Seven new advisers named to UN Emergency Relief Fund

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today named seven new advisers to the United Nations emergency fund that seeks to save thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost to delay in dealing with sudden-onset or forgotten disasters around the world.

Since its inception in 2006, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated more than $4 billion in support of humanitarian operations in 95 countries and territories facing natural or man-made catastrophes, ranging from the victims of earthquakes and tsunamis to survivors fleeing war and atrocities in their own homelands.

“Over the past 10 years, CERF has been one of the fastest and most effective ways to support communities hit by crisis,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien, who manages the Fund for Mr. Ban.

"As CERF marks 10 years of operations, the Advisory Group is vital to guide the Fund in a challenging resource mobilization environment, as global discussions on humanitarian financing pave the way forward for the future of aid funding.”

“Most recently CERF helped aid agencies deliver food, water and shelter in the immediate aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, provided $44 million for life-saving activities in Yemen and supplied $78 million needed to keep critical aid operations up and running in Syria and neighbouring countries.

“The new members, who join 11 members already on the board, are:

• Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko, Deputy Director-General of the Global Governance and Continental Agenda of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
• Ms. Najla Alkaabi, Assistant Under-Secretary of International Cooperation in the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, the United Arab Emirates
• Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, Malaysia
• Ambassador Seokyoung Choi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva
• Dr. Ashraf Shikhhaliyev, Director of the International Development Agency, Azerbaijan
• Ms. Christina Buchan, Director of the Humanitarian Organizations and Food Assistance, Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development, Canada
• Ms. Rachel Turner, Senior Director for East and Central Africa Department, Department for International Development, United Kingdom