The United Nations announced Friday the allocation of 104.3 million U.S. dollars to 15 countries to support humanitarian aid programs.
The largest recipients of these grants, which were drawn from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), are Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire, Pakistan and Niger, said UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes.
"These grants are often the last bit of hope for millions of people caught up in some of the most severe and protracted humanitarian crises around the world," said Holmes.
"It is thanks to the existence of tools like the CERF and the generous support it receives from donors each year that we can fill gaps in the humanitarian response and provide assistance to the most vulnerable," he added.
The CERF funds made available Friday will be granted to United Nations agencies, and through them to partner organizations, to support humanitarian projects in countries affected by both conflict and natural disasters.
In the last two years, the CERF has allocated more than 600 million dollars to projects in 60 countries affected by natural disasters and conflicts.
As mandated by the UN General Assembly, the CERF commits one-third of all funds each year to redress imbalances in the global aid distribution by supporting neglected crises. The other two-thirds are used for rapid response to urgent needs.
Since March 2006, 624.1 million dollars has been allocated from the CERF to support nearly 800 assistance projects in some 60 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America affected by natural disasters and conflicts. Over the last two years, a total of 200 million dollars of all funds contributed to CERF has been used in support of forgotten crises in 23 countries, mostly in Africa.
Source: Xinhua
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