The El Niño global climatic event has had a devastating impact on millions of people across the globe throughout 2015. East Africa, Southern Africa, the Pacific Islands, South East Asia and Central America will continue to be at risk of extreme weather, including below-normal rains and flooding, in early 2016. The humanitarian fallout in certain areas will include increased food insecurity due to low crop yields and rising prices; higher malnutrition rates; devastated livelihoods; and forced displacement.
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has been one of the quickest and largest supporters of early humanitarian response to climate-related events linked to El Niño.
To-date in 2015, the Fund alone has provided some $76 million for life-saving activities in response to drought, drought-like conditions, floods, food insecurity and other disasters that can be linked to El Niño in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ($6.3 million), El Salvador ($3 million), Eritrea ($2.5 million), Ethiopia ($25.5 million), Haiti ($3 million), Honduras ($2.3 million), Malawi ($9.9 million), Myanmar ($10.5 million), Somalia ($4.9 million) and Zimbabwe ($8.1 million).