The United Arab Emirates has pledged $1 million USD to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for 2016. Jamal Al Musharakh, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, announced the UAE’s donation at a high-level pledging conference held at the United Nations today.

     “CERF serves an invaluable role in mobilizing humanitarian efforts to mitigate the most pressing emergencies – whether they have just surfaced, are rapidly deteriorating, or are protracted – by giving resources to UN agencies to help people most desperately in need,” said Deputy Permanent Representative Musharakh.

    Operating through the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, CERF was started in 2006 to facilitate the response of UN agencies to humanitarian crises around the world. Ten years later, CERF remains a vital tool for the UN to mobilize resources to address humanitarian catastrophes. In 2015, CERF distributed over $450 million to UN agencies and their implementing partners to react to crises in 40 countries. Last year, 125 countries contributed to CERF in supporting humanitarian aid worldwide.