The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was launched on March 9, 2006, by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to help those regions threatened with starvation, particularly the Horn of Africa, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast and Chad. It would also assist in times of sudden disasters.
To date, few nations have come forward to assist the fund, with only a third of the amount requested being raised, just over US$250m from some 30 countries. OXFAM has criticized wealthier nations such as Japan and Germany for not contributing, and for small contributions from France and Belgium.
The fund has requested an additional $450m to deal with the current situations threatening northern and eastern Africa.
Contributors
The following governments and corporations have donated to the fund.
| Donor | Pledges (US$) | Contributions (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 70,000,000 | |
| Sweden | 41,093,249 | |
| Norway | 30,000,000 | |
| Netherlands | 11,903,360 | |
| Ireland | 11,903,360 | |
| Denmark | 8,100,000 | |
| Luxembourg | 4,000,000 | |
| Switzerland | 2,475,158 | 1,542,842 |
| Finland | 4,900,000 | |
| France | 1,190,336 | |
| Greece | 100,000 | |
| Estonia | 24,000 | |
| Croatia | 5,000 | |
| Sri Lanka | 10,000 | |
| Liechtenstein | 100,000 | |
| Grenada | 10,000 | |
| Armenia | 5,000 | |
| Mexico | 50,000 | |
| Pakistan | 20,000 | |
| Egypt | 15,000 | |
| Republic of Korea | 5,000,000 | |
| Iceland | 150,000 | |
| India | 2,000,000 | |
| Nigeria | 100,000 | |
| Qatar | 5,000 | |
| Kuwait | 200,000 | |
| South Africa | 300,000 | |
| Spain | 10,000,000 | |
| Australia | 7,328,894 | |
| China | 1,000,000 | |
| Belgium | 1,190,336 | |
| Disaster Resource Network | 10,000 | |
| Hyogo Prefecture | 850,211 | |
| Canada | 17,000,000 | |
| United States | 10,000,000 | |
| Total Pledged | over US$256 million | |
| Source: CERF | ||