Project profile — Central Emergency Response Fund - OCHA 2013-2015

February 2013 - The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is a humanitarian fund established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 to enable more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to those affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts. DTATD's support helps the CERF to achieve its objectives, including: (1) promoting early action and response to reduce loss of life; (2) enhancing response to time-critical requirements; and (3) strengthening core elements of humanitarian response in underfunded crises. The CERF is intended to complement - not to substitute for - existing humanitarian funding mechanisms such as the UN Consolidated Appeals. The CERF provides seed funds to jump-start critical operations and fund life-saving programmes not yet covered by other donors. The CERF assures that the funds will go where they are most needed in the network of international aid organizations, which includes the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), among others. The Fund is managed, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Expected outputs include: life-saving activities supported (e.g. food, nutrition, health, protection, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, transportation, communication, and other items of assistance); and more timely and coordinated humanitarian action. The expected intermediate outcome is reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people, especially women and children.

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