EU co-hosts Disaster Response Emergency Fund pledging conference

On 4 November, the European Commission co-chaired the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) pledging conference. 

DREF is managed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and is the fastest, most efficient and transparent way for local humanitarian organisations to obtain global funding directly, both before and immediately after a crisis strikes. The European Commission is currently co-chairing IFRC Donor Advisory Group. 

The objective of the conference was to promote the DREF and collect pledges by donors for 2023. The funding will help people in disasters receive urgent assistance by local responders, including in the Eastern Partnership countries. 

“Local actors are key to deliver fast, quality and cost-efficient assistance to people affected by disasters,” said European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič. “For more than 10 years, the EU has been one of the major donors to the DREF, with approximately €7 million allocated in 2021. In 2022, we already assisted 55 DREF operations throughout 2022.”

In 2021, EU humanitarian aid funding represented 22% of total DREF contributions.

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Press release