Philippines Reinforces Support for Global Emergency Response Through UN Humanitarian Fund

The Philippines is among the top recipients in Asia and the Pacific of a United Nations mechanism for rapid humanitarian financing, having received over US$125 million for emergency response since the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was established 20 years ago.

The Fund, which is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), can release funds within 48 hours, fueling rapid action when every minute counts, remains a cornerstone of global life-saving response.

“CERF is agile and fast – a critical infusion of resources to kick start life-saving response within hours or even before disaster strikes,” said Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Almojuela of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) today at a roundtable discussion in Manila to commemorate CERF’s anniversary. “20 years ago, CERF was a critical financing innovation for the humanitarian system, and it remains a catalyst for innovation in humanitarian response today.”

Since 2006 it has enabled fast, flexible, and principled humanitarian action in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide, allocating more than $9 billion to United Nations humanitarian agencies.

The Philippines is not only a recipient but also an active contributor to CERF. Its contributions have grown significantly, from US$2,500 in 2019 to US$250,000 in 2025, and the country plays a leadership role through representation in the CERF Advisory Group, where Filipino experts have provided guidance and expert support since 2014.

The speakers at the event, co-organized by DFA and the United Nations Philippines discussed the benefits of the mechanism to the country – the most disaster prone in the world – as well as the increasing role the Philippines is playing in making contributions to the fund.

“CERF is vital — and we need greater investment so it can continue to adapt and evolve, while maintaining its core purpose: providing critical funds immediately, when they matter most, to save lives and livelihoods. In this context, the United Nations is grateful to the Philippines for its strengthened engagement,” said Tristan Burnett, United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim in the Philippines.

“CERF is often the first major funding source to support emergencies and key for rapid scale up of response,” said Kyungsun Kim, UNICEF Philippines Country Representative. “Because of its operational readiness and speed, CERF fills the gaps like no other funding mechanism does.

The Fund’s impact in the Philippines is tangible. Out of $125 million over 20 years, more than $86 million was allocated to rapid response to tropical cyclones, floods, and earthquakes such as Super Typhoon Haiyan (2013) and Super Typhoon Rai (2021), while the rest of the funds were used to support live-saving response to post-conflict displacement at the time of critical shortages of funds.

As climate-related disasters intensify, CERF’s role as a reliable funding mechanism is more crucial than ever. The Philippines’ partnership with CERF exemplifies how proactive multilateral engagement and shared responsibility can save lives and strengthen global humanitarian systems.

“Within the broader realm of climate financing, CERF money is a critical lifeline that is often rolled out much faster than other, more development-oriented sources of climate, disaster risk reduction and adaptation funding,” said Emma Hickey, Ireland’s Ambassador to the Philippines and one of the panelists at today’s session.

The central role of CERF and the criticality of principled humanitarian action were reaffirmed by Christian Halaas Lyster, Norway’s Ambassador to the Philippines: “Norway likes CERF and has always been among its strongest supporters! CERF is central for humanitarian reset – together with principled humanitarian action, respect for international law and rules-based international order.”

Most recently in November 2025, CERF allocated US$5.95 million under its Anticipatory Action framework ahead of Tropical Cyclone Fung-Wong (local name Uwan), enabling pre-arranged life-saving measures before landfall. Additional rapid response allocations, including US$3.5 million for Severe Tropical Storm Trami (local name Kristine) and US$7 million for successive cyclones which supported urgent interventions in water, sanitation, shelter, food security, and protection.

For more information on CERF, see https://cerf.un.org/