Despite efforts by the UK to urge the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, they continue to deny the existence of a humanitarian crisis. DFID is supporting the relief effort within the region through partners such as United Nations agencies, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The European Commission announced a €35m aid package this year of which the UK’s share is approximately 15%. In addition, the UK is a longstanding supporter of the CERF which allocated $26m to the region. The UK is the largest donor to the fund since inception and in 2017 represented 20% of the fund’s total contributions. This year the UK has contributed £55m to the CERF which will support responses to humanitarian needs across the globe, including in response to the Venezuelan crisis. DFID is also ICRC’s second largest donor, providing approximately £63m of core funding per year for ICRC to direct towards priority operations across the globe as they deem appropriate.