The United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund is feeling the strain of the global humanitarian aid budget. Already underfunded and oversubscribed, CERF is now looking to raise its annual budget to $1 billion by 2018 — a doubling of current resources.
The emergency jump-start organization, situated within the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, mainly funds emergency situations and underfunded crises, or the “small tiny emergencies no one notices,” said Michael Jensen, the organization’s head of performance, monitoring and policy.
CERF will host a pledging meeting in December with the aim of expanding its donor base, from the current reliance on mainly European country donors — Australia and Canada also make up its top 10 list of donors out of the 126 countries that have contributed to CERF.* The fund is now examining how it can increase support from countries including Japan, France, Kuwait and China, and to bridge a collaboration with the private sector.
About the author
Amy Liebermanamylieberman
Amy Lieberman is the U.N. Correspondent for Devex. She covers the United Nations and reports on global development and politics. Amy previously worked as a freelance reporter, covering the environment, human rights, immigration, and health across the U.S. and in more than 10 countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Nepal, and Cambodia. Her coverage has appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times. A native New Yorker, Amy received her master’s degree in politics and government from Columbia’s School of Journalism.
