Multilateral Aid Review summary - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

OCHA supports the mobilisation, funding and coordination of humanitarian action in response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. In 2010 OCHA coordinated humanitarian appeals at country and global level to a value of almost US$10 billion.

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Contribution to UK development objectives	Strong
	+	Clear and unique humanitarian mandate (Resolution 46/182), global reach and a pivotal leadership role at the heart of UN system.
	+	OCHA carries out work that supports UK priority objectives for governance and security, meeting humanitarian needs, delivery of MDGs and climate change.
	_	Inconsistent performance in support to leadership, cluster coordination and staffing.
	+	OCHA is key to delivering an improved and more effective humanitarian response.
	_	There is scope for improvement in OCHA’s performance in supporting effective, accountable, and efficient  provision for humanitarian assistance
	+	OCHA has extensive experience of working in complex situations and fragile states and conflict affected states
	_	Need for OCHA to strengthen its performance in inter-cluster coordination and inter-cluster information management and analysis.
Organisational strengths	Weak
	+	OCHA manages a range of country level pooled funding mechanisms that support joined-up working amongst actors and foster stronger partnerships.
	+	OCHA responds to evaluation recommendations, but at times the implementation of recommendations is limited due to internal constraints.
	+	OCHA’s mandate requires it to establish and maintain a comprehensive network of diverse partners at both headquarters and the field, and it does this effectively.
	_	While OCHA maintains reasonable levels of transparency, their accountability structure is weak.
	_	Staffing problems are common in many contexts, hampering OCHA’s ability to deliver.
	_	Although cost control has been an issue for OCHA in the last few years, it has only just begun to seriously consider issues such as value for money.
Capacity for positive change	Likely
	+	We expect that OCHA management, now under the leadership of a new Emergency Relief Coordinator (Valerie Amos), will continue to be receptive to ideas for making the organisation even more effective.
	_	Many of the restrictions faced by OCHA are structural. The Emergency Relief Coordinator’s ability to make changes for the better is therefore dependent to a large extent on the cooperation of UN agencies.