Highlights from CERF first 2015 Advisory Group meeting

The CERF Advisory Group (AG), which provides the UN Secretary-General with policy guidance on the use and impact of CERF, held its first meeting on 28 and 29 May in Geneva.

The meeting was hosted by the Swiss Government and the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ms. Kyung-Wha Kang, opened the meeting on behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ms. Valerie Amos.

"CERF continued to demonstrate its effectiveness as a tool for collective emergency response by providing reliable, timely and targeted funding for life-saving humanitarian actionacross the world," Ms. Kang said.

During the meeting, the group highlighted the importance of strategically positioning the Fund in the broader context of humanitarian financing. This is particularly relevant given the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the establishment of CERF (15 December) and opportunities to reinforce global leadership and commitments to the humanitarian agenda around key global initiatives including Financing for Development, the Sustainable Development Goals and the World Humanitarian Summit.

Other key highlights of the meeting include:

· The group thanked the current AG Chair Ms Catherine Walker (Australia) and Vice-Chair Mr. Mathewos Tulu (Ethiopia) for their leadership. Mr. Manuel Bessler (Switzerland) was selected as the new Chair and Mr. Ahmed Al-Meraikhi (Qatar) as the Vice-Chair of the AG. They start their term in October 2015.

· The outcomes of two studies on the role of CERF in the evolving humanitarian landscape were discussed. The group welcomed the studies and highlighted their importance in contributing to wider discussions on humanitarian financing.

· The group welcomed new initiatives to better convey the story of CERF in a simple and compelling way, including a short animation film which will be launched soon. AG members highlighted the need to reinforce communications, advocacy and strategic engagement to convey the success of CERF to a wide group of stakeholders.

· A session with Inter-Agency Standing Committee partners included representatives from FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, ICVA, NRC, WHO and WFP. Among other key issues, the group discussed visibility for the Fund and its contributors, sub-granting to implementing partners by agencies and the findings of a WFP evaluation on the use of pooled funds.

The next AG meeting will be held in the fall of 2015 in New York.

More information on the CERF Advisory Group meeting can be found here.