eri Kaneko, kaneko@un.org, +1 917 208 8910

In Geneva, Jens Laerke, laerke@un.org, +41 79 472 9750