- The United Nations has allocated some $100 million to boost the humanitarian response in 14 ongoing but underfunded emergencies, ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen, where people are suffering the effects of hunger, malnutrition, disease and conflict.
UN agencies and their partners in Ethiopia received the single largest allocation of some $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) coming in second with approximately $16 million.
The Fund also allocated $11 million for Afghanistan, $10 million for Kenya, $8 million for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), $7 million both for Yemen and for Chad, $6 million for Niger, and $3 million each for Colombia, Eritrea, the Philippines and Haiti. An additional $2 million was allocated to help address humanitarian needs in Guinea.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also noted in a news release yesterday that Haiti’s full funding needs are being re-evaluated in light of the tragic earthquake that struck the country last Tuesday.
On Friday, the UN and its humanitarian partners launched an appeal for $562 million to help the victims of the disaster, which has left basic services on the brink of collapse in the capital, Port-au-Prince. CERF has allocated $25 million towards this appeal.
Launched in March 2006, CERF is managed by OCHA and aims to speed up relief operations for humanitarian emergencies and make funds available quickly after a disaster, when people are most at risk.
It is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local governments and individual donors. Since 2006, nearly a third of the $1.5 billion allocated from CERF – over $440 million – has gone to chronically neglected crises in almost 50 countries.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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