Printer-friendly version  Following a humanitarian crisis,
humanitarian actors in the field can immediately provide life-
saving assistance using pooled funds managed by the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA). There are three types of pooled funds: CERF, Common
Humanitarian Funds (CHFs) and Emergency Response Funds (ERFs).
While CERF can cover all countries affected by an emergency,
CHFs and ERFs are country-based pooled funds that respond to
specific humanitarian situations in currently 18 countries.  The
pooled funds enable humanitarian organizations to provide the
most urgently needed assistance following a natural disaster;
fill critical gaps in the response in countries with large, on-
going humanitarian operations; and provide basic life
necessities for people struggling to survive in many of the
world's forgotten emergencies.  Since these funds were created,
billions of dollars have been disbursed to help millions of
people in dire need of assistance in 88 countries