UN humanitarian fund allocates $7.9 million to bolster underfunded emergency response in Niger
Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has allocated US$7.9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to boost implementation of nine underfunded humanitarian projects in Niger. The projects are part of the 2013 Humanitarian Appeal for the country and aim to provide assistance to more than 650,000 vulnerable people.
The funding will support the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN agencies FAO, WHO, WFP, UNFPA and UNICEF - with their operating partners - to ensure humanitarian assistance to vulnerable migrants expelled from Libya in the Agadez region; to strengthen the resilience of pastoralists and agropastoralists in five regions; to provide emergency response to malaria and diphtheria outbreaks; to ensure humanitarian air services in Niger; to establish minimum emergency reproductive healthcare and medical assistance to rape victims; to provide education to Malian refugee children; and to promote water and sanitation interventions in response to malnutrition. “This CERF allocation complements the generous supports we have received from other donors. It will help us to overcome the financial challenges we face in meeting urgent needs especially in sectors such as water, hygiene and sanitation, education, protection and health," said Fode Ndiaye, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Niger.
Although the $355 million Humanitarian Appeal for Niger is currently funded at 67.3 percent, three specialized sectors, or clusters, have mobilized less than a third of what they need. Water and sanitation projects have received 17.5 percent of required funding, education 20 percent and protection 27.7 percent. In addition, even in better-funded sectors there are aspects of the response that require additional donor support. These include resilience projects for the food security sector which is otherwise funded at 77 percent.
"Our projects for strengthening the resilience of 659,000 pastoralists and agro-pastoralists were not funded at all until July," said Dr. Amadou Saley, FAO’s Assistant Resident Representative in the Niger. "The $2.5 million received from CERF to bolster these projects will help people to better cope with the constant risk of food insecurity".
CERF has also granted $6.4 million to Niger since July to support the rapid response to a cholera epidemic, to forced displacement of people and to protect livelihood of vulnerable populations, bringing the overall CERF support to Niger in 2013 to $14.3 million.
The Central Emergency Response Fund was established by the UN in 2006 to pre-position funding to respond timely and equitably to humanitarian crises around the world. Last year, CERF allocated $24.6 million to implement rapid response activities to various emergencies in Niger.
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- 379 reads
