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Richest donors neglect global emergency fund-Oxfam

09 Mar 2007 00:01:04 GMT
Source: Reuters

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - A global emergency fund set up to get aid to disaster zones more quickly has received "exceptionally poor support" from some of the richest donors, aid agency Oxfam said on Friday.

The U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) entered its second year with international pledges of $342 million. The United Nations wants $450 million from donors, on top of $50 million it already has in the fund's coffers.

"It's certainly disappointing that some countries haven't contributed as much as you would hope or expect...for the fund to meet its target and its full potential to reach people in need," said Oxfam International policy adviser Greg Puley.

The fund was set up to allow cash to flow after a disaster without aid agencies having to wait for donations to roll in. A third of the money is spent on "forgotten emergencies" that struggle to attract international attention.

The United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Austria and Greece have yet to commit any cash at all for 2007.

An Oxfam report compares the amount governments have promised with what the international relief group calculates they should give according to the size of their national income.

By this measure, Norway, Luxembourg and Ireland are the most generous donors for 2007, giving more than 10 times their "fair share" and the 10 meanest are the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Austria, Greece, France, Portugal, Germany and Belgium.

"The $195 million we think the United States should be contributing is less than what it cost to produce the latest King Kong movie," Puley said.

Rudolf Muller, head of the CERF secretariat, said the fund had allowed aid agencies to respond quickly in some emergency hotspots such as Mozambique, where floods have displaced about 170,000 people since the beginning of the year.

He added he was hopeful countries yet to commit funds would do so later this year.

"I think the majority of them are willing, but we also have to understand that many of these countries are going through internal budget revisions, or even cuts in their budgets, and therefore it can be very difficult to mobilise funds," he said.

Aid experts say some donors may be suspicious of multi-country initiatives or not want to lose the publicity impact of announcing their own bilateral donations.

In its first year, the fund spent $376 million on more than 360 urgent humanitarian projects in 40 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. (For more information about emergency relief visit Reuters AlertNet http://www.alertnet.org email: alertnet@reuters.com; +44 207 542 5791)

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Last updated:Fri Mar 9 00:01:17 2007