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STORY: UN / CERF PLEDGING CONFERENCE
TRT: 03:30
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 10 DECEMBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
10 DECEMBER, NEW YORK CITY
2. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
3. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“CERF is a United Nations success story. It is a first responder in crisis – rooted in rapid analysis, rapid decision and rapid implementation. And is centred around putting people first – and kick-starting relief as soon as possible.”
4. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
5. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We need more support to build on CERF’s record of results. As humanitarian needs soar, contributions are failing to keep pace. The need for a fully funded CERF – at 1 billion dollars – has never been greater. I sincerely thank all those that have contributed for their generosity. Your donations save lives. But in this hour of greatest need, I also ask countries to dig deeper. And new donors to step forward. Help CERF help others.”
6. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations / Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“CERF is so much more than the funding it provides. It is also about how it acts. Here a three reasons why CERF is so incisive: One, it’s fast. When hostilities surged in Lebanon in September, CERF released funds within hours of the launch of the Flash Appeal. This provided quick support to displaced families and people trapped in conflict areas.”
8. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations / Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Two, CERF provides a lifeline to people in ‘neglected’ and underfunded crises. This year, it injected $200 million into underfunded humanitarian responses in 17 countries.”
10. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations / Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Three, CERF drives innovation, maximizing the impact of every dollar that you give. Thanks to your support for the new CERF Climate Action Account, CERF allocated $10 million for innovative climate-smart humanitarian action in 9 countries. This not only saved lives it also helped communities to build resilience against future climate shocks.”
12. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations / Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“CERF also expanded its support for anticipatory action to more than $100 million. Ready to deploy at a moment's notice, anticipatory action empowers humanitarians to support communities before a disaster strikes. For instance, in Nepal in September, under the framework, CERF released $3.4 million within 6 minutes.”
14. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations / Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Imagine what more we could do together if it was fully funded. As we approach the 20th anniversary of CERF and as we face unparalleled global challenges, what better or more important time to hit that $1 billion target set by Member States in 2016?”
16. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
UN chief said that the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is “a United Nations success story.”
Addressing CERF’s High-level Pledging Event for 2025 today (10 Dec), Guterres said that “is a first responder in crisis – rooted in rapid analysis, rapid decision and rapid implementation. And is centred around putting people first – and kick-starting relief as soon as possible.”
He also said, “We need more support to build on CERF’s record of results. As humanitarian needs soar, contributions are failing to keep pace. The need for a fully funded CERF – at 1 billion dollars – has never been greater. I sincerely thank all those that have contributed for their generosity. Your donations save lives. But in this hour of greatest need, I also ask countries to dig deeper. And new donors to step forward. Help CERF help others.”
Also addressing the event, Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said, “CERF is so much more than the funding it provides. It is also about how it acts. Here a three reasons why CERF is so incisive: One, it’s fast. When hostilities surged in Lebanon in September, CERF released funds within hours of the launch of the Flash Appeal. This provided quick support to displaced families and people trapped in conflict areas.”
He continued, “Two, CERF provides a lifeline to people in ‘neglected’ and underfunded crises. This year, it injected $200 million into underfunded humanitarian responses in 17 countries.”
He added, “Three, CERF drives innovation, maximizing the impact of every dollar that you give. Thanks to your support for the new CERF Climate Action Account, CERF allocated $10 million for innovative climate-smart humanitarian action in 9 countries. This not only saved lives it also helped communities to build resilience against future climate shocks.”
He also said that CERF also expanded its support for anticipatory action to more than $100 million.
He noted, “Ready to deploy at a moment's notice, anticipatory action empowers humanitarians to support communities before a disaster strikes. For instance, in Nepal in September, under the framework, CERF released $3.4 million within 6 minutes.”
He concluded, “Imagine what more we could do together if it was fully funded. As we approach the 20th anniversary of CERF and as we face unparalleled global challenges, what better or more important time to hit that $1 billion target set by Member States in 2016?”
Despite a challenging funding environment, CERF has remained at the forefront of global humanitarian responses in 2024, enabling life-saving assistance wherever and whenever needed the most.
While projections for CERF’s total income for 2024 show a modest improvement over 2023, sustained efforts and more predictable support are essential to ensure that CERF can meet the growing intensity and frequency of crises confronting the humanitarian system today.
Throughout the year, new and escalating conflicts in places such as the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Lebanon, and Sudan continued to drive displacement and deepen suffering.
During the year CERF played a pivotal role in responding to these crises, offering a lifeline to millions of conflict-affected people.
