UN CERF Annual Report 2012 January 2012 - December 2012 | Page 20

2012 IN REVIEW

SOUTH SUDAN

In 2012, CERF was crucial in supporting

Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania

Although larger emergencies accounted for the majority

humanitarian response in nearly every

and Senegal to support an estimated 1.6 million people. A

of CERF’s 2012 allocations, throughout the year CERF

combination of successive droughts, conflict, population

also continued to support those in need in smaller

displacement and cholera outbreaks had left over 18

emergencies. In March and April, Comoros was hit by

provided early funding to new emergencies

million people in the eight countries in the Sahel facing

heavy rainfall and severe flooding that cut off access to

and filled some of the most critical

food insecurity and one million children under age 5 at risk

affected communities and destroyed roads and other

of dying. CERF’s response to the crisis demonstrated the

infrastructure. CERF gave $2.5 million to UNICEF, WHO,

humanitarian funding gaps. It allowed

Fund’s ability to successfully meet time-sensitive needs by

UNDP, UNFPA and WFP in Comoros to ensure food

partners to respond to the needs of millions

supporting life-saving activities.

security, basic health care, shelter, water, education and

major emergency worldwide. CERF

CERF supports UNHCR to assist
refugees in South Sudan

protection for 60,000 affected people.

of people affected by crises.

Taking stock of lessons learned following the humanitarian
crisis in the Horn of Africa in 2011, the CERF secretariat

In July, CERF gave more than $20 million in RR funding to

CERF disbursed a record annual total of $485 million

worked closely with regional partners to ensure

UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, UNFPA and IOM in South Sudan.

to 546 projects in 49 countries and territories in 2012.

timely CERF allocations to speed up the humanitarian

Clashes along its northern border had left South Sudan

Never before has the need for CERF funding been

community’s response to the drought in the Sahel.

struggling to cope with a massive humanitarian crisis,

greater, and never before has CERF’s support to enable

According to the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator

as more than 170,000 people fled the conflict in South

more rapid and more sustained life-saving assistance

for the Sahel and HCT, CERF’s early and sustained

Kordofan and Blue Nile state. The refugee situation further

been more substantial.

involvement was essential for addressing the situation.

deteriorated due to a combination of political-economic
shocks, increased conflict and worsened food insecurity.
The CERF allocation allowed the five recipient agencies to

Credit: UNHCR

provide life-saving support to an estimated 65,000 people,
including over 13,000 children under age 5.
The second UFE allocations of 2012 approved some

485

$

MILLION
DISBURSED

546
PROJECTS
FUNDED

49
RECIPIENT
COUNTRIES

$55 million for humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan,
Cameroon, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Sudan.
In October, Hurricane Sandy hit Cuba and Haiti, causing
deaths, destroying infrastructure and agricultural land, and
worsening the food security, health, financial and nutrition
situations of many vulnerable people. In response, CERF
gave $5.5 million to humanitarian programmes in Cuba
and $4 million to humanitarian programmes in Haiti that

CERF continued to deliver on its mandate by giving timely,

The majority of the funds disbursed in the first quarter were

need-based funding to a broad range of emergencies, from

given through the first UFE grant round. Thirteen countries

large regional and national emergencies, such as the Sahel

received a total of $104 million in UFE funds to help fill

food-security crisis and the Myanmar conflict, and smaller

critical gaps in humanitarian aid. These included the Central

emergencies, like the floods in Comoros.

African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Djibouti, Democratic

DISBURSEMENT BY COUNTRY

People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Haiti, Nepal, Pakistan,
Philippines, Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Syria.

Ten recipient countries accounted for more than half of

In the second quarter, CERF provided nearly $23 million in

the total annual disbursements. With a total of $40 million,

RR funding to help people affected by the Syrian crisis, in

humanitarian operations in South Sudan received the most

Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Since the crisis began,

CERF funds in 2012.

more than 2.5 million people have needed humanitarian
assistance. Additional allocations were made throughout

$179 million for 24 countries, including more than

agencies in Syria and affected neighbouring countries to

$27 million in RR grants to humanitarian partners in

20

2012, bringing the total CERF support to humanitarian
more than $52 million.

CERF 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

UNOPS to assist 900,000 affected people with support
in agriculture, food security, nutrition, health, education,
shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene.
At the end of the year, Typhoon Bopha hit the east coast of
Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The typhoon was the

Humanitarian actors worked around the clock to
keep pace with the emergency, but the situation soon
overwhelmed available resources and projections.
To make matters worse, the rainy season began, and
most areas within the two states were quickly flooded,
complicating efforts to deliver vital assistance. The health,
water, sanitation and nutrition situations deteriorated
quickly, and many internally displaced persons died of
malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract diseases.
In July 2012, CERF provided a Rapid Response allocation
of $20 million to UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, UNFPA and IOM
working in South Sudan. UNHCR used its $10 million
share to provide urgent, life-saving activities, and the
timely intervention helped stem the rapidly worsening
humanitarian crisis.

sixteenth storm to hit the Philippines in 2012 and the most
powerful in decades. More than 6.2 million people were
affected and over 987,000 people displaced. In response,
CERF disbursed $8 million to UNICEF, WFP, IOM, UNFPA
and UNDP to help an estimated 855,000 people.

With the CERF disbursement, UNHCR increased
the water supply from 12 litres per person per day
in June to 21 litres per p