This is OCHA

Two women sit on bare ground talking to each other.
OCHA staff member, Jane Kiiru, interviews Pauline Lekuroiya, one of the founders of Umoja village, a women-only village that hosts more than 30 women who are survivors of gender-based violence in Kenya. OCHA/Joy Maingi

We support humanitarian organizations to respond effectively to the needs of people caught in crises, to understand and analyse their needs, and to mobilize international assistance. We provide tools and services to help humanitarian organizations ensure that no one affected by a crisis is left behind.

We alert and inform 

We alert and inform humanitarian organizations in times of crisis. We collect, analyse and share data to help aid organizations understand and navigate the complex challenges they face when helping people.

 

We lead the development of policies

We lead the development of policies that ensure the humanitarian system continues to evolve so that it better meets the needs of crisis-affected people. 

We fund

We ensure humanitarian organizations have the funds and resources they need to respond during emergencies. We raise awareness and understanding of people’s needs through our annual Global Humanitarian Overview, and we mobilize funding and resources to ensure those needs are met.

 

We campaign

We campaign for the rights of people affected by humanitarian crises. We amplify their voices and ensure the humanitarian system is accountable to them. We advocate at the highest levels for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all.

A brief history of OCHA

1991

The General Assembly adopts UN resolution 46/182, which calls for stronger leadership in response to humanitarian crises. The resolution establishes the role of the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), a global champion for people affected by emergencies and the principal adviser to the UN Secretary-General on all humanitarian issues. It also establishes the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the Consolidated Appeals Process and the Central Emergency Revolving Fund as key coordination mechanisms and tools of the ERC. 

1992

The Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) is established by the UN Secretary-General, and the ERC is assigned the status of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, with offices in New York and Geneva to provide institutional support.

1998

As part of the Secretary-General's programme of reform, DHA becomes the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Its mandate is expanded to include the coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and humanitarian advocacy. OCHA carries out its coordination function primarily through the IASC, which is chaired by the ERC. Participants include all humanitarian partners, and it functions to ensure inter-agency decision-making in the responses to complex emergencies.

OCHA's Strategic Plan 2023-2026

The OCHA Strategic Plan 2023-2026 presents our vision, goals and strategic objectives. It explains how we plan to meet growing humanitarian needs in a fast-changing world. The plan outlines six transformational priorities to address the challenges of this rapidly changing landscape:

  • A coherent humanitarian response that is people centred, context specific, contributes to community resilience and promotes concrete protection outcomes
  • Systematic and predictable leadership on access
  • Durable solutions to protracted internal displacement
  • Humanitarian response that is inclusive and leaves no one behind
  • Catalytic humanitarian financing that delivers impact in people’s lives
  • Strategic analysis of risks and trends to adapt to an evolving landscape

World

Other

OCHA Strategic Plan 2018 - 2021

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the 2018-2021 Strategic Plan is to present a clear vision for how OCHA will contribute to more effective and principled humanitarian action for affected people. The...

OCHA's 2022 Annual Report

Our 2022 Annual Report

2022 was yet another relentlessly arduous year for many people across the world. Read our 2022 Annual Report to find out how the year unfolded and the impact we had in coordinating many thousands of humanitarian actors in the world’s most acute crises. Read the full report.