OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Purpose

This project aims to support the United Nations Disaster Assistance and Coordination (UNDAC) emergency system in providing timely and reliable humanitarian needs assessments and coordination support to the international community and affected countries following humanitarian crises. UNDAC is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and consists of more than 220 national emergency experts from more than 80 countries. It is designed to help meet the needs for early information during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency, as well as to support the coordination of incoming international humanitarian assistance at a national level or at the site of the emergency. The UNDAC system is capable of deploying emergency response teams within 24 to 48 hours, anywhere in the world. Project activities include: (1) conducting training and capacity development for emergency response team members; and (2) managing the deployment of Canadian and developing-country delegates as part of emergency response teams.