The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was established with a specific mandate to coordinate the activities of operational agencies, in an effort to reduce gaps and duplication, with the overall objective of delivering timely and effective assistance. OCHA serves as a catalyst for principled humanitarian action from the moment a crisis is anticipated until rehabilitation and reconstruction are under way.
OCHA, a department in the UN Secretariat, has its headquarters located in New York and another main office in Geneva and was created as part of the Secretary-General’s Reform Programme in 1998. OCHA operates under UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 and is mandated to ‘mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action by all the parties involved in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies, advocate for the rights of the people in need, promote preparedness and prevention, and facilitate sustainable solutions’.
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