“There is no sign of letup in humanitarian needs...$1 billion is an ambitious but achievable goal,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during the pledging conference in New York held last December 8, noting that this is the main reason why the General Assembly adopted a resolution last year that called for an expansion of CERF’s annual funding target from $450 million to $1 billion.
UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), a voluntary fund pool that supports critical relief operations in crises around the world, defines “underfunded emergencies” as crises that cannot be funded sufficiently by governments and appear to have been “forgotten.” Under the grant program, the CERF invites partners to identify projects that could qualify under CERF’s guidelines for underfunded emergencies.
Guterres added that protracted conflict and the impact of natural disasters, compounded by structural fragility and chronic vulnerability, mean that more people than ever before survive on the brink of disaster. He warned that in 2018, protracted crises are very much likely to continue, while the impact of climate change is likely to grow and intensify.
Aside from the Philippines, the other countries that can avail the $100 million aid are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Mali, Eritrea, Haiti and Pakistan. The CERF is replenished every year since its creation in 1005. This year's initial pledges came in the backdrop of swelling humanitarian needs, which have increased from $5.2 billion to over $24 billion today.
Meanwhile, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte is consistent in refusing to accept foreign aids, especially from the UN. “The president is already informed about this aid from UN, and he did not give instructions. Therefore, we can assume that he does not care about it.” He told reporters during a press briefing in Malacañang this Tuesday, January 2.
Contributed by Renato Pasayao
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