UN agencies and their partners in Ethiopia received the single largest allocation of some $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) coming in second with approximately $16 million.

The Fund also allocated $11 million for Afghanistan, $10 million for Kenya, $8 million for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), $7 million both for Yemen and for Chad, $6 million for Niger, and $3 million each for Colombia, Eritrea, the Philippines and Haiti. An additional $2 million was allocated to help address humanitarian needs in Guinea.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted in a news release that Haiti's full funding needs are being re-evaluated in light of the tragic earthquake that struck the country last Tuesday.

On Friday, the UN and its humanitarian partners launched an appeal for $562 million to help the victims of the disaster, which has left basic services on the brink of collapse in the capital, Port-au-Prince. CERF has allocated $25 million towards this appeal.

Launched in March 2006, CERF is managed by OCHA and aims to speed up relief operations for humanitarian emergencies and make funds available quickly after a disaster, when people are most at risk.

It is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local governments and individual donors. Since 2006, nearly a third of the $1.5 billion allocated from CERF - over $440 million - has gone to chronically neglected crises in almost 50 countries.#