Michael Jensen joined the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan in 2004, where he helped establish one of the first country-based pooled funds. Today, he leads the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Secretariat in New York:

This year marks the 20th anniversary of CERF. Looking back, what do you see as its biggest achievements?

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has been a lifeline for humanitarian response.

Over these past two decades, it has enabled rapid funding for emergencies, supported underfunded crises, and ensured aid reaches people when it’s most needed.

What’s remarkable is that CERF has consistently stepped in where traditional donor funding was either too slow or too narrow, allowing the humanitarian system to act quickly, impartially, jointly and above all, at scale.

What has changed most in the past 20 years?

The biggest shift has been CERF’s investment in anticipatory action.

By funding collective anticipatory frameworks at scale, we have moved humanitarian action from being largely reactive to being much more anticipatory and proactive, translating analysis and forecasts into timelier action.

Today, CERF supports 25 frameworks across 20 countries, committing over $125 million.

Funding is the biggest challenge. CERF raised over $600 million annually in recent years, but this year we barely passed $300 million — the lowest in a decade.

That’s worrying as needs are escalating due to conflict and climate shocks.

You mentioned climate. How does CERF fit into that story?

CERF fills a gap in the global climate financing architecture by reaching fragile contexts that traditional climate funds overlook.

This is why we launched the CERF Climate Action Account in 2023, as an income-widow for climate-related financing that would otherwise not go to CERF.

Thanks to strong support from donors such as Ireland, we’ve raised $20 million in additional funding through the Climate Action Account specifically for climate-smart humanitarian action—combining urgent assistance with adaptive measures that prepare communities for the next shock.

If you could mention one reason for the CERF’s success, what would it be?

The team behind it, without any doubt. They are extraordinary.

CERF’s reputation rests not just on speed and flexibility. The people who make it work are dedicated professionals devoted to ensuring transparency, accountability, and impact.