UN humanitarian fund reaches $450 million target this year

(New York, 30 December 2008): The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has for the first time reached its $450 million annual funding target. The target was set by the United Nations General Assembly, which created the fund in 2006. Contributions to CERF in 2008 now stand at $452.5 million.

"The generosity of both Member States and non-state donors has enabled the international community to strengthen significantly its ability to respond to humanitarian emergencies around the world. As a result, we have been able to save lives, treat or prevent diseases, and restore livelihoods," said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Mr. Holmes manages the Fund on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.

Eighty-one UN Member States and a number of private donors contributed to CERF in 2008. The Fund's largest contributors for 2008 are the United Kingdom, ($80 million), the Netherlands ($64 million), Sweden ($56 million), Norway ($55 million) and Spain ($44 million). The largest private contributor is the professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers ($500,000).

CERF was created by the General Assembly in 2006 to help people affected by sudden-onset disasters and neglected emergencies in a fast, reliable and impartial manner. Since then, more than 100 Member States and private donors have pledged some $1.5 billion to the Fund. It has disbursed $1.1 billion to emergency programmes in 67 countries since March 2006.

A recent pledging conference for the UN's fund "by all and for all" yielded some $380 million in pledges for 2009, as well as several new donors including Afghanistan, Benin, Kenya, Laos, Oman, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. A number of Member States significantly increased their contributions in their respective currencies in 2009, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Republic of Korea, Spain and Sweden.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1917 892 1679, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117,reader@un.org, John Nyaga, OCHA-NY, + 1 917 367 9262, nyagaj@un.org; Elisabeth Byrs OCHAGeneva,+41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.