UN allocates $86m to 10 countries in crises

The United Nations announced Friday the allocation of 86 million U.S. dollars to aid Chad, Myanmar, Mali and other seven countries with urgent humanitarian need though largely overshadowed by other crises. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos has allocated the money, which comes from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), in an effort to sustain emergency aid operations in some of the world's worst, yet most neglected, crises, said UN spokesperson Farhan Haq at a regular briefing. "People living through some of the most critical humanitarian crises do not always receive the attention that they need," said Amos. "These allocations will go to help millions of people who are caught in crises that have been forgotten or overshadowed by other emergencies." The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 10 million U.S. dollars of the fund will support relief efforts in Chad while some 11.5 million dollars will help people in Mali who have lived under the impact of violence since 2012. A further 5.5 million dollars will allow UN agencies in Myanmar to maintain operations in Kachin and Rakhine states. The allocations will also support relief efforts in Colombia, Djibouti, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Haiti, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen, the office said. The UN General Assembly established CERF in 2006 to make funding for humanitarian emergencies faster and more equitable. Over 3.35 billion dollars has been contributed to the fund. In 2013, the fund allocated almost 482 million dollars globally, of which over 174 million dollars were allocated for the relief of chronically under-funded crises.