INT/Humanitarian assistance; Finland's support to UN's Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs grants 1 million euros to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The global humanitarian situation has continued to worsen during 2022. The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection has risen to 324 million. Out of the 51.7 billion dollars needed for the UN humanitarian operations, only 24.2 billion has been funded. CERF has received the least amount of funds since 2017, covering this year only 52.6% of its 1 billion dollar target. CERF is a strategic humanitarian fund that increases the predictability of funding and improves the speed and timeliness of the UN humanitarian response. CERF responds rapidly to sudden onset emergencies and allocates funding to underfunded crises. CERF pays special attention to four underfunded priorities: gender equality, disability inclusion, protection and education in emergencies. Through CERF, Finland can respond to humanitarian crises also in countries to which the humanitarian budget does not allow earmarked funding.