ReliefWeb

(1 August 2011) The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, has set aside some US$60 million for underfunded humanitarian operations in ten countries across the globe where people are suffering the effects of hunger, malnutrition, disease, or conflict.

The funds made available will be granted to United Nations humanitarian agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and through them to partner organizations, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to cover funding gaps in key humanitarian projects in the affected countries. Countries were selected to receive grants based on an analysis of the funding levels of their humanitarian programmes, and the severity of the needs.

Humanitarian actors in South Sudan will receive $11.5 million, the largest individual portion, to bolster aid projects in the newly independent country. Humanitarian organizations in Ethiopia will receive $11 million for life-saving activities while the humanitarian country team in Pakistan has been allocated some $10 million for conflict-affected communities. Humanitarian agencies confronting chronic humanitarian needs in Niger and Zimbabwe will each receive US$6 million in funding. CERF will allocate $5 million to support the Humanitarian Country Team in Sri Lanka as the country transitions following years of conflict. Some $3.5 million will go toward vital humanitarian projects in the Mindanao Region of the Philippines. An additional US$3 million will go to humanitarian agencies working in conflict-affected communities in Colombia. Humanitarian partners in Nepal will receive $2 million for refugee assistance efforts. A further $2 million will be allocated to address persistent needs in Myanmar.

This is the second round of allocations from the CERF’s window for underfunded emergencies in 2011. Some $84 million was made available to humanitarian agencies in 15 countries during the first round of underfunded allocations in January. As mandated by the General Assembly, the CERF commits approximately one-third of all funds each year to redress imbalances in the global aid distribution by supporting neglected crises. Accordingly, over $530 million has gone to chronically neglected crises in roughly three dozen countries since the fund became operational in 2006.

The CERF was established in 2006 to help agencies respond rapidly to new or deteriorating humanitarian situations. CERF is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organisations, local governments, the private sector and individual donors. Since its establishment, more than 123 Member States and dozens of private sector donors have contributed nearly $2.3 billion to CERF, which is administered by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Fund has disbursed more than $2 billion to help millions of victims of natural disasters and conflict in more than 82 countries and territories since 2006. Roughly US$420 million has been pledged for the Fund for 2011.