Total 2025 Allocations (US$)
$384M
Countries Assisted with 2025 Allocations
22
In March 2025, the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds allocated grants across 15 countries amounting to $226.2 million to enable essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance. Of this amount, CBPFs and RHPF allocated $92.4 million while the CERF allocated $133.8 million.
For more information about allocations, please visit the CBPFs’ Data Hub and CERF's website.
As part of these allocations, CERF’s first UFE round of the year provided $100 million to support life-saving assistance in 10 of the world’s most underfunded and neglected crises across Africa, Asia and Latin America. This $100 million allocation will be accompanied by an additional funding envelope of up to $10 million to catalyze climate action in life-saving humanitarian assistance. This thematic funding will be made available to the 10 selected country contexts, on a competitive basis, and will be used to advance climate-smart life-saving humanitarian that builds affected communities’ adaptive capacity and resilience to climate shocks and stresses, in fragile contexts. This envelope will be made possible thanks to the CERF Climate Action Account. Please see press release here.
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
Allocations endorsed by the ERC as of 31 March 2025
March Allocations (US$)
$133.8M
Total 2025 Allocations (US$)
$163.1M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in March
12
Allocations in focus: In March, CERF allocated $17 million to provide humanitarian assistance to more than 374,000 people affected by conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The funding responded to the sharp escalation in fighting between the M23 armed group and the Congolese Armed Forces since January 2025, which has caused mass displacement, disrupted supply routes, and increased risks of disease outbreaks and protection violations. Based on joint multi-sectoral needs assessments to prioritize needs, the allocation is ensuring strategically targeted and timely support, including food aid, healthcare, WASH, child protection, shelter, and support for survivors of gender-based violence. The allocation also facilitates logistics services and protection monitoring to ensure that urgent needs are met despite access constraints.
In addition, the trigger threshold for the Anticipatory Action framework for cholera in the DRC was reached on Thursday, 13 March, following a steady increase in suspected cases. This prompted the immediate allocation of $750,000 in pre-arranged funding from CERF. The allocation aims to urgently contain the outbreak in Goma and surrounding areas, by ensuring timely detection and
Contributions: Projections for 2025 contributions remain less than $400 million, which would be the lowest amount since 2009.
CERF Allocations
COUNTRY-BASED POOLED FUNDS
Allocations launched by 31 March 2025
March Allocations (US$)
$92.4M
Total 2025 Allocations (US$)
$220.9M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in March
6
Allocation in focus: In March, the Sudan Humanitarian Fund allocated $24.5 million to address urgent famine-related needs, aiming to assist people in the most affected regions across Sudan. The allocation responds to a rapidly escalating food crisis, with famine conditions confirmed in nine localities and a further 21 at risk, driven by prolonged conflict, mass displacement, and systemic collapse of basic services. The Fund is supporting integrated responses in nutrition, health, and WASH to prevent further deterioration, especially ahead of the lean season peak. To ensure that life-saving assistance reaches the most vulnerable communities, an estimated $5 million of the allocation is dedicated to hard-to-reach areas, and preference is being given to national NGOs.
Contributions: As of the end of March 2025, contributions to the CBPFs is projected to reach $367 million, surpassing the $349 million recorded by the same time in 2024. This year, 24 contributors—including private sector entities and regional authorities—have supported the CBPFs, up from 23 during the same period last year.
CBPFs Allocations
Pooled Funds Impact Story
Clean water helps patients in rural, drought-stricken Malawi
"The arrival of clean, reliable water has been a blessing for us," says Dyman Saidi, chairperson of the water system here. "Before, we had to fetch water from the Masanje River, and the water wasn’t safe. Now, the health centre has constant access to clean water, which makes a real difference for people here.”
A solar-powered water system installed by UNICEF with funding from the CERF has made safe water more accessible for women and children in this area of drought-stricken Malawi. In March 2024, Malawi declared a State of Disaster in 23 of its 28 districts due to severe drought caused by El Niño. Because of poor crop harvests, some 4.2 million people faced high levels of food insecurity. The crisis is worsened by poverty, limited access to basic services, and poor water and sanitation, increasing disease risks and harming health, especially for vulnerable groups. The UN allocated $4.6 million from CERF to provide urgent support to nearly 280,000 people for food, health, education, nutrition, water and sanitation.
Building the new water point at the clinic also encourages people to get important health checks. Moses Mphatso, a health surveillance assistant at Chikuluma Health Post, has seen the impact on their work. "The new system has made it easier for us to provide proper care," Mphatso says. "In the past, we struggled with hygiene without clean water, but now we can disinfect equipment and maintain a clean environment for mothers, babies, and other patients."
As a young mother of two children, Emily explains, “Knowing that the health centre has clean water makes me feel more confident, especially when I need medical services." It also means the surrounding community has easier access to clean water, which saves time, especially for women. "I used to spend hours fetching water, but now I have more time for other tasks," says Emily.
Based on original content from UNICEF.
More informationon the CERF allocation.
Back to summary
