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45 Countries Benefited From UN Emergency Fund Last Year

The United Nations-managed humanitarian fund today said that 45 countries have benefitted from its $415 million allocated fund to assist people affected by conflict and natural disasters.

"CERF was crucial in helping the response to nearly every major crisis worldwide in 2010. It filled the most critical gaps in humanitarian funding and targeted those most in need."-2010 Annual Report of the Central Emergency Response Fund

Nearly $52 million was provided to Pakistan, which was struck by massive floods in late July, making it the top recipient of CERF funding for 2010, followed by Haiti, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan.

The first quarter of 2010 was the busiest so far in the history of the fund, which was set up by the General Assembly in 2005 and is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As the international intervention began in response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January, CERF was able to respond quickly and effectively in the crucial early stages of the disaster. Within 15 hours of the earthquake, $10 million in CERF funding was available to humanitarian partners in the country.

By the end of the first 72 hours, a total of $25 million had been allocated, making CERF the leading source of funding for humanitarian operations in the first week after the quake, the report points out.

In 2010, CERF funds helped to provide food assistance to an estimated 22 million disaster-affected people in 28 countries; immunized nearly 20 million children; and provided more than 1.5 million people in 17 countries with emergency shelter and non-food items.

Source: United Nations