Central Emergency Response Fund
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) (Fonds central d'intervention d'urgence, in French) is a humanitarian funding mechanism established by the United Nations to enable more timely and reliable assistance to victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 December 2005 and launched in March 2006.
Following a disaster, the world looks to the UN to lead the international response. The UN relies on donor contributions to undertake relief activities. Contributions, however, can often be unreliable, uneven and late. Early and predictable funding is essential. It prevents situations from spiraling out of control, saving resources and, more important, saving lives.
The CERF was created to ensure that funds are available immediately in response to disasters and emergencies. The Fund provides an easy and centralized way to support the UN’s life-saving efforts in humanitarian crises around the world. Whether in response to a headline disaster or a forgotten crisis, the CERF permits the UN to respond rapidly and equitably to save lives.
Read more about Central Emergency Response Fund: Allocations, Donor Contributions
Famous quotes containing the words central, emergency, response and/or fund:
“It’s easy to forget how central the French people are in everything we mean when we say Europe.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“War-making is one of the few activities that people are not supposed to view “realistically”; that is, with an eye to expense and practical outcome. In all-out war, expenditure is all-out, unprudent—war being defined as an emergency in which no sacrifice is excessive.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“... the most extreme conditions require the most extreme response, and for some individuals, the call to that response is vitality itself.... The integrity and self-esteem gained from winning the battle against extremity are the richest treasures in my life.”
—Diana Nyad (b. 1949)
“School success is not predicted by a child’s fund of facts or a precocious ability to read as much as by emotional and social measures; being self-assured and interested: knowing what kind of behavior is expected and how to rein in the impulse to misbehave; being able to wait, to follow directions, and to turn to teachers for help; and expressing needs while getting along with other children.”
—Daniel Goleman (20th century)