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Partnerships
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The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was set up in 1998 as the successor to United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA). OCHA has the prime task of coordinating the UN response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. Its Inter-agency Standing Committee brings together all the main UN bodies involved, including FAO, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and representatives of non-governmental organizations. FAO takes the primary responsibility within the UN system for preventive actions linked to sustainable agricultural development, crop and food supply monitoring and needs assessment, evaluation of agricultural relief requirements, and mobilization of the assistance and resources needed to restore agricultural activity. However, FAO's wide range of disciplines and skills, its long experience in the developing world and its presence in the field allow the Organization to make a contribution in every phase of the emergency sequence. The World Food Programme (WFP) is one of FAO's most important partners. FAO's Director-General and WFP's Executive Director have the joint authority to approve large emergency food operations. The two organizations work closely in preparing early warning reports and in assessing food relief needs and publicizing them among donors. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) focuses on the needs of refugees and their resettlement and reintegration. Collaboration with FAO covers areas such as assessing agricultural relief and rehabilitation needs, mobilizing funds, providing emergency help to local food producers and supplying agricultural inputs to refugees. In most countries, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) acts as the humanitarian assistance coordinator, chairing a disaster management team, which includes an FAO member. FAO's particular responsibility entails helping the government coordinate its agricultural relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery programmes, in which national and external partners often collaborate. FAO has a long history of cooperating with the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and regional financing institutions on development projects. Funds for agricultural inputs have been provided recently by IFAD and earlier by the World Bank. These institutions also play an important role in funding investment projects closely linked to rehabilitation, reconstruction and sustainable recovery following complex emergencies. FAO collaborates with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the national members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCRCS) in the early distribution of seeds and tools following disasters. ICRC often intervenes directly in a conflict situation, and FAO supports its activities by providing technical advice. ICRC has supported FAO by providing logistic support for entering conflict areas. FAO works closely at all stages of emergencies with international and private charities dedicated to humanitarian assistance. NGOs are often FAO's main partners in complex emergencies, contributing to monitoring and assessment of needs and to management of relief operations. FAO, through procurement services and technical advice, helps NGOs ensure that their operations in the areas of food and agriculture come up to accepted technical standards. Bilateral donors are, of course, essential partners, as it is their funds that finance many of FAO's field activities at all phases of the emergency sequence. Except for small amounts of seed money provided by FAO's Technical Cooperation Programme, the funding for all FAO-assisted agricultural relief assessment missions and field operations, and for many emergency prevention and preparedness activities comes from extrabudgetary resources provided by donors. |
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