Today the United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), announced that it is contributing $15 million to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) United (UN). This is the Agency’s largest contribution to date to CERF, the UN’s global humanitarian fund that enables the rapid delivery of lifesaving assistance whenever crises arise and ensures that underfunded crises or prolonged are not left behind.
Through its critical role in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, CERF has helped UN agencies and partners deliver life-saving assistance to 51.5 million people around the world in 2021 alone. This year, CERF helps respond to severe food insecurity in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel region of West Africa, Yemen and other countries facing worsening hunger crises.
Today, the world is facing unprecedented needs, as countries continue to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, increasingly protracted conflicts and the ripple effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine. As a result of the war, it is predicted that up to 40 million more people could be pushed into poverty and food insecurity around the world in 2022.
USAID is proud to support CERF as part of the United States’ global efforts to meet these historic humanitarian needs and encourages other donors to join us in urgently contributing to the collective efforts of the humanitarian community to saving lives and alleviating suffering around the world.
