Over $420m provided for humanitarian relief in 2011: UNOCHA

May 30, 2012 (JUBA) — At least $427 million of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was allocated to 11 United Nations agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2011, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in its annual report.

Climate-related emergencies due to drought, floods and storms, it says, received more than $149m from the fund, while over $128m reportedly went to the Horn of Africa for people affected by drought and food insecurity.

Part of the CERF formed the bulk of money that was need for humanitarian partners intervene early in the Sahel to help the most vulnerable people affected by drought-related hunger in Niger, Chad and Mauritania.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP), as in previous years, reportedly topped the list of CERF’s top-funded agency, taking $127m or almost 30 per cent of all CERF funds due to its role in providing emergency food aid. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was the Fund’s second-highest funded agency in 2011, receiving $109m earmarked to fund 130 projects in 38 countries and territories.

The annual report, however, says despite the challenging global economic environment, CERF raised the highest dollar amount ever from donors in 2011, which amounted to more than $465m.

Early this month, the UN launched an emergency appeal for humanitarian assistance in South Sudan as thousands of people started returning into the country from neighboring Sudan. The repatriation process is being facilitated by IOM with support from both countries’ governments.

An estimated 4.7million South Sudanese (nearly half of the country’s population), the UN says, are at risk of food insecurity, with close to one million likely to be severely affected.

(ST)