Aid pledges provide vital lifeline in humanitarian emergencies

Contributions to the Fund save lives, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message to the event.

He urged Member States to “dig deeper”, calling for new donors to step forward, to meet the $1 billion annual target to support allocations over the coming year.

Assisting people worldwide

CERF was established in 2005 by the UN General Assembly and is one of the chief means to provide fast and flexible humanitarian funding in situations such as conflicts or climate-related disasters, while also investing in anticipatory action.

Since then, over $9 billion has been deployed to assist people in over 100 countries and territories such as Lebanon, where CERF partner the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, is helping to provide decent shelter and protection to families displaced by the recent hostilities.

Aya Farhat, a young girl from the town of Braachit, is among the beneficiaries. Her family was displaced, and she was forced to move between seven schools. They initially stayed in a small, cluttered room and falling asleep was a challenge.

“Now we have found a better room where we can stay, and I am very happy,” Aya said in a video played during the opening ceremony. “Thankfully, I am with my family, and no one has been separated or lost.”

‘A UN success story’

CERF is a “UN success story”, the Secretary-General said in his message, praising the Fund’s unique, effective and vital role.

“It is a first responder in crisis – rooted in rapid analysis, rapid decision and rapid implementation, and is centred around putting people first – and kick-starting relief as soon as possible,” he said.

He noted that since inception, more than 60 recipient countries have themselves become donors.

“But we need more support to build on CERF’s record of results,” he said.

“As humanitarian needs soar, contributions are failing to keep pace. The need for a fully funded CERF – at $1 billion – has never been greater.”

Critical to humanitarian response

The newly appointed UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, echoed this appeal.

He said humanitarians are seeking $47 billion in 2025 to help 190 million people across 72 countries, and CERF is “absolutely vital” to these efforts.

Mr. Fletcher recently travelled to war-ravaged Sudan and to neighbouring Chad, where nearly more than half a million have fled to escape the fighting.

“I met people whose lives have been ripped apart by conflict. I witnessed the extraordinary generosity of host communities. I saw humanitarians working with courage, with ingenuity and with expertise. And I saw in the midst of that response, how CERF provides a critical boost to the humanitarian response,” he said.

Since taking office, he has learned that “CERF is so much more than the funding it provides; it is also about how it acts” and offered three reasons why.

Fast, flexible, innovative

Mr. Fletcher said CERF is fast. For example, funding was released within hours of the launch of a flash appeal for Lebanon following the surge in hostilities in September.

CERF also provides a lifeline for people in neglected crises, injecting $200 million this year into underfunded humanitarian responses in 17 countries, he continued. Much of the funding was used to support local responders and to strengthen interventions for the most vulnerable people.

“In places like the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), CERF delivered essential support to survivors of gender-based violence,” he said. “And CERF’s allocations to underfunded emergencies help shine a light on neglected crises and inform wider donor decision-making.”

Finally, Mr. Fletcher said CERF drives innovation, maximizing the impact of every dollar given by donors. Thanks to their support for the new Climate Action Account, CERF allocated $10 million in nine countries.

“That not only saved lives, it also helped communities build resilience against future climate shocks, including projects to build flood-resistant vegetable gardens and install solar-powered water pumps,” he added.

Furthermore, CERF also expanded support for anticipatory action to more than $100 million. This meant the Fund was able to deploy $3.4 million to Nepal within six minutes of flood warnings issued in September, enabling people to prepare and thus saving countless lives.

“As the ‘SG’ has just said, CERF is a UN success story, but more importantly, it’s a success story for the humanitarian movement,” he told Member States.

“But imagine…imagine what more we could do together if it was fully funded.”

$349 million in pledges

At the conference, 44 donors pledged $349 million for CERF for 2025, with others expecting to make contributions in the coming months, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported later on Tuesday.

"Donor announcements at last year’s event topped $419 million. The roughly 17 per cent decrease is yet another indication of how grim the funding outlook in 2025 will be," the agency said in a press release.