OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Published purpose

February 2014 - On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) made landfall in the Philippines, a densely populated country of 92 million people. The category five typhoon killed over 6,000 Filipinos, caused 4 million people to be displaced from their homes, and caused severe damage to infrastructure, including homes, roads, schools and health centres. Although many people have already received life-saving humanitarian assistance, significant humanitarian needs remain, including early recovery activities that contribute to building communities that are more resilient. With DFATD’s support, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is assisting more than 110 organizations responding to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines to better coordinate their efforts and improve the way in which they report to the humanitarian community. Project activities include: (1) providing strategic coordination of humanitarian actions at the national and local levels involving all relevant players; (2) providing reliable information and analysis on key humanitarian issues to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian efforts; (3) coordinating assessments, strategic planning, resource mobilisation, and advocacy for humanitarian action that respects international humanitarian law; and (4) sharing relevant best practices and lessons learned to enable organizations to plan more effective and targeted humanitarian actions.