Five million dollars for an urgent response to the humanitarian emergency in Burkina Faso. The allocation was decided by Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the central emergency response fund of the United Nations.
These resources will make it possible to guarantee humanitarian assistance to approximately 150 thousand people in the Sahel, Central-North and Eastern regions, allowing the continuation of humanitarian operations by air. In fact, the UN estimates that, in the season between June and September, around 3 million people will face a serious situation of food insecurity. The focus of aid will therefore be on the most difficult to reach areas of the country, where the population depends on humanitarian aid transported by helicopter.
Since its establishment, Italian Cooperation has invested in CERF according to the annual budget availability from the portion dedicated to humanitarian aid. In light of growing global humanitarian needs, since 2016, Italian support to the United Nations fund has been steadily increasing. In 2022, Italy reached (for the first time since the establishment of CERF) 9th place among the Fund’s donors, with over 17 million dollars. In 2023, the disbursement of 15 million euros allowed to position itself in the group of the main 10 donors of the Fund which currently sees the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Canada, USA, Belgium and Italy.