UN humanitarian arm allocates $100 million to respond to 14 neglected crises

The United Nations today allocated some $100 million to boost the humanitarian response in 14 ongoing but underfunded emergencies, ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen, where people are suffering the effects of hunger, malnutrition, disease and conflict.

UN agencies and their partners in Ethiopia received the single largest allocation of some $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) coming in second with approximately $16 million.

The Fund also allocated $11 million for Afghanistan, $10 million for Kenya, $8 million for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), $7 million both for Yemen and for Chad, $6 million for Niger, and $3 million each for Colombia, Eritrea, the Philippines and Haiti. An additional $2 million was allocated to help address humanitarian needs in Guinea.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted in a news release that Haiti’s full funding needs are being re-evaluated in light of the tragic earthquake that struck the country last Tuesday.

On Friday, the UN and its humanitarian partners launched an appeal for $562 million to help the victims of the disaster, which has left basic services on the brink of collapse in the capital, Port-au-Prince. CERF has allocated $25 million towards this appeal.

Launched in March 2006, CERF is managed by OCHA and aims to speed up relief operations for humanitarian emergencies and make funds available quickly after a disaster, when people are most at risk.

It is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local governments and individual donors. Since 2006, nearly a third of the $1.5 billion allocated from CERF – over $440 million – has gone to chronically neglected crises in almost 50 countries.