DUSHANBE, April 24, Asia-Plus — John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, today allocated nearly half a million dollars from the donor-funded Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide urgent assistance to the Government of Tajikistan to monitor and control the current outbreak of locusts across 18 provinces, press release issued by the UNDP CO in Tajikistan said.
Supporting the Government of Tajikistan in its efforts to prevent the spread of the infestation, the CERF funds will directly benefit over two million people whose crops and livelihoods are at risk from the highly destructive pests. The current outbreak, which is significantly larger than previous locust infestations, could otherwise pose a serious blow to household food security in Tajikistan.
“The funds are needed urgently to avoid infestation spreading any further. The food security of over 2 million people in Tajikistan has already been badly affected by the harsh winter and developing drought, increasing food prices. Further destruction of crops by locust would be devastating” said Michael Jones, UN Resident Coordinator for Tajikistan.
Locust control in Central Asia is also a regional issue, as infestations in Tajikistan come from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and locusts from Tajikistan infest these countries. The CERF allocation will help reduce the risk of further outbreaks by contributing to the procurement and delivery of pesticides, protective equipment, surveying the infested areas, and mobilization, training and awareness-raising among local communities.
The severe threat of locust infestation has arisen as the country is still recovering from an exceptionally harsh winter, for which a Flash Appeal seeking $25 million was launched in February. UN agencies are in the process of revising the Appeal in light of recent developments. The Appeal is currently only 44% funded.
The CERF has helped save millions of lives since its inception by providing quick initial funding for life-saving assistance and rapid response in sudden onset, rapidly deteriorating, and underfunded humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters. It is part of an ongoing effort to redress the imbalances in the global aid distribution that have too often left millions of people in so-called neglected crises in need.
Since its launch on 9 March 2006, the CERF has committed $750.4 million to humanitarian projects in 60 countries affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts. Since January 2008, the Fund has committed $65.9 million to rapid response grants in 17 countries and $84.7 million to underfunded emergencies in 14 countries.
