Press Releases

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of eight new members of the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the UN’s global emergency response fund.

The Advisory Group’s 18 members provide policy guidance to the Secretary-General and advice on the use and impact of CERF, through the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, who manages the Fund on his behalf.

CERF is one of the most effective ways to help people affected by natural disasters and armed conflict. The Advisory Group is key to managing the Fund efficiently, and to ensuring that assistance reaches those most in need. Each year, on average, the Fund enables partners to reach 20 million people with health services, 10 million with nourishing food, 8 million with clean water and sanitation, 5 million people with livelihood support, 4 million with protection, and 1 million with shelter.

In recent years, the refugee crisis has put pressure on CERF as humanitarian organizations need more funding to help tens of millions of people fleeing protracted conflicts. In 2015, CERF allocated US$470 million, US$330 million of which went to operations supporting refugees, internally displaced people and communities hosting them.

The Secretary-General has called for the doubling of CERF to $1 billion to keep pace with escalating needs. The Advisory Group will play a vital role in steering the Fund’s expansion over the next two years.

The new members are:

• Ms. Heather Jeffrey, Deputy General for International Humanitarian Assistance, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Canada
• Mr. Peter Felten, Head of Division - Task Force for Humanitarian Aid, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
• Ms. Keiko Kiyama, Co-President of the Board of the NGO Trustees of Japan Emergency, Japan
• Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer, President of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, Board Chairman of Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait
• Mr. Jelte van Wieren, Director of the Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid Department at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands
• Ms. Leni Stenseth, Director, Section for Humanitarian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
• Dr. Salah Almazroa, Director-General of the General Administration of Supply of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Saudi Arabia
• Ms. Shaima Al Ali, Deputy Director, International Cooperation Policies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, United Arab Emirates

The existing members are:

• Mr. Ashraf Shikaliyev, Director, Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA), Azerbaijan
• Ms. María Andrea Albán Durán, Director, International Cooperation Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia
• Mr. Samson Palia Wangusi, Deputy Secretary and Head of Kenya Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Kenya
• Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Adjunct Professor of Columbia University (Peacebuilding), Malaysia
• Mr. Jesus (Gary) S. Domingo, Office of the United Nations and International Organizations, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines
• Ambassador Seokyoung Choi, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea
• Ambassador Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko, Global Governance and Continental Agenda, Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
• Mr. Per Örneus, Swedish Ambassador for Humanitarian Affairs, Sweden
• Ambassador Manuel Bessler, Head of Swiss Humanitarian Aid (SHA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland
• Ms. Rachel Turner, Director, East and Central Africa Department, Department for International Development (DFID)

CERF was established by the General Assembly in 2006 to help the United Nations respond rapidly to new or deteriorating humanitarian situations. Member States and Observers, regional and local authorities, the private sector, foundations and individuals have strongly supported CERF and allowed the Fund to allocate more than $4.5 billion to support humanitarian operations in 98 countries and territories.

The Government of Sweden today announced their commitment to provide an additional contribution of 200 million kroner (approximately US$23.4 million) to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2016, subject to parliamentary approval, to support the world's most vulnerable children, women and men.

The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, currently on official visit to Stockholm, expressed the UN's appreciation for the strong financial and political support of the Government of Sweden to CERF, including of its support to the UN Secretary-General's initiative to double the CERF to US$1 billion by 2018. Noting that the top ten donors of CERF provide 87 per cent of the funding, he called on other Member States to contribute in solidarity with the CERF.

"Yesterday the CERF faced a funding shortfall of $50 million. With the incredibly generous additional pledge from Sweden, we have cut that shortfall in half. We are now well on the way to meet the funding target of $450 million in 2016 which will allow us to effectively and promptly address the urgent lifesaving needs of some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien. “The countdown has started to fill the remaining gap. We hope that other countries will come to the UN General Assembly with new pledges, so we can meet if not surpass the target“.

The General Assembly established CERF in 2005 and on average each year, the global emergency fund helps humanitarian partners deliver critical healthcare to more than 20 million people; food assistance to 10 million people; water and sanitation to 8 million people; livelihood support to 5 million people; protection to 4 million people; and shelter to 1 million people. CERF also finances services for refugees and migrants, nutrition programmes, mine action, emergency education and camp management.

The UN Secretary-General will host a high-level conference on CERF to secure pledges for 2017 on 13 December 2016 in New York.

CERF is one of the fastest and most effective ways to support rapid humanitarian response. Donors preposition funds with CERF so that money is available to start or continue urgent relief work at the onset of emergencies and for crises that have not attracted sufficient funding. Since 2006, 126 UN Member States and observers, as well as several private sector donors and regional governments have supported the Fund. Over the past 10 years, CERF has allocated almost $4.5 billion for humanitarian operations in 98 countries and territories. Recently Iraq became the 126th donor to CERF and we look forward to including more Member States as supporters and advocates of CERF.

Today, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, released US$50 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for severely underfunded aid operations in six neglected emergencies. The funds will provide life-saving assistance for two million people in dire humanitarian need, including 200,000 refugees, 665,000 internally displaced persons, 170,000 returnees and 530,000 people in host communities.

“This funding is a lifeline for the world's most vulnerable people caught up in forgotten crises,” said USG O’Brien. “In recent years, the global refugee crisis has put enormous pressure on CERF to help millions of people fleeing conflicts that linger for lack of a political solution. This allocation is made possible by the generous contributions of donors who are committed to leave no one behind, and to helping us reach the furthest behind first.”

Some US$35 million will allow humanitarian partners to respond to protracted humanitarian emergencies in central Africa, caused by armed conflicts, political instability and human rights violations, and compounded by food insecurity and disease outbreaks. The funds will support the delivery of critical health services, access to food, emergency shelter, protection of women and girls, water and sanitation, and essential logistics support. The allocation will benefit aid operations in the Central African Republic ($9 million), Chad ($10 million) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ($11 million), as well as Rwanda ($5 million), which is hosting refugees from Burundi and DR Congo.

A further $13 million will boost relief operations in Yemen where an estimated 21.2 million people, over 82 per cent of the population, require humanitarian assistance. An allocation of $2 million will support humanitarian partners in Eritrea in responding to current needs due to arid conditions and poor rains. Additionally, gaps in health care, water, sanitation and hygiene services will be addressed.

This second round brings the total allocation from the CERF’s underfunded emergencies window in 2016 to US$150 million. CERF has so far received $311 million in contributions for 2016 and disbursed nearly as much to 35 countries for life-saving activities around the world. As the UN and humanitarian partners work tirelessly to assist the most vulnerable, and with the humanitarian funding gap growing year after year, it is vital that resources are available for future life-saving response.

“All humanitarian emergencies are underfunded this year,” warned the Emergency Relief Coordinator. “I wish I could allocate more CERF funds to these and other protracted crises, given the enormous needs. However, contributions to the Fund are limited and demand from humanitarian partners around the world is high. This year we are projecting a $50 million shortfall on the annual $450 million funding target. I am very concerned that this could force CERF to significantly reduce allocations for underfunded emergencies in the future. Today, I appeal to all Member States, regional organizations and private citizens to scale up their support to CERF and enable us to save more lives.”

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has approved, under the rapid response window, the allocation of US$ 10 million for the humanitarian response in Chad, to meet the most pressing needs of those affected by the crisis in the Lac region, and food insecurity and malnutrition in the Sahel belt.

More than 110 000 people displaced in the Lac region due to the security situation are still living in very precarious conditions in around hundred sites or host villages. In addition, one million people are severely food insecure, while 190,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the Sahel belt in Chad.

According to the Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Mr. Stephen Tull, "This CERF allocation is absolutely vital to address these major humanitarian needs, as the crisis in the Lake Chad Basin is one of the most under-funded in the world, compared with identified needs. Moreover, the degradation of food insecurity throughout the Sahel belt illustrates the complexity of the context in Chad, marked by multiple and interconnected crises. "

More than half of the CERF funds will be used to provide vital assistance to the displaced people and host communities in the northern area of the Lac region, which was inaccessible during several months for security reasons. This will include strengthening mobile clinics, health services and vaccination of children (14 % of the funds), improving access to drinking water, hygiene and sanitation (10%), supporting community protection mechanisms (7%), and continuing the registration of displaced populations as well as the provision of emergency shelter and essential household items (14%). Remaining funds will be dedicated to food assistance (40%), and prevention and treatment of severe and moderate acute malnutrition (15%) in the regions of Lac, Kanem, Bar- El Gazal, Guera and Wadi Fira.

"Additional support is essential because this CERF funding will only partly cover priority humanitarian needs. It is also necessary to implement durable solutions to support the livelihood of affected population and thereby reduce aid dependency" said Mr. Florent Méhaule, Head of Office of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad.

The allocation of these CERF funds comes at a critical time, while only 13% of the funding necessary to the implementation of 2016 humanitarian response plan have been received so far.

The projects approved by the CERF will be implemented in the next six months by UN agencies in partnership with NGOs and State services. The funds will be managed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien has released US$13 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide life-saving assistance to 250,000 people in areas of north-east Nigeria that have just become accessible.

The destruction of crops and looting of livestock have left many people unable to support their families. More than 50,000 people need seeds and tools for the upcoming planting season and CERF funding will help them to rebuild their livelihoods. A significant number of women and girls, and also men and boys, have suffered or witnessed terrible abuses; CERF funds will enable humanitarian partners to provide critical psychosocial support and protection services.

“People have experienced unspeakable suffering due to the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram. We now have better access finally, and a chance to help them,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien. “The international community must take advantage of this opening to reach people with essential services and build on the CERF allocation to scale up the response”.

CERF funds will support the provision of food, cash for food purchase, special child nutritional supplements, protection and health services to the most vulnerable people in the newly accessible areas through disbursements to FAO, UNDSS, UNFPA, UNHAS, UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP.

“The humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria is massive and alarming: 15 million people are affected by the violence instigated by Boko Haram including 7 million people who need urgent humanitarian assistance,” said Munir Safieldin, the acting Humanitarian Coordinator. “Unless we scale up now, 7 to 8 children will die of severe acute malnutrition every hour; 184 children will die every day. We need resources now to scale up our current response”.

The Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria was revised upwards by $51 million in June and is now calling for $279 million. To date, it is only 22 per cent funded.

Since 2015, CERF has supported life-saving assistance in response to Boko Haram-related violence with more than $58 million, bringing the total CERF support to more than $70 million with this new injection of funds. Some $27 million was allocated in March 2015 to assist more than 1.6 million internally displaced people, refugees, returnees and host communities in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. An additional $31 million was provided in early 2016 to help 700,000 people in the Lake Chad Basin.

CERF is a pooled fund that supports rapid humanitarian response. Donors preposition funds with CERF so that money is available immediately to kick-start relief operations in new emergencies and to provide live-saving assistance in crises that are underfunded. At mid-year, donors have contributed $248 million to CERF for 2016 and CERF has allocated nearly the same amount, responding to high demand from humanitarian partners. New contributions are urgently needed.