NEW YORK, 10 May (OCHA): Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Wednesday announced that 32 million US dollar (190 mio. DKR) will be made available from the new UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for the 10 most underfunded emergencies in the world.
– I have often compared the worlds system for funding humanitarian activities as a lottery that only one or two countries will win in a given year, said Mr. Egeland, in announcing his decision.
– The CERF was set up to redress the inequities (uligheder/uretfærdigheder) we have traditionally faced in funding priority projects in much needed, but often overlooked, areas, he added.
Mr. Egeland urged the UN Humanitarian Coordinators in the concerned countries to identify priority programmes, which their respective country teams have been unable to implement in the past due to chronically low funding.
One-third of the funds vested in the CERF are earmarked for underfunded emergencies.
The 12 countries to benefit from this first disbursement for the most underfunded are (all amounts in US dollar): Burundi (2 million); Central African Republic (1 million); Chad (4 million); Ivory Coast (1 million); Democratic Republic of the Congo (17 million); Guinea (1 million); Haiti (1 million); Republic of Congo – tidl. Fransk Congo (1 million); Zimbabwe (1 million); and Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia (which will jointly receive 3 million).
The CERF, which was approved by the General Assembly in December 2005 and officially launched on 8 March 2006, will save lives by providing quick initial funding for life-saving assistance and rapid response in sudden onset, rapidly deteriorating and underfunded 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.
Towards the target of 450 million dollar for the grant facility, the United Nations has received 254 million dollar from 40 countries and 2 private sector donors to date.
Because the CERF is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) urges more Governments, members of the private sector and individuals to donate to the CERF.
States are also encouraged to establish a budget line for annual contributions to ensure the Funds replenishment (genopfyldning).
The CERF is managed by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator on behalf of the Secretary-General.
For additional information on these emergencies and the CERF, visit OCHA Online http://ochaonline.un.org – the CERF website http://ochaonline2.un.org/cerf) and ReliefWeb www.reliefweb.int
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