This report covers the period 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2011.

In brief Examples of the CBF impact (more in annex):

Red Cross society of China, Hennan Province

After only two years of implementation of Intensified Capacity Building (ICB) in Hennan Province, the branch has recorded impressive achievements:

• The new structure benefitted 7,000 people through sustainable services

• Grassroots Red Cross organisations have increased from 90 to 3,100

• The number of volunteers increased from 10,000 to 30,000, and staff from 100 to 8,000

Cereal import bill in poor food-deficit countries rising due to higher international prices

23 March 2011, Rome - FAO's first forecast for world wheat production in 2011 stands at 676 million tonnes, representing a growth of 3.4 percent from 2010, the March 2011 edition of the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report said today. This level would still be below the bumper harvests in 2008 and 2009.

Wheat plantings in many countries have increased or are expected to increase this year in response to strong prices,

Thank you for attending this meeting, which is an update for member states on the latest on the Central Emergency Response Fund, as at the end of the first quarter of 2010. I would also like to provide a brief overview of country based pooled funds, which work in tandem with the CERF in many cases.

I would like to provide a general overview of what the Fund has achieved since I last provided a briefing to Member States in New York in December, funding levels; the impact of the fund on emergencies in the first quarter of 2010, and what we are doing to ensure