Advisory group of new UN disaster relief fund holds inaugural session

The landmark United Nations fund set up to jump-start relief operations for natural and man-made disasters, and save thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost to delay, moved a step further towards consolidation today with the inaugural meeting of its Advisory Group.

In the two and a half months since its launch, more than $261 million has been pledged by 41 Member States and two private sector organizations towards the $450-million target of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which replaces the previous mechanism that only had $50 million in resources.

The 12-member Advisory Group, consisting of experts who serve in their individual capacities, is mandated to provide Secretary-General Kofi Annan with periodic policy guidance and expert advice on the use and impact of the CERF.

Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown welcomed the Group members into their new positions and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland briefed them on how the CERF had been used since its 8 March launch. To date, allocations have been or are being considered for 15 emergencies, nearly all in Africa.

The CERF will save lives by providing quick initial funding for life-saving aid and rapid response in sudden onset emergencies, rapid deteriorations, and neglected emergencies. It will be used to help redress the existing imbalance in global aid distribution, as a result of which millions of people in so-called neglected or forgotten crises remain in need, while others benefit from better-funded programmes.

Underscoring the importance of the new initiative, UN officials note that under the old revolving fund it took four months between the lifting of access restrictions in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region and the commitment of funds for a relief appeal. In the meantime, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) climbed to 1.6 million and mortality rates rose above emergency levels.

As its first order of business, the Advisory Group today elected Marika Fahlen, Special Envoy/Advisor on the Horn of Africa for the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Chairperson.

Barbara Carby, Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management of Jamaica, and Sipho George Nene, Deputy Director-General of the Multilateral Branch of the Department for Foreign Affairs of South Africa, were elected Vice-Chairs.