The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) aims to achieve greater coherence, complementarity, and efficiency of humanitarian response by mobilizing and coordinating humanitarian actors through different coordination mechanisms. NGOs undertake a vital role in these various structures.

On 14 September, PHAP and ICVA organized the fourth online session of their learning stream on humanitarian coordination, focusing on NGO challenges and opportunities to engage with OCHA in an effective and meaningful way. Participants were provided with an overview of OCHA’s main focus areas, highlighting the opportunities for NGOs to engage with OCHA at country office level in different regions, and exploring lessons already learnt by NGOs.

Follow-up responses and interview with Loretta Hieber-Girardet

Read the written responses to the follow-up questions by the guest experts

Read the interview with Loretta Hieber-Girardet from OCHA as an introduction to the topic

Recommended resources

• OCHA, “Coordination,” UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• OCHA, "OCHA Global Overview of Coordination Arrangements in 2016," UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Geneva Humanitarian Connector

This event was made possible through the Geneva Humanitarian Connector, an initiative of PHAP supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

Learning objectives

• Knowledge of OCHA’s mandate and key focus areas
• Familiarity with NGO entry points to engage with OCHA’s coordination mechanisms
• Awareness of the effect of field realities on NGOs’ engagement with OCHA country offices
• Familiarity with sources of information on NGO engagement with OCHA

Target audience and event access

The event is particularly targeted to those working in international and national NGOs engaged in humanitarian action, who are seeking for a stronger understanding of the various humanitarian coordination mechanisms. The event is also open to the public.

Learning stream on humanitarian coordination

As part of the learning stream on humanitarian coordination, this event was the fourth session of six live interactive online learning events that ICVA and PHAP have organized with the purpose of providing NGOs and humanitarian workers with a stronger understanding of the humanitarian coordination mechanisms at global, regional, and country levels.