Biggest donor countries of humanitarian aid to convene in Helsinki
Press release 147/2009
26 May, 2009
The Donor Support Group of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, will convene in Helsinki on 1-2 June. In the meeting, it will focus on the crises where humanitarian assistance is needed, with Sri Lanka and Pakistan being the most topical targets. Another topic on the agenda is the role of OCHA and its development, as well as the cooperation between donors and OCHA.
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will open the meeting, with Mr. John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, representing the UN. He has just recently visited Sri Lanka with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to get acquainted with the current situation there.
The high-level meeting in Helsinki will bring together the biggest donors of humanitarian aid. The Donor Support Group includes 21 states and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department. Finland is currently acting as the chair of the donor group for a term of one year, until the end of July. After this, Finland will continue one more year as a member of the troika, including the previous, current and the future chairs of the group. The Donor Support Group is an important channel between OCHA and the donors of humanitarian aid. The group also promotes exchange of information aimed to strengthen the operation of the international donor community.
OCHA, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, coordinates the humanitarian aid of the UN system and makes the cooperation between the humanitarian aid operators easier. The objective is to enhance the efficiency of relief measures by the international community in case of natural disasters and crises caused by conflicts. OCHA has also been the leading promoter of the humanitarian aid system reform, launched in 2005.
This year, Finland has granted EUR 3 million of general support to OCHA as well as EUR 180,000 for relief operations in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. In addition, Finland supports the operation of the Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, with EUR 6 million during 2009.
Additional information: Director Ulla-Maija Finskas, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, tel. +359 9 1605 6225, or Counsellor Anna Gebremedhin, tel. +358 9 1605 6286