December 2009
DARA has provided the Spanish government, the fourth largest donor to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2009, with technical assistance.

The CERF is one of the central pillars of the United Nations Humanitarian Reform, as well as one of the main funding mechanisms allowing the strengthening of humanitarian response.

AECID (The Spanish Development Cooperation Agency), member of the CERF’s advisory board, contracted DARA to inform its position in the November 2009 Advisory Group Meeting held in New York.

DARA provided AECID with advice on what role Spain can play in the future, as well as background information on the main challenges facing the CERF, such as criteria, timing of funding, and accountability amongst others. In these types of pooled funding mechanisms:

• Allocations should be evidence-based.
• Donors should look into the complementarity between national and central unearmarked funds.
• Funding should be allocated to the best placed organization within the humanitarian system (either UN agencies, the Red Cross International Movement or NGOS).

Read the CERF Advisory Group November 09 Report

For more information visit:
http://www.aecid.es/
www.cerf.un.org