16 Dec 2011

UN / CERF DONORS CONFERENCE

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos announced today that 374.6 million dollars was pledged today at the annual donors conference for the Central Emergency Response Fund. UNTV / WFP

Posted at: December 16, 2011 5:18 pm

Duration: 03:00

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / CERF DONORS CONFERENCE
TRT: 3.00
SOURCE: UNTV / WFP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 16 DECEMBER 2011, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

RECENT 2011, UNITED NATIONS NORTH LAWN BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations North Lawn building

16 DECEMBER 2011, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, conference room
3. Cutaway, audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
"I'd like to thank you all very much indeed for your contributions and report that the total amount pledged this morning is approximately 374.6 million dollars based on today's exchange rate and of course subject to exchange rate variation".
5. Cutaway, audience
6. Wide shot, morning CERF session with the presence of Ban Ki-moon
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
"Today, we can see that the Central Emergency Response Fund has exceeded expectations. It has disbursed more than $2 billion dollars in assistance -- making it one of the largest sources of humanitarian funding in the world. Two out of three members of the UN General Assembly have contributed to it -- showing how widely it has become accepted."
8. Cutaway, audience applauds
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Maikibi Kadidiatou Dandobi, Minister of Population, Women's Promotion and Child Protection, Niger:
"In 2010 CERF funding contributed to proving food security to more than 6 million vulnerable people and to treating more than 600 thousand children from the age of six to 59 months protecting them against acute malnutrition and making it possible to save thousands of human lives. These very positive actions for the people of Niger were made possible thanks to the availability, professionalism and the smooth coordination of OCHA."
10. Cutaway, delegates
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Maikibi Kadidiatou Dandobi, Minister of Population, Women's Promotion and Child Protection, Niger:
"The lack of fodder and increasing prices for live stock fodder could worsen the situation for breeders who have already experienced serious losses in 2009 to 2010, roughly 65 percent of small farmers and could reduce life stock production in the affected areas. From the nutritional point of view the malnutrition rate in Niger is one of the highest. Indeed the nutritional situation of children under the age of five remains disturbing the comprehensive acute malnutrition rate goes beyond the threshold of 15 percent during years of crisis. Already in June 2011 other regions have seen a comprehensive acute malnutrition rate of roughly 10 to 14 percent."

FILE – WFP – NOVEMBER 2011, NIGER

12. Wide shot, man working in field
13. Various hut, man goes to hut and shows the millet
14. Various shots, Adali market
15. Med shot, children eating in market area
16. Pan right, severely malnourished children at the Adali Market
17. Wide women in farm

STORYLINE:

Donor countries today in New York pledged nearly 37.6 million to the United Nations (UN) Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

The pledging conference was chaired by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos who announced the total amount pledged by donors later in the day following statements by contributing countries.
Earlier in the day Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that the CERF had disbursed more than 2 billion dollars in assistance since it was launched in 2006, making it the world's largest source of humanitarian funding. 
He said that "two out of three" members of the UN General Assembly had contributed to it, showing how widely it had become accepted.
This year about 400 million dollars were disbursed by the fund to help some 29 million people across 45 countries, including for UN efforts to overcome the Horn of Africa crisis, the drought in Niger and the floods in Central America. 
Niger's Minister of Population, Women's Promotion and Child Protection Maikibi Kadidiatou Dandobi said that in 2010 CERF funding had contributed to providing food security to more than 6 million vulnerable people and treating more than 600 thousand children.

She also said that the lack of fodder and increasing prices for live stock fodder could worsen the situation for breeders who were already dealing with the consequences of their losses in 2009 to 2010.

Managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the CERF has enabled the fast delivery of life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters and other crises in some 80 countries over the past five years.