Address to high-level roundtable on humanitarian financing

(check against delivery)

Secretary General, excellences, ladies and gentlemen

Closing the humanitarian funding gap requires bold, collective commitments. We must do more to shrink humanitarian needs by addressing root causes, broadening the resource base, and improving delivery in emergencies.

Norway welcomes the Grand Bargain, and commits to be a strong advocate for inclusive and accountable follow up. Our objective is better partnerships and more efficient humanitarian assistance.

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Norway remains committed to high levels of ODA. In 2015, we increased ODA to 1.1% of BNI. At the London conference in February, we announced a record high 4-year pledge of NOK 10 billionfor the Syrian refugee crisis.

Norway gives priority to promoting quality education for children in emergencies and protracted crises.  Today we are committing an additional USD 10 million (NOK 100 million) for “Education Cannot Wait” – the new Fund for Education in Emergencies.

I urge others to join us in this effort.

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Norway is developing a strategy for supporting fragile states. We remain committed to investing in prevention and resilience, and we are encouraged by the collaboration between the UN and the World Bank Group on issues of fragility and protracted displacement. IDA - the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest – need to substantially increase its allocations to fragile situations and countries with an asymmetric refugee burden.

As a top donor to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Norway remains committed to providing substantial contributions to the fund.

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More needs to be done to leverage more resources for humanitarian action from more sources. We must expand the use of innovative financing tools to provide long-term financing in protracted crisis, and we must engage new donors, civil society and the private sector.

Norway commits to support the New Financing Initiative to Support the Middle East and the North Africa Region developed jointly by the World Bank Group, the UN and the Islamic Development Bank. These innovative efforts must be taken to scale and implemented in more countries.

Indeed, Norway is committed - not only to providing high levels of financing - but also to providing quality funding.  We will continue to provide flexible, unearmarked and multiyear funding to ensure more effective humanitarian response and better linkages between humanitarian assistance and long-term development.

Thank you.