Global Compact and OCHA Launch New Business Guide on Emergency Relief

2005-04-25 

New York, 25 April - At a landmark conference entitled Advancing Public Private Partnership in Response to Global Disasters, held at UN Headquarters in New York, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Global Compact Office have launched Business Contributions to UN Emergency Relief: An Orientation Guide. This new and comprehensive online resource aims to facilitate greater cooperation between the business sector and international organizations involved in relief operations during humanitarian crises. It can be accessed at http://ochaonline.un.org/businesscontributions.

The online guide has been designed to help business identify effective ways to support the UN’s emergency relief efforts, be it through financial contributions, in-kind contributions of products or services, or long term partnerships with a specific UN agency. It serves as a one-stop access point to a broad set of relevant information and is divided into four core sections which:

• Outline the scale and impact of humanitarian crises, such as natural disasters and armed conflict;
• Explain the role of the UN family of organizations in coordinating emergency relief efforts across the globe;
• Describe various ways in which companies can contribute to resource mobilization, capacity-building and funding for emergency relief; and
• Discuss the necessary steps and procedures to be expected when a company considers making a donation to the UN.
  

In addition, the site provides donor information for all UN organizations involved in emergency relief, as well as links to general emergency relief information, both inside and outside the UN System.
The need for this business guide, as well as its design and content, were identified following a survey of Global Compact participants earlier this year.

Business Contributions to UN Emergency Relief: An Orientation Guide was developed with support from Dalberg Global Development Advisors.

Many companies participating in the Global Compact have contributed to the relief efforts. One recent example of such a contribution is PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which has just concluded an agreement with the UN to provide 8,000 hours of professional services on a pro bono basis to assist the UN with its efforts to enhance accountability and transparencywith respect to the use of Tsunami relief funds managed by the United Nations.
Please contact Ms. Ursula Wynhoven (wynhoven@un.org) for more information.