CERF February Newsletter 2007

First round of 2007 grants for underfunded emergencies

On 7 February, the Acting United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) announced the countries selected to receive CERF grants in the first round of allocations for underfunded emergencies in 2007. About $85 million will be used for life-saving programmes in 15 countries.

Countries receiving grants from the underfunded window were chosen based on the 2006 funding data captured by the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), recommendations from United Nations agencies and the International Organization of Migration (IOM), inter-agency consultation, and discussions with Humanitarian/ Resident Coordinators (HC/RC), as required.

In some cases, specific underfunded sectors have been targeted with allocations if a lack of funding in essential sectors has prevented comprehensive coverage of life-saving activities.

For example, in Namibia and Bangladesh, the allocations are to be used for chronically underfunded refugee programmes insofar as beneficiaries are in need of urgent assistance in the areas of health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and protection.

The Zimbabwe grant will support shelter and water and sanitation projects, as recent needs assessments have found that more than 5,000 families originally affected by the 2005 Operation Murambatsvina remain in need of immediate assistance.

The $1 million designated for Somalia is to be directed to security, in order to facilitate the resumption of humanitarian activities.

Additionally, the $6 million for Sudan has been allocated for projects in the water and sanitation, education and health sectors in order to ensure a more comprehensive coverage of the needs of an increasing number of vulnerable persons.

Having identified gaps in the response and prioritized needs, the HC/RCs in the selected countries are now tasked with the responsibility of determining how to best use the funds.

This third overall round of allocations brings the total amount of grants from the underfunded window to $162 million since the CERF's launch in March 2006. The next round of underfunded allocations will be announced in mid-2007.

Country highlights

In January 2007, the CERF disbursed only one grant, of $1.9 million, to control the outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in Northeastern Kenya.

The disease has led to the death of 95 people as well as substantial livestock losses. The current outbreak of RVF has exacerbated an already existing emergency situation in areas experiencing drought, floods, epidemic diseases, influxes of Somali refugees and internal displacement of pastoralist communities. Overall, the situation is characterized by poor access to health care, sanitation and other basic social services.

With the CERF grant, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will assist the government to reduce mortality and morbidity among the refugee and host populations.

The UN agencies, in collaboration with the non-governmental organizations Terra Nuova, Vetaid and VSF Suisse, who work on livestock issues, will support the national and local authorities in conducting rapid health and risk assessments as well as identifying and filling gaps in the emergency/outbreak health care delivery and response system.

More details on prior allocations to Kenya and other countries can be found on the CERF web site at http://cerf.un.org.

Pledges & contributions

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is pleased to acknowledge, with great appreciation, the receipt of two new contributions to the CERF (as of 6 February 2007). The contributions were made by Malta ($10,000) and Norway ($55,069,049.29). OCHA encourages all Member States to turn their pledges into contributions as soon as possible.

In December 2006, OCHA signed an agreement with the United Nations Foundation (UNF) to facilitate donations from private individuals to the CERF. Under this agreement, the UNF provides donor stewardship - namely a thank you letter to private donors enabling them to claim a tax deduction from the IRS (International Revenue Services) - and maintains an online facility on its website. Within the first month, 106 private donors contributed $115,520 to the CERF through the UNF. The Foundation is providing this service at no cost.

John Holmes new head of CERF

As Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), John Holmes will head the CERF when he takes over his new position in March 2007. The career diplomat and current British Ambassador to France will succeed Jan Egeland, who held this post until December 2006. Since joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1973, John Holmes has served in a wide range of roles, including a spell covering the United Nations, which involved a period of temporary duty at the 1975 General Assembly as part of the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations in New York.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Rudolph Muller (programmes) (+1-917-367-4116 or mullerr@un.org); or Ms. Shoko Arakaki (contributions) (+1-917-367-3498 or arakaki@un.org).

Please visit our web site (http://cerf.un.org) for the latest information on the activities of the CERF and additional background information. Your comments and suggestions on how to enhance or improve the CERF web site and this newsletter are most welcome (cerf@un.org).