Donations, National

Pledges and Promises

Since its inception in 1991, The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has functioned as the UN's chief arm in meeting the needs of those affected by disasters. OCHA receives only about 5 percent of its funding from the core budget of the UN. The bulk of the organization's funds come from contributions by member states in response to OCHA's general funding appeal, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and flash appeals, which are issued within a week of an emergency's occurrence. The purpose of CERF, begun in 2006, is to respond immediately to the critical needs of an affected population and to ensure equitable emergency aid for crises that are underfunded. Since its creation, CERF has received pledges and contributions of more than $1.6 billion. Flash appeals focus on funding responses to meet the most urgent needs for up to six months after the initial event. Because flash appeals are issued within days after the disaster, they are generally revised within a month as more information becomes available. For example, when tropical storm Ketsana and typhoon Parma hit the Philippines in September 2009, killing more than 300 people and leaving more than 400,000 displaced, a flash appeal was issued for more than $74 million to provide food, drinking water, sanitation, and shelter. Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), Japan, South Korea, Spain, and the United States were among the nations whose governments quickly made pledges. The flash appeal funds were in addition to $7 million CERP had already allocated to the World Food Program, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other UN agencies for disaster relief in the Philippines.

Pledges, however, are only promises, and frequently they become broken promises. A total of $2 billion for rebuilding the war-devastated nation was pledged to Afghanistan in 2002. The actual contributions fell short of the pledges by more than 50 percent, leaving Afghans embittered. In 2003, foreign governments pledged $1.1 billion in aid to Iran, where an earthquake had killed 30,000 in the city of Bam, but more than a year later, the Iranian government had received only $17 million. Reasons for the gap between promise and fulfillment are varied. Donor countries may have concerns about corruption within the affected nation, contributions may be designated for certain agencies or areas and cannot be used in other ways, and other aid needs may arise and designated funds are divided among deserving groups.

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