The UN has allocated $100 million to enhance the response to 10 humanitarian crises.

The United Nations (UN) has announced the release of US$100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to address critical underfunding of humanitarian emergencies across 10 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a press release about this allocation.

Joyce Msuya, the Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted the urgent need for increased and sustained donor attention to these underfunded crises. The CERF funding aims to provide emergency cash injections to avert the worst and save lives when other humanitarian funding is inadequate.

More than one-third of the new funding from CERF, managed by OCHA, will support aid operations in Yemen ($20 million) and Ethiopia ($15 million), addressing issues such as hunger, displacement, diseases, and climate disasters. Additionally, the funding package will support humanitarian operations in countries faced with conflict, displacement, and climate shocks, including Myanmar ($12 million), Mali ($11 million), Burkina Faso ($10 million), Haiti ($9 million), Cameroon ($7 million), and Mozambique ($7 million). Countries responding to El Niño-induced drought and flooding, such as Burundi ($5 million) and Malawi ($4 million), are also included.

This allocation marks CERF’s second for underfunded emergencies this year, following the release of $100 million in February for seven countries. However, the combined $200 million released this year for poorly funded humanitarian crises is the lowest amount in the last three years, highlighting the gap between humanitarian needs and the funding received.

The humanitarian community is seeking approximately $49 billion to reach 187 million vulnerable people in crises worldwide. Unfortunately, only 29 percent of this funding has been received, leaving a $35 billion gap.