OCHA was established pursuant to the adoption of the Secretary-Generals programme for reform. In accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 46/182, the Emergency Relief Coordinators functions are focused in three core areas: (a) policy development and coordination functions in support of the Secretary-General, ensuring that all humanitarian issues, including those which fall between gaps in existing mandates of agencies such as protection and assistance for internally displaced persons, are addressed; (b) advocacy of humanitarian issues with political organs, notably the Security Council; and (c) coordination of humanitarian emergency response, by ensuring that an appropriate response mechanism is established, through Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) consultations, on the ground.
OCHA discharges its coordination function primarily through the IASC, which is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), with the participation of all humanitarian partners, including the Red Cross Movement and NGOs. IASC ensures inter-agency decision-making in response to complex emergencies, including needs assessments, consolidated appeals, field coordination arrangements and the development of humanitarian policies.
Headquarters staff (New York and Geneva): 137 (50 regular budget posts; 87 extrabudgetary)
Core annual budget: $42.4 million (regular budget $18.4 million, extrabudgetary $24 million)
OCHA field staff: 51
Countries and regions covered: 19 countries and 3 regions
Organizations participating in CAPs: WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNDP, FAO, WHO, UNHCHR, HABITAT/UNCHS, UNDCP, UNFPA, UNRWA, UNESCO, ILO, IOM, UNV and NGOs.
Use of Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF): 51 advances for a total of $127.7 million.
OCHA currently maintains field coordination arrangements in 16 countries and one region: Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Great Lakes, Republic of the Congo, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan.
Prior to the establishment of OCHA, the predecessor Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) responded to 416 natural disasters from 1992 through 1997.
It mobilized $904 million in cash and in-kind contributions and channelled $37 million directly.
DHA/OCHA also provided emergency cash grants of $4 million to developing countries.
Relief Web (www.reliefweb.int): This internet website, managed by OCHA, provides up-to-date information on complex emergencies and natural disasters collected from over 170 sources. Users from over 150 countries access an average of 200,000 documents each month.
Humanitarian Early Warning System (HEWS): identifies crises with humanitarian implications. Through multi-sectoral analysis of indicators, both long-term and short-term, evaluation of trends and in-depth field-based information, HEWS informs decision-makers at headquarters about the likelihood and extent of crises. An extensive database of base-line information for more than 100 countries supports this activity.
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN): Since 1995, IRIN (Nairobi) has analysed and synthesized information on developments in the Great Lakes region. It issues daily reports as well as thematic studies for over 2,000 primary subscribers in more than 50 countries. IRIN (Abidjan) was set up in 1997 and began providing similar reports covering West Africa. It is envisaged that IRIN will expand its coverage in 1998 to include Southern Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus Region as well as the Balkans.
Financial tracking: OCHA issues monthly reports on the response to appeals and natural disasters. This information is provided directly to humanitarian partners, including donors, and is available on Relief Web.