UN allocates $160 million to aid 12 underfunded global crises
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- Top funding allocations include $18 million each to Afghanistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Yemen, alongside critical funds for Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and West Africa.
Disability Inclusion: The release includes $10 million dedicated to aid accessibility for individuals with disabilities. - This decision pushes total 2026 CERF disbursements to $483 million toward its $1 billion annual goal.
The United Nations allocated $160 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on Friday to provide life-saving relief across 12 severely underfunded humanitarian crises in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
“We have 87 million people to reach, and no time to waste. Today’s new funding will help us get aid to people who might otherwise be left behind,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
He emphasized that financial aid alone remains insufficient, adding: “But money alone won’t get us there: leaders must exercise political will to open access, remove obstacles and help us reach people whose lives are on the line.”
The release is part of a broader campaign aimed at assisting 87 million people experiencing acute humanitarian need this year.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher emphasized the urgency of the response while calling on world leaders to demonstrate the political will needed to clear operational hurdles and grant unhindered aid access.
Out of the total fund, $150 million will go directly to emergency relief operations, including $18 million each for Afghanistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Yemen, $16 million each for Sudan and Somalia, $15 million for South Sudan, $10 million each for Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, $9 million for Chad, $6 million for Cameroon, and $4 million for Cuba.
The remaining $10 million has been earmarked specifically to support humanitarian access for persons with disabilities, paired with up to $4 million in technical assistance and complementary funding from the UN Global Disability Fund.
Managed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), CERF has now allocated $483 million so far in 2026 toward global rapid-response and underfunded emergencies.
