CERF Annual Results Report 2024

Letter from the Emergency Relief Coordinator

If CERF didn’t exist, we would have had to invent it.

We are in the midst of a funding crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. Governments which have been incredibly generous for decades are allocating resources elsewhere – while more than 300 million people in war-ravaged and climate-struck communities look to them for help.

This is why CERF, the UN’s largest emergency fund, is indispensable. It jump-starts rapid humanitarian responses, providing the most needed services to the most vulnerable communities in the shortest period of time. And it does so before, during and after crises hit.

I have seen CERF’s speed, efficiency and impact time and again. In Lebanon, where CERF released funds within hours of the Flash Appeal’s launch. In Sudan, where the Fund has provided over $125 million to support nearly five million people since the conflict began. In Syria, where over $40 million in 2024 enabled critical humanitarian aid and protection. The list goes on.

CERF is a true lifeline, and has been, every year, since its creation 20 years ago.

CERF’s speed in responding to Tropical Cyclone Chido in Mozambique was record-breaking, enabling responders to be the first on the ground within minutes as winds grew to exceptionally high speeds.

A model of innovation, CERF committed over $120 million in funding for Anticipatory Action, helping humanitarians to act ahead of predictable crises. In July, CERF released over $6 million just minutes after flood warnings in Bangladesh, enabling partners to reach 388,000 people ahead of peak flooding and helping them prepare before roads were cut off.

A champion of neglected crises, CERF allocated $200 million to 17 under-resourced operations, from Haiti to Myanmar, while the newly launched CERF Climate Action Account mobilized more than $10 million to protect vulnerable people from the ravages of environmental upheaval.

And although the Fund has never reached the $1 billion target set by Member States in 2016, it has been nothing short of a global safety net for humanity – one that is now more critical than ever.

Without your continued and increased support, we will have to make painful decisions about where CERF funding goes – and where it doesn’t. Without your generosity, survivors of wars, floods, droughts and famine will be the victims of inaction.

More than 300 million people need you to step forward.

Tom Fletcher

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator