The United Nations and partners are launching a new flagship financing instrument — known as the Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF’d) — to provide data in support of all stakeholders in crisis anticipation, prevention and response.

In 2021, 250 million people require urgent international support.  Driven by climate change, conflict and now the COVID-19 pandemic, that number is 40 per cent higher than two years ago.  Yet, data is most scarce in the fragile settings where people are most at risk.  Only 51 per cent of data for major emergencies is complete.  Gaps in data capacity make humanitarian, development and peace operations less effective than they could be.

CRAF’d is a milestone on the path to more coherent financing for data in fragile and crises settings.  Complementing the World Bank-hosted Global Data Facility, it will boost the most critical data investments to spur anticipatory action before disasters unfold.  By pooling investments, CRAF’d will unlock better data, insights, decisions and support for the most vulnerable.  Targeting $15 million to $25 million in annual investments, the initiative will connect diverse partners in an open ecosystem, anchored in shared principles.

At the CRAF’d launch — attended by over 100 leaders from Governments, the European Union, international financial institutions and regional, local and non‑governmental organizations — Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed hailed CRAF’d as a trailblazer for the more inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism envisioned in Our Common Agenda.

“With data-driven insights, we unlock pathways to the Sustainable Development Goals for those most at risk of being left behind,” she said.  “If we invest multilaterally, we optimize impact by creating scale and minimizing fragmentation.  That is what CRAF’d is about.”

World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships Mari Pangestu said:  “Bridging the data divide is critical to support poor and vulnerable people hit hardest by crises, from COVID-19 to climate change, and chart a course for green, resilient and inclusive development.  We look forward to continue working closely with the United Nations and partners to maximize the value of data for people and planet.”

Inspired by the Secretary-General’s Data Strategy, CRAF’d is the result of a joint design process championed by Germany, Netherlands, United States and the United Nations family, as well as Niger, Nepal, Uganda and other partners across the globe.  Administered by the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, CRAF’d will become fully operational in early 2022.

The fund’s acronym CRAF’d (pronounced “craft”) signifies the shared commitment to foster excellence in the use of data for the common good.

For more information, please visit www.crafd.io.