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Sweden commits 23 million USD to UN emergency fund

Xinhua, September 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Swedish government on Wednesday pledged an additional contribution of about 23 million U.S. dollars to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2016.

The UN deputy secretary-general, Jan Eliasson who is currently on official visit to Stockholm, expressed the UN's appreciation for the strong financial and political support of Sweden to CERF, including of its support to the UN secretary-general's initiative to double the CERF to one billion U.S. dollars by 2018, said a press release issued here.

The commitment to provide an additional contribution of 200 million kroner (approximately 23.4 million U.S. dollars) to CERF in 2016, subject to parliamentary approval, aims to support the world's most vulnerable children, women and men.

Noting that the top 10 donors of CERF provide 87 percent of the funding, Eliasson called on other member states to contribute in solidarity with the CERF.

"Yesterday the CERF faced a funding shortfall of 50 million (U.S.) dollars. With the incredibly generous additional pledge from Sweden, we have cut that shortfall in half," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien.

"We are now well on the way to meet the funding target of 450 million dollars in 2016 which will allow us to effectively and promptly address the urgent life-saving needs of some of the world's most vulnerable people."

"The countdown has started to fill the remaining gap," said O'Brien, who is also the UN emergency relief coordinator. "We hope that other countries will come to the UN General Assembly with new pledges, so we can meet if not surpass the target."

The General Assembly established CERF in 2005 and on average each year, the global emergency fund helps humanitarian partners deliver critical healthcare to more than 20 million people; food assistance to 10 million people; water and sanitation to eight million people; livelihood support to five million people; protection to four million people; and shelter to one million people.

CERF also finances services for refugees and migrants, nutrition programmes, mine action, emergency education and camp management.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to host a high-level conference on CERF to secure pledges for 2017 on Dec. 13, at UN Headquarters in New York. Enditem