Yearly Contribution to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) 2022

Established in 2005 as the UN’s global emergency response fund, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) pools contributions from donors around the world into a single global fund to enable more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to those affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts.

CERF is one of the fastest and most effective ways to support rapid humanitarian response. It is also a lifeline for those caught up in the world's most neglected, underfunded and long-lasting crises.

In 2021, the CERF ensured the provision of lifesaving assistance for millions of people in 34 countries at a total value of USD 548 million, thereby reaching its second highest allocation level ever, following on the heels of the recordbreaking 2020 when USD 848 million was allocated.

CERF financed collective anticipatory action ahead of drought in Ethiopia and Somalia, allocating USD 20 million in each country. This brings its total anticipatory allocations to USD 60 million since June 2020.

CERF has also increased pooled funding for gender-based violence (GBV) response through its Underfunded Emergencies window and a CERF allocation to UNFPA and UN Women. CERF’s Underfunded Emergencies window allocation of USD 100 million for 10 countries earmarked USD 9.6 million for GBV priorities and included USD 30 million allocated to Yemen to exclusively address issues for women and girls, including public health.

In line with its commitment with the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative, Switzerland endeavours to predictable, unearmarked and flexible funding.

Therefore, Switzerland is a long standing supporter of the CERF to which it contributes between USD 5 to USD 10 million annually. In 2020, and in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Switzerland contributed a record high of CHF 23 million to the CERF to ensure that the most critical and underfunded areas of the UN system receive support in a rapid and un-bureaucratic way. While the contribution in 2020 went down to CHF 5 million, Switzerland has the ambition to top up its 2022 contribution towards the end of the year.

The global humanitarian needs continue to increase and 2022 sees record-high requirements for humanitarian assistance. In this context, CERF will continue to be an indispensable lifeline for the most vulnerable by ensuring fast and flexible funding for life-saving assistance whenever and wherever people are caught in humanitarian crises.

CERF will also continue to promote increasingly efficient humanitarian responses and support positive change throughout the humanitarian system. Among other, this will include innovative efforts to ensure support to the most vulnerable, initiatives to strengthen accountability to affected populations, as well as use of anticipatory action approaches to mitigate humanitarian impact when emergencies can be predicted.

Continue to support CERF’s anticipatory action and localisation efforts.

Continue to ensure fast disbursement of the funds from recipient agencies to their implementation partners and remain a strong supporter of CERF as a critical enabler of effective, timely and lifesaving humanitarian action, helping front-line partners on the ground to kick start or reinforce emergency activities.

In 2021, Switzerland was ranked on 15th position.

Since its inception in 2006, 126 UN Member States and observers, as well as regional Governments, corporate donors, foundations and individuals, made it possible for humanitarian partners to deliver over USD 6.7 billion in lifesaving assistance through the CERF in over 105 countries and territories.

In 2021, CERF top donors are: Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Canada.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) manages CERF on behalf of the UN Secretary-General (SG) and is supported by the CERF secretariat of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The CERF Advisory Group (AG) provides policy guidance to the SG on the use and impact of the fund. The 18 members of the AG serve in their individual capacity, and not as representatives of their countries or governments. From 2015 until June 2017, the AG was chaired by Manuel Bessler, Delegate for Humanitarian Aid and Head of Swiss Humanitarian Aid.

Fase 17 01.01.2022 - 31.12.2022   (Completed)