Central Emergency Response Fund

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) (Fonds central d'intervention d'urgence, in French) is a humanitarian fund established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 15, 2005 and launched in March 2006. With CERF’s objectives to 1) promote early action and response to reduce loss of life; 2) enhance response to time-critical requirements; and 3) strengthen core elements of humanitarian response in underfunded crises, CERF seeks to enable more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to those affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts.

The fund is replenished annually through contributions from governments, the private sector, foundations and individuals. From the fund’s inception till August 2013, donors include 125 Member States and more than 30 private donors and regional authorities.

CERF was created by all nations, for all potential victims of disasters. It represents a real chance to provide predictable and equitable funding to those affected by natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies.

The fund was established to upgrade the Central Emergency Revolving Fund by including a grant element. CERF has a grant facility of US$450 million and a loan facility of $30 million. The CERF grant component has two windows: one for rapid responses and one for underfunded emergencies.

CERF is intended to complement – not to substitute – existing humanitarian funding mechanisms, such as the United Nations Consolidated Appeals. CERF provides seed funds to jump-start critical operations and fund life-saving programmes not yet covered by other donors. In this way, CERF assures that the funds will go where they are most needed in the network of international aid organizations, which include 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.

CERF is managed, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, by the Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Stephen O'Brien, Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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