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CERF's response to El Niño 2023-2024: A forward-leaning approach

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Based on learning from earlier El Niño events, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), ahead of the 2023-2024 El Niño, developed a proactive approach for more effective and timely action.

An independent review of CERF’s response to the severe El Niño episode of 2015-2016 found that CERF often provided the first funding to El Niño-driven humanitarian disasters. Still, in most cases country teams only applied for funds when the humanitarian impacts were already being felt, and CERF funds could have been more effective if disbursed earlier. This confirms the growing positive feedback on CERF funded anticipatory and early action.

Accordingly, ahead of the 2023-2024 event, CERF took early steps to reduce human losses and enhance cost-effectiveness by focusing on early and anticipatory action where possible, in addition to responses.

CERF’s humantiarian approach to the El Niño 2023-2024 episode has entailed:

Promoting earlier responses by funding anticipatory and early action for El Niño-related disasters and predictable crises, to get ahead of humanitarian impacts.

Ensuring closer monitoring of the global El Niño situation to identify countries at highest risk of severe impact, including countries affected by previous El Niño events.

Proactively engaging with OCHA country and regional offices to identify opportunities to strategically optimize the impact of CERF funds – with initial consultations at the country and regional level already held as early as July 2023 based on the forecasts of rainfall from the International Research Institute (IRI) at Columbia University.

Continuously optimizing the CERF El Niño approach: Lessons learned from El Niño responses will be used to improve CERF’s response to to future La Niña and El Niño events, including early action and rapid response.

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