The Emergency Services Branch (ESB) of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is involved in the procurement of basic non-food, non-medical emergency relief items, through the Logistics Support Unit (LSU). Most of these are destined to the stockpile that OCHA maintains in the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot in Brindisi, Italy. From there, they are dispatched to disaster or emergency stricken countries in need of assistance.

The main goods and services purchased for relief operations include shelter equipment, water purification and distribution equipment, blankets, tools, kitchen sets, electric generators, and other basic survival items.

OCHA is not involved in the procurement of medical or food items, which fall under the mandates of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), respectively.

The procurement of emergency relief items and services for OCHA Geneva is carried out by the Purchase and Transportation Section (PTS) of the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG). Companies interested in supplying OCHA should therefore register with PTS. To access electronic version of the Registration Forms, as well as more general information on the procurement process and major upcoming business opportunities within the United Nations in Geneva, please click here.