Update for UN Central Emergency Response Fund: Haiti on February 6, 2010

CERF Contributes $26 million to Haiti Relief Efforts
UN peacekeepers distribute food to Haitians
UN distributes food to earthquake victims in Haiti

18 January 2010: Barely 12 hours after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, the Secretary-General announced that $10 million would be available from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Just three days into the relief effort, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator released an additional $15 million to projects within the $575 million Flash Appeal for Haiti. As of 18 January, the CERF, which is a stand-by pool of money contributed by some 60 Member States, was the largest single source of funding for the Flash Appeal.

Humanitarian agencies were therefore able to jumpstart their programmes to provide shelter, clean water, health services and food to some of the thousands of people struggling to cope in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been allocated $10.6 million for food distribution for approximately 2 million people, logistics augmentation, coordination of relief operations, and telecommunication services. The United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) has been allocated $4.8 million to provide access to safe water and sanitation facilities for 3 million people, and emergency nutrition for 2.2 million children and women, and to prevent and respond to family separation. Another $4.8 million went to the International Organization of Migration (IOM) for immediate shelter and non-food item assistance, and camp coordination and management for 200,000 vulnerable earthquake victims. $3.5 million has been allocated to the World Health Organization (WHO) to save lives and reduce suffering for the affected population and to provide adequate drugs and medical supplies to the earthquake victims. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been allocated $1 million for time-critical rubble removal through cash for work, which will benefit 220,000 people directly (indirectly 1 million people.) Close to $200,000 has been allocated to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to strengthen the response capacity of shelters providing services to 2,000-4,000 victims of gender-based violence. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been allocated close to $100,000 for protection of human rights and rule of law.