Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid says the Maldives appreciates the Central Emergency Response Fund CERF's continued efforts to disburse aid to the most vulnerable populations and to fund the most underfunded humanitarian efforts.
He said this while addressing the UN CERF High-level Pledging Event for the year 2020 held yesterday.
Minister Shahid said that the Covid-19 pandemic has created extraordinary challenges in its own right – magnifying the harm inflicted by conflicts, extreme weather, and the ongoing effects of climate change.
Minister said that the Maldives knows too well the daunting challenges developing states face in responding to the intersection of these events that will remain long after the pandemic has abated.
He noted that CERF’s swift and targeted disbursement of assistance meaningfully improved the global response to Covid-19 and other humanitarian threats over the past year.
Minister Shahid said that In responding to crises, especially a global pandemic such as Covid-19 that presents the risk of exponential spread, $1 million spent on day one might save $1 billion on day 100.
He said that CERF’s Rapid Response and anticipatory actions in response to Covid-19, flooding, droughts, and other emergencies contributed substantially to mitigating the humanitarian impact of these events.
Minister added that CERF also demonstrated prudence in its funding of UN agencies, which could in turn utilize their expertise to allocate resources to the areas of greatest need.
Shahid highlighted that the Maldives appreciates CERF’s continued efforts to disburse aid to the most vulnerable populations and to fund the most underfunded humanitarian efforts. He said that those countries with the fewest resources are often the hardest hit by conflicts, natural disasters, and other crises.
Minister Shahid said that the Maldives applauds the work CERF has done to assist these countries, and its relentless efforts to prioritize aid for women and girls and persons with disabilities.
He concluded by saying that as a fund “for all, by all,” CERF embodies the spirit of multilateralism and collective action that we must embrace in order to respond quickly and effectively to urgent humanitarian crises across the globe.
He said that to express our solidarity with CERF’s indispensable and life-saving work, the Maldives has made a symbolic contribution to the Fund, and we encourage donors worldwide to continue to support the Fund’s commendable humanitarian efforts.
