U.N. News Centre: The vulnerable ‘must be our first priority,’ says Ban, calling on donors to support U.N. emergency fund
“At a high-level pledging conference in New York [Tuesday] on the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the U.N. is seeking at Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s request, an unprecedented $1 billion by 2018 — a stark increase since its 2005 establishment. Global humanitarian needs have quadruple[d] over the years, leaving more than 128 million people in need of assistance today. The ever-increasing scale and intensity of emergencies points to the need for a larger, more robust CERF to address the growing needs…” (12/13).