Another $104 million from CERF goes to forgotten crises

(New York: 1 February 2008): John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, today allocated $104.3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to enable aid agencies to carry out critical life-saving programmes in fifteen countries during the first months of 2008.

"These grants are often the last bit of hope for millions of people caught up in some of the most severe and protracted humanitarian crises around the world," said Mr. Holmes. "It is thanks to the existence of tools like the CERF and the generous support it receives from donors each year that we can fill gaps in the humanitarian response and provide assistance to the most vulnerable," he added.

The CERF funds made available today will be granted to United Nations agencies, and through them to partner organizations, to support humanitarian projects in countries affected by both conflict and natural disasters. Fund allocations were made to Democratic Republic of the Congo ($38 million), Ethiopia ($10 million), Côte d'Ivoire ($7 million), Pakistan ($7 million), Niger ($6.5 million), Nepal ($6 million), Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ($5 million each), Burkina Faso ($3.4 million), Mali ($3.2 million), Republic of Congo ($2.5 million), Cameroon ($2 million), and Myanmar ($2 million). In some cases, the funds are earmarked for specific areas of need, for example the long-standing refugee needs in Kenya ($6.7 million allocated today), not covered by the separate appeal for the current crisis.

As mandated by the General Assembly, the CERF commits one-third of all funds each year to redress imbalances in the global aid distribution by supporting neglected crises. The other two-thirds are used for rapid response to urgent needs. For example, CERF funding has helped make up for perennial funding shortfalls in Côte d'Ivoire, which last year received only 53% of the resources needed to address critical basic needs there. Funds from the CERF were used to provide food, healthcare and education to internally displaced people, including children, and made it possible for agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to restore access to safe drinking water in remote, rural communities. CERF allocations also ensured that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) could continue flying to unstable areas to deliver food aid and to transport humanitarian staff quickly and safely.

Since March 2006, $624.1 million has been allocated from the CERF to support nearly 800 assistance projects in some 60 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America affected by natural disasters and conflicts. Over the last two years, a total of $200 million of all funds contributed to CERF has been used in support of forgotten crises in 23 countries, mostly in Africa.

The CERF is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organisations, local governments, and individual donors. This year, the donors pledged nearly $420 million in support of the Fund bringing the total amount contributed to the CERF since March 2006 to nearly $1.1 billion.

For further information, please call: Christina Bennett, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 8059, mobile +1 917 435 8617; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570; Susan Christofides, CERF Secretariat, +1 917 367 4252. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int