CERF Annual Results Report 2023

Letter from the Emergency Relief Coordinator

We thought 2022 was an unforgiving year for people caught up in crises. 2023 turned out to be even worse.

From the Occupied Palestinian Territory to Sudan, and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and South Sudan to Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, worsening and protracted conflicts brought immeasurable suffering to millions of people worldwide. 2022 was the fifth-warmest year on record, but 2023 was the hottest year ever. The climate crisis continued to act as a threat multiplier, making extreme weather events more frequent and more intense, and driving humanitarian needs even higher. We saw its impact in Libya, where the floods in Derna left thousands dead or missing, and in the Sahel, where rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns have resulted in more frequent and severe droughts, to mention just a few.

Yet, sadly, 2023 was also a year in which severe funding shortfalls exacerbated the challenges of getting assistance to the world’s most vulnerable people.

In the middle of all this, the extraordinary benefits of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) once again shone through.

In 2023, CERF proved to be a critical source for the rapid, prioritized and flexible funding required to provide life-saving assistance to nearly 33 million people worldwide.

In response to the outbreak of hostilities in Sudan, for example, CERF released $106 million, ensuring essential care, protection and basic services for the millions of people affected, both in Sudan and in neighbouring countries. Together with allocations of nearly $80 million from the Country-Based Pooled Funds in Sudan and South Sudan, this sustained the humanitarian response at a uniquely challenging time.

Despite the relentless demands on CERF to respond to this and other new emergencies, the Fund was again instrumental in addressing critical funding shortfalls in forgotten crises. In 2023, it channeled a record-breaking $276 million to severely underfunded humanitarian responses in 26 countries, ensuring the continued provision of life-saving assistance to almost 14 million people.

Across the board, CERF continued to be an agent of change, driving more effective, cost-efficient and inclusive approaches to humanitarian action.

CERF has a key role in promoting efforts to act ahead of predictable hazards, having facilitated anticipatory action in more than 19 countries since 2019, including Fiji, Niger, and Dry Corridor countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua). In addition, it provided earlier allocations before crises reached their peak, including proactive disbursements of $104 million to eight countries dangerously close to experiencing famine, and $18 million to countries most at risk from El Niño, such as Madagascar and Zimbabwe.

In support of a more inclusive and accountable humanitarian system, the Fund piloted the use of dedicated funding envelopes designed to increase and enhance the role of affected communities in decision-making and aid delivery.

Finally, 2023 was a turning point for CERF’s role in tackling the climate crisis. CERF allocated one-third of its funding to assist the millions of people affected by climate-related disasters. And December saw a pivotal moment, with the launch of the CERF Climate Action Account at COP28 in Dubai to enable donors to support the response to a rapidly increasing number of climate-related shocks, without compromising support for other emergencies.

I am immensely proud of CERF’s achievements in 2023. This report is testament to the Fund’s unique and essential place in the global humanitarian response. None of its achievements would be possible without the generous support of donors, to whom I am deeply grateful.

But so much more would be possible if CERF were fully funded. In 2023, CERF received some $559 million, a major step backwards in collective efforts to reach the $1 billion funding target set by Member States in 2016.

If CERF is to continue saving lives, and if it is truly to become the “for all, by all” Fund, that is there wherever and whenever disaster strikes, it must reach this funding target. Therefore, as we embark on 2024, I once again urge Member States and the broader international community to help us achieve that goal.

Martin Griffiths

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator