Humanitarian Coordinator

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The Humanitarian Coordinator^[1] is the senior-most United Nations official in a country experiencing a humanitarian emergency. The Humanitarian Coordinator is appointed by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator when a new emergency occurs or an existing humanitarian situation "worsens in degree and/or complexity".^[2]

In most cases, the function is performed by the United Nations Resident Coordinator.

The Humanitarian Coordinator

The Role of the Humanitarian Coordinator

Leadership: The Humanitarian Coordinator & Humanitarian Country Team

When a humanitarian crisis occurs, the

The HC appoints a team of emergency specialists to perform a multi-cluster initial rapid assessment (MIRA) during the first weeks of a crisis. The team's primary goals are to create a Preliminary Scenario Definition after 72 hours and a full MIRA report after two weeks that inform humanitarian stakeholders of what resources are needed to address basic needs.[1] Recommended criteria for the reports include descriptions of the general situation of the population, the geographic spread of the disaster, the current state of health problems and infrastructure, and data on the abundance and quality of food, water, shelter, safety, education, and coordination.^[4] This information is gathered through traditional surveys, call detail records, and migration models using mobile phone usage patterns. New technologies such as mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) have also been recently developed in order to more efficiently collect information remotely from victims of the crisis via text, voice calls, and an interactive voice response system. These types of technologies have been fairly effective since they are able to collect data offline and then upload information once they reach an area of active WIFI during a humanitarian crisis. This has led to a larger and more detailed body of data that help humanitarian relief managers “fine tune interventions and prioritize resources on the basis of a bird's eye view of the operation.”^[5] Through these improvements in assessment tools within the MIRA process, the HC is more capable of effectively submitting recommendations to the ERC concerning which cluster groups of aid organizations should be recruited to provide resources and assist victims.

Current Humanitarian Coordinators