OCHA in 1999: Activities and Extrabudgetary Funding Requirements

FOREWORD

I am pleased to present, for your consideration, “OCHA in 1999", a new publication of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It provides a comprehensive view of the extrabudgetary needs of OCHA, both at headquarters and in the field. “OCHA in 1999" also highlights the areas requiring priority attention in 1999, with a view to better addressing present and future humanitarian challenges.

In 1998, a series of natural disasters and environmental emergencies produced widespread suffering and exceptionally large destruction in many countries. The international community responded to emergencies such as those caused by El Niño phenomenon, forest fires in Indonesia, Brazil and Russia, earthquakes in Afghanistan, floods in China, Bangladesh and East Africa, seismic sea waves in Papua New Guinea and Hurricanes George and Mitch in Central America. While we were still addressing the effects of these disasters, one of the worst earthquake in more than a century struck Colombia in early 1999. 1998 also marked the eruption or worsening of numerous complex emergencies, including in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and the Sudan.

Most of these countries, along with the Great Lakes region, Burundi, Uganda, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia,
Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, were the subject of the 1999 United Nations consolidated inter-agency appeals, the first ever global appeal launched by OCHA on 16 December 1998. 1998 was also marked by the further implementation of the reform of the United Nations. As a result, new management structures were put in place in OCHA, which has thus become better positioned to provide well-focused services to its partners in the key areas of coordination of humanitarian response to emergencies, policy development and advocacy.

I wish to thank the partners of OCHA for their unflagging support throughout this challenging year, which helped us to respond to the needs of both field projects and core activities. I hope that this support will continue, and that this document’s clear description of our activities and our needs will improve our partnership, as we move towards the goal of predictable funding in 1999.

Sergio Vieira de Mello

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator