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DevNews Desk| East Africa. Urge- DevWire
UN releases $160 million for underfunded humanitarian crises, including Somalia and South Sudan
The United Nations has released US$160 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support life-saving humanitarian operations in 12 of the world's most underfunded crises.
The announcement on 2 October comes as humanitarian agencies face major financing gaps and growing needs across conflict- and disaster-affected countries.
Of the new allocation, US$150 million will support responses in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cuba, Mali, Niger, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.
The UN says the funding is part of a wider effort to reach approximately 87 million people facing the most severe humanitarian crises during 2026.
For East Africa, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan are among the countries included in the allocation. All three face combinations of conflict, displacement, food insecurity and climate-related pressures.
In Ethiopia, meanwhile, UN partners are continuing efforts to secure humanitarian access while expanding food, nutrition, health, water, sanitation and emergency shelter assistance in affected areas.
The release comes at a time when humanitarian agencies are increasingly relying on pooled funds to direct limited resources towards urgent needs that risk being overlooked because of competing global crises.
CERF provides rapidly deployable financing that allows humanitarian agencies to respond when conventional funding has not yet arrived or when needs escalate unexpectedly.
The UN's appeal accompanying the announcement stressed that funding alone will not resolve access constraints and called for political action to ensure humanitarian workers can reach affected communities.
Verified source: United Nations – 2 October 2026 briefing
DevNews Desk| East Africa. Urge- DevWire
New York, Somalia, South Sudan - 2 October 2026
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