UN emergency response fund this year reaches its $450 million target for first time
The United Nations emergency relief fund, set up to speed response to those suffering from natural and man-made disasters, has reached its $450 million annual funding target for the first time, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced today.
The United Nations emergency relief fund, set up to speed response to those suffering from natural and man-made disasters, has reached its $450 million annual funding target for the first time, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced today.
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which now stands at $452.5 million, was created by the General Assembly in 2006 to allow the world body quick access to its accounts, potentially saving thousands of lives facing sudden crises.
“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.
“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,” explained Mr. Holmes.
Contributors to the fund in 2008 included 81 UN Member States and a number of private donors, with its largest donations coming from the United Kingdom ($80 million), the Netherlands ($64 million), Sweden ($56 million), Norway ($55 million) and Spain ($44 million). The largest private contributor was the professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers ($500,000).
Since its creation more than 100 Member States and private donors have pledged some $1.5 billion to the Fund, which has disbursed $1.1 billion to emergency programmes in 67 countries since March 2006.
A pledging conference at the beginning of the month has already yielded some $380 million in commitments for next year, as well as several new donors including Afghanistan, Benin, Kenya, Laos, Oman, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
A total of 101 nations have now contributed to the Fund, representing well over half of all UN Member States, and a number of them significantly increased their donations for 2009, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Republic of Korea, Spain and Sweden.