UN announces US$100 million for underfunded crises; Mozambique to receive US$7 million

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UN announces US$100 million for underfunded crises; Mozambique to receive US$7 million

4:51 CAT | 29 Jul 2020

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has released US$100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to urgently boost humanitarian response in ten under-funded emergencies in Africa, the Middle East, southeast Asia and the Americas. Mozambique was allocated US$7 million. [File photo. Lusa]

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has announced the making available of US$100 million for humanitarian response in 10 countries, including Mozambique, which receives US $ 7 million.

Humanitarian organisations in Mozambique will receive the fourth-largest tranche, worth US$7 million.

The country is facing the Covid-19 pandemic at a time when there are already 250,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado province, already seriously weakened by the highly destructive cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019.

The largest allocation announced by CERF is US$35 million for Yemen, classified as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.

In addition to Yemen, the new $100 million allocation is distributed among relief organisations in Afghanistan ($13 million); Nigeria ($13 million); Mozambique ($7 million); Burkina Faso ($6 million); Pakistan ($6 million); Burundi ($5 million); Colombia ($5 million); Haiti ($5 million) and Uganda ($5 million).

“The allocation places a strong emphasis on mitigating and responding to gender-based violence, an area that remains critically underfunded,” the statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reads.

“The funds will help front-line aid groups deliver life-saving assistance to extremely vulnerable people, and support programmes that address needs exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” it adds.

Mark Lowcock, undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, calls CERF “a life-saving fund and a safety net for the ultra-vulnerable”.

” In the wake of COVID-19, humanitarian needs are rising. Gender-based violence is growing. But funding is not catching up. Millions of people are living on the edge of survival in underfunded emergencies. These funds will help give them a chance,” he stresses.

“Together with $125 million released earlier, the Underfunded Emergencies Window of CERF has now allocated $225 million to support crisis response in 20 countries this year – the highest annual amount in the fund’s history, up from $200 million in 2019, which was itself a record,” the communique adds.

The worsening humanitarian situation in Mozambique had already led the UN to launch calls for specific donations to the country.

In coordination with the Mozambican government, the United Nations on June 4 launched an appeal to international partners to raise US$68.1 million (€61.6 million) for urgent support to combat Covid-19, and, by the beginning of July, had received US$3.5 million dollars (€3.12 million), or just 5.1% of that amount, according to the latest figures.

The plan to face Covid-19 covers actions planned until December, prioritising the most vulnerable, including “people living in poverty, disability, people with HIV/Aids, the elderly, displaced populations and communities at risk”.

The UN estimates that the operation, involving 57 sector partners, will reach about three million of the eight million people in need of assistance.

On the same day, another appeal, in the amount of US$35.4 million (€31.5 million), was launched to support people displaced by armed violence in Cabo Delgado, of which US$7 million (€6.2 million), or 19.8%, has been received.

Population displacement has increased rapidly as violence has grown since the beginning of the year, the UN says, estimating that 250,000 people have been displaced in a conflict that has killed at least 1,000 people.

Adding the host communities, which are also already impoverished, it is estimated that there are 712,000 people in need of help. The plan aims to support 354,000, or about half, by the end of the year.

Source: Lusa