Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – OCHA
OCHA mobilizes and coordinates effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies. It achieves this through advocating for the rights of people in need, promoting preparedness and prevention, coordination of the response and facilitating sustainable solutions
HIV-related Mission
Humanitarian assistance efforts focus on the needs of the most vulnerable and in this regard OCHA is increasingly supporting the coordination of efforts to better understand the interface between HIV/AIDS and emergencies. As the Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), OCHA assists in the promotion of the Guidelines for HIV/AIDS interventions in emergency settings. The purpose of the guidelines is to enable governments and cooperating agencies to deliver the minimum required multi-sectoral response to HIV/AIDS during the early phase of emergency situations.
In the context of its role of providing timely, relevant and strategic information to improve the humanitarian response, OCHA has created the Plus News service as part of the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). Plus News aims to provide a comprehensive professional, one-stop service for HIV/AIDS information and advocacy for Africa.
Key Roles of the Regional Offices
- To facilitate and participate in discussions regarding the humanitarian response to the HIV crisis and to better manage links between humanitarian crises, responses and the AIDS epidemic
- To support the collection, analysis and dissemination of relevant information to keep the humanitarian community informed of the humanitarian situation and developments in the region
- To highlight the need for a broad focus for HIV funding in ongoing advocacy efforts
Key Collaboration Areas of OCHA with the Regional HIV and AIDS Team (RHAT)
- Promoting the use of the IASC guidelines for HIV/AIDS in emergency settings, including training and technical support
- Ensuring that HIV/AIDS considerations are mainstreamed in the institutional arrangements for disaster risk management, as well as its processes, products and activities.
- Advocating for inclusion of populations of humanitarian concern in national action plans for HIV/AIDS
- Sensitising HIV/AIDS response actors and coordinating bodies on disaster risk and the special circumstances and needs of populations of humanitarian concern
Regional Offices and Contacts
Regional Support Office for Central and Eastern Africa
Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
Besida Tonwe
Head of Office
OCHA House
Gigiri Crescent off Nairobi Avenue
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20 622 148
Fax: +254 20 622632
Email: tonwe@un.org; beside.tonwe@regionalOCHA.org
| HIV Focal Point | Designation | Telephone | |
| Luluwa Ali | Humanitarian Reporting and Media Relations Officer | +254 20 762 1004 | ali19@un.org |
Regional Office for Southern Africa
Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Reunion, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Kelly David
Head of Office/ Regional Disaster Response Advisor
Idion House, 11 Naivasha Road
Private Bag X44
Sunninghill, Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 517 16 09
Fax: +27 11 517 16 38
Email: david1@un.org
| HIV Focal Point | Designation | Telephone | |
| Elias Mabaso | Humanitarian Affairs Officer | +27 11 517 1595 | mabasoe@un.org |
IRIN PlusNews
Obi Anyadike
Managing Editor
3rd floor, Office Towers, Sandton
PO Box 1617, Parklands 2121, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 895 1900
Fax: +27 11 784 6759
Email: obi@irin.org.za
| HIV Focal Point | Designation | Telephone | |
| Kanya Ndaki | Deputy Editor PlusNews | +27 11 895 1900 | kanya@irin.org.za |
References
- OCHA in 2007 – Activities and Extra-budgetary Requirements, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Interventions in Emergency Settings, IASC 2003
Websites
http://ochaonline.un.org
www.humanitarianappeal.net
www.irinnews.org
www.plusnews.org
www.sahims.net