55 Million Dollars to Help Eight Countries

IPS Correspondents

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (IPS)  – The United Nations announced Thursday that eight countries, currently  facing emergencies, will receive 55 million dollars for humanitarian operations.The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is dispersing the funds to provide food, water, health and other basic services to Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

Of  the total, about 14 million dollars will be given to agencies in the Republic of Sudan, particularly in Darfur, and 12 million dollars to Democratic Republic of Congo to address health and nutrition needs.

Afghanistan will receive 10 million dollars for use towards their most vulnerable and 10 million dollars will go to agencies in Ethiopia to provide assistance to refugees and address the worsening of the food crisis.

“These CERF grants provide critical funding. The money will save lives by helping aid agencies reach people in desperate need”, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said in a statement released here.

CERF was launched in 2006, and the programme gives life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters and other crisis.

The funds are voluntary contributions from member states, non-governmental organizations, regional governments, the private sector and individual donors.

This year, CERF has allocated more than 158 million dollars, and 13 countries were given almost 104 million dollars in January. Every year a third of the funds are earmarked for emergencies to help improve the balance of global humanitarian aid.

Since 2006, more than 40 countries suffering from neglected crisis, have received a third of the 2.6 billion dollars.