Humanitarian Coordination

OCHA is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. The aim is to assist people when they most need relief or protection. A key pillar of OCHA's mandate is to “coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors”.

Humanitarian coordination seeks to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian response by ensuring greater predictability, accountability and partnership. OCHA is leading the international community's efforts to develop a better architecture for the humanitarian system, including strong in-country humanitarian leaders (Humanitarian Coordinators); representative and inclusive Humanitarian Country Teams; an effective and well-coordinated framework within which all humanitarian organizations can contribute systematically; and predictable funding tools.

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) ensures that humanitarian action is coordinated, principled, timely, effective, efficient, and contributes to longer-term recovery. The HCT might also steer preparedness activities. The HCT holds itself ultimately accountable to the people-in-need. Whenever possible, the HCT operates in support of and in coordination with national and local authorities. The HCT’s main responsibilities are:

• Agreeing on common strategic issues, setting common objectives and priorities and developing strategic plans.
• Proposing a cluster system and cluster lead agencies.
• Providing guidance to cluster lead agencies, activating resource mobilization mechanisms, and advising the HC on the allocation of resources from in-country humanitarian pooled funds.
• Agreeing on common policies.
• Promoting adherence to humanitarian principles and adopting joint policies and strategies.

Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination is the essential dialogue & interaction between civilian and military actors in humanitarian emergencies.