OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Published purpose

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is mandated to coordinate UN assistance in humanitarian crises. Its core functions include the promotion of humanitarian principles, the coordination of humanitarian response, and humanitarian policy development. In 2009, OCHA is focussing on strengthening the humanitarian financing system, continuing the consolidation of the cluster coordination approach, strengthening OCHA's emergency response capacity, advancing efforts on common needs assessments and evaluations for humanitarian action, and becoming more strategic in its advocacy of humanitarian principles. CIDA's grant to OCHA's headquarters operations is facilitating the continued effectiveness of coordinated humanitarian action, advocacy for the needs of crisis-affected populations and ensuring policy dialogue on evolving humanitarian issues.