UN establishes new emergency fund

The United Nations’ General Assembly has established a new Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF, to help create quicker, more predictable UN funding for crises.

The fund aims to have a total of US $500 million in grants and loans ready for UN agencies to use within three to four days of the start of an emergency.

"By establishing the Central Emergency Response Fund we have taken a critical decision to ensure that the international response to today's humanitarian crises is more effective and equitable," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the General Assembly on Thursday.

"In the past, we usually began collecting money when the crisis had struck," Annan said. "With the Standing Fund, we will be able to begin operating immediately while we wait for contributions to come in."

He added that the UN had already received more than $200 million.

The CERF is expected to save lives by providing quick initial funding during the early stages of emergencies and to eliminate extra costs incurred that result from delays in funding. It also aims to ensure that those crises that are "neglected or forgotten" by the media continue to receive much-needed funds.

The new fund will be launched in mid-January, and is expected to be fully operational by March.

"As we have seen in 2005 - a year bracketed by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan - the world has no time to lose," said Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. "2005 showed us that, in our interconnected world, a disaster local in origin can be global in impact."