14 new donors pledge support to emergency fund, several donors offer significant increases

(New York: 14 December 2007): At a high-level United Nations conference convened yesterday in support of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), 69 donors pledged a total of $419,496,630, bringing the total pledges and contributions since the Fund's inception to $1,103,786,331.

A total of 14 new donors came forward in support of the Fund: Romania ($369,000), the Western Union Company ($100,000), Latvia ($20,000), the Alexander Bodini Foundation ($10,000), Guatemala ($10,000), Mongolia ($10,000), Ghana ($5,000), Guyana ($5,000), Haiti ($5,000), the Holy See ($5,000), Syria ($5,000), Tunisia ($5,000), San Marino ($2,950), and Bhutan ($1,480).

In addition, several existing donors pledged significantly more for 2008 than in 2007. Chile led this trend with a pledge of $100,000, representing an increase of over 230% compared to its 2007 contribution of $30,000. Germany augmented its 2007 donation of $6.6 million to $14.7 million, an increase of over 120%. Following the event, Canada announced a pledge of $40 million, an 80% increase over its 2006 donation of $22 million. Peru, a recipient of CERF funding after the devastating earthquake that hit the country this year, doubled its support from $5,000 to $10,000. Spain boosted its contribution from $21 million to more than $29 million, a 43% jump. The Czech Republic announced that it was raising its support from $120,000 to $165,000, a 38% increase. The pledge from the Republic of Korea went up 33%, to $2 million from $1.5 million in 2007. New Zealand pledged $1 million at the event, 32% above its 2007 contribution of $760,000. Finally, Ireland announced a donation of over $33 million, a 27% increase compared to $26 million in 2007.

A final tally of yesterday's 69 pledges reveals that the United Kingdom is still the leading donor to the Fund, with a pledge of $82 million. It is followed by the Netherlands ($59 million), Sweden ($56 million), Norway ($55 million), Canada ($40 million), Ireland ($33 million), Spain ($29 million), Germany ($15 million), Denmark ($10 million), and Australia ($9 million). Of these top ten donors, Canada, Ireland, Spain and Germany all substantially increased their contributions.

The CERF helped to save millions of lives during its first two years by providing quick initial funding for life-saving assistance and rapid response in sudden onset, rapidly deteriorating, and underfunded humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters. It helps to redress the imbalances in global aid distribution that have too often left millions of people in so-called neglected or forgotten crises in need. Since its launch on 9 March 2006, the Central Emergency Response Fund has committed almost $600 million to humanitarian projects in 59 countries affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts.

A 2006 resolution of the General Assembly specifies that the CERF should ultimately reach $500 million per year, of which $50 million is a revolving loan fund. The United Nations encourages Member States and the private sector to support the CERF through multi-year commitments to ensure the sustainability of the Fund.

The total number of Member States supporting the Fund since its launch in 2006 has now reached 85, and the total number of donors stands at 91. In other words, 44% of the 192 Member States of the UN have provided financial support to the CERF, the Fund by everyone, and for everyone.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.