United Nations

Agencies, Funds and Programmes and IOM

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
OCHA is designed to strengthen the United Nation's response to both complex emergencies and natural disasters, aiming at improving the overall effectiveness of the UN's humanitarian operations in the field. Its mandate also includes the coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and humanitarian advocacy.See also OCHA around the world.

Consolidated Appeals Process
The Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) is much more than an appeal for money. It is a tool used by aid organisations to plan, implement and monitor their activities together. Working together in the world's crisis regions, they produce appeals, which they present to the international community and donors.See also CERF and the CAP.

Humanitarian Reform
Humanitarian reform seeks to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian response by ensuring greater predictability, accountability and partnership. It is an ambitious effort by the international humanitarian community to reach more beneficiaries, with more comprehensive needs-based relief and protection, in a more effective and timely manner.

Good Humanitarian Donorship
The GHD initiative provides a forum for donors to discuss good practice in Humanitarian Financing and other shared concerns. By defining principles and standards it provides both a framework to guide official humanitarian aid and a mechanism for encouraging greater donor accountability.

Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is an inter-agency forum for coordination, policy development and decision-making involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. IASC develops humanitarian policies, agrees on a clear division of responsibility for the various aspects of humanitarian assistance, identifies and addresses gaps in response, and advocates for effective application of humanitarian principles.

ReliefWeb
ReliefWeb is the global hub for time-critical humanitarian information on Complex Emergencies and Natural Disasters.

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
IRIN's principal role is to provide news and analysis about sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia for the humanitarian community. The networks target decision-makers in relief agencies, host and donor governments, human-rights organisations, humanitarian advocacy groups, academic institutions and the media.

HumanitarianInfo.org
Humanitarian Information Centers (HIC) support the co-ordination of humanitarian assistance through the provision of information products and services. The HIC supports the decision-making process at headquarters and field level by contributing to the creation of a common framework for information management within the humanitarian community.

UN Documentation Centre

Humanitarian Early Warning Service (HEWS)
The IASC Humanitarian Early Warning Service (HEWSweb) is an inter-agency partnership project aimed at establishing a common platform for humanitarian early warnings and forecasts for natural hazards.

Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)
The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System provides near real-time alerts about natural disasters around the world and tools to facilitate response coordination, including media monitoring, map catalogues and Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre.