Good afternoon. I am pleased to update you on the use of CERF in 2014. First, I will give you an overview of this year s major allocations and share with you some examples of the strategic use of CERF. Second, I will update you on the Performance and Accountability Framework, and on a study about the possibility of updating CERF. Finally, I will talk about recent nominations to the CERF Advisory Group, and update you on CERF s funding situation. 1
So far this year, I have committed almost $340 million from CERF to help humanitarian partners deliver life-saving assistance in 41 countries and territories. The funds were allocated through the rapid response window ($170 million) and the underfunded emergencies window ($170 million). Given growing humanitarian needs worldwide, CERF funds needs to be used strategically. That requires rigorous prioritization. We are currently facing four Level 3 crises. This year, CERF has allocated funds to three of these in the Central African Republic, Iraq and South Sudan. CERF is also supporting operations in countries that neighbour CAR and South Sudan to help reduce the impact of crossborder displacement of people. Funds were also used to kick-start the emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. CERF funds supported humanitarian agencies and their partners in other emergencies. For example, to ensure that critical aid reached people affected by floods in Bolivia, Burundi, the Solomon Islands, and Zimbabwe and to contain a measles outbreak in Somalia. Funds were also used to assist people fleeing violence in Niger and Pakistan. Let me know turn to CERF s allocations to help address the crises in CAR and South Sudan and the regional impact of these emergencies. 2
So far this year, as you can see on the slide, some $58 million was allocated under the rapid response window to humanitarian operations in South Sudan and bordering countries, while $33 million went to aid agencies responding in the Central African Republic and its neighbours. In CAR, the entire population has been affected by the ongoing conflict, including tens of thousands people displaced outside the country, in Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad. There is an increasing need to secure humanitarian space so that UN agencies and humanitarian partners can deliver vital protection and assistance. In South Sudan, violence and displacement is compounded by food insecurity and malnutrition. The end of the rainy season is likely to lead to further displacement inside South Sudan, as well as to Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan. So it is important to take action now at how. I decided to set aside additional funds from CERF for these regional crises. Over the next few weeks, up to $60 million will go to critical aid operations in South Sudan and neighbouring countries and some $40 million will go to CAR and its neighbours. In both regions, Humanitarian Coordinators and Humanitarian Country Teams are working closely with the CERF secretariat to ensure the most effective use of these resources. 3
On Ebola, CERF funds were approved in April to provide health services and food assistance in Guinea. Since then, a total of $11.4 million from CERF has been allocated for treatment and prevention programmes and food assistance operations in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Commercial travel in the region has been reduced, which is severely restricting humanitarian efforts. To help overcome this, I also approved $3.8 million to support the UN s Humanitarian Air Service which is helping to deploy critical medical personnel and supplies to places that are difficult to reach by road. The African Union has appointed one of CERF s Advisory Group members, Dr. Julius Oketta, to head its Ebola support operation in West Africa. Humanitarian agencies including OCHA are working closely with colleagues across the UN system and with NGOs partners in support of the United Nations Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) and WHO leading the response to the crisis. 4
CERF also provided substantial support to life-saving programmes to help people in the world s most neglected and underfunded crises. I have approved $170 million in two rounds of allocations for underfunded emergencies in 2014. The first allocation of $95.5 million in January went to Chad, Colombia, the Democratic People s Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Haiti, Mali, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen. A global review of the aid operations that face funding deficits highlighted the needs in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, which are both affected by general insecurity, food deficits and displacement. So in the second round, in July, I allocated $75 million to 11 countries in the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa. I hope that focusing CERF support on the Horn and the Sahel will preventing the countries in those regions sliding into humanitarian crisis. Seven countries in the Sahel Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal were allocated $30.5 million. In the Horn of Africa, four countries were allocated $44.5 million, including $20 million to Somalia, and smaller amounts to Ethiopia, Kenya and Eritrea. A detailed breakdown of allocations in 2014 to date is available in your briefing materials. 5
Let me now turn to CERF policy and performance. We recently had an independent review of CERF s Performance and Accountability Framework. The Framework has been in existence since 2010. We wanted to ensure that it remained relevant given developments such as the IASC Transformative Agenda and the Humanitarian Programme Cycle. The CERF secretariat is in the process of implementing the recommendations of the review. To strengthen CERF s performance on accountability to affected people, NGO partnership, and complementarity with Country-based Pooled Funds. This year, CERF commissioned independent country reviews for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Sudan, adding to the 15 reviews covering 20 different CERF recipient countries that we have undertaken since 2010. We also intend to conduct a regional review of CERF s added value to the humanitarian crisis in Syria that covers Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. CERF also encourages independent evaluations and reviews by recipient UN agencies and IOM. Earlier this year, UNHCR concluded a review of the use of CERF, and WFP is in the process of conducting its own study of its use of pooled funds. FAO and IOM have also conducted reviews in recent years. Last year, the CERF secretariat introduced the new Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) reporting schedule, which is now on a rolling timetable which should reduce the burden on country teams. The new schedule means that humanitarian agencies report soon after project implementation. It allows the CERF secretariat to provide earlier feedback of draft reports and to analyse the information more quickly. The reports received so far show a clear improvement in timeliness and quality in comparison to previous years. 6
I mentioned at the beginning of this presentation that the demand for humanitarian assistance has grown tremendously since CERF became operational in 2006. Demand for CERF funding is now very high. We also need to balance the immediate response with concerns about running out of money early in the year. I have commissioned two studies that will look at CERF s annual funding target in the context of allocation strategies and possible new funding modalities. 7
I would take this opportunity to welcome six new members to the CERF Advisory Group appointed by the Secretary-General in September. They are: Ms. María Andrea Albán Durán from Colombia; Mr. Jesus Domingo from the Philippines; Mr. Nestor Koko from Côte d'ivoire; Mr. Samson Palia Wangusi from Kenya; Mr. Per Örneus from Sweden; and Ambassador Manuel Bessler from Switzerland. The Advisory Group will hold its second annual meeting on 23 and 24 October in New York. The Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar will host the meeting. 8
Finally, an update on contributions to CERF for 2014. During the first nine months of this year, donors continued to demonstrate their generosity and trust in CERF. I am pleased to report that by the end of September, CERF had received $404.5 million or 92 per cent of the $445 million pledged by donors so far for 2014. The Fund remains heavily dependent on contributions from Member States. In 2014, the top 10 donors to CERF accounted for 92 per cent of pledges. Because CERF and the important work it supports remain largely unrecognized beyond its immediate stakeholders, the CERF secretariat and OCHA are working to expand the Fund s donor base and to boost CERF s visibility. I would like to thank Member States and other donors for your continued confidence and strong support of CERF. The first opportunity will be the CERF High-Level Conference in mid-december in New York. Thank you and I am happy to take your questions. 9
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