Ashraf AboArafe
Yesterday, the donor group to support the United Nations Office (UNO) for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs held its fifth meeting at the expert level in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, chaired by the head of the donor group to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to the group, the assistant general supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action for planning and development. Dr. Aqil bin Jamaan Al-Ghamdi, and in the presence of representatives of Member States (30 countries).
The agenda of the meeting included several topics, including the reform of the humanitarian program cycle, which includes the strategic plan, the initiative of the Humanitarian Coordinator, and the intersectoral humanitarian analysis framework. The field visit of the donor group to South Sudan, which took place in March 2023, was also discussed. These topics are within the plan of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the donor group.
Donor countries made interventions during the meeting, which included stressing by several members the importance of reforming the humanitarian program cycle, and for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to make the necessary arrangements for the reform process with the participation of all actors in humanitarian work and the participation of local groups targeted by humanitarian aid.
The members of the group stressed the importance of supporting the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to implement its strategic plan for the period 2023 to 2026. The meeting of the group at the expert level will continue tomorrow with the participation of representatives of the countries of the donor group and senior officials of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to continue the discussion on the issues raised and to share the outcomes of the first day’s meeting with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs presented by the representative of the Kingdom and the head of the group, Dr. Aqil Al-Ghamdi, and he will also be given the opportunity To representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to present their views and respond to inquiries and interventions by member states of the donor group.
This is the fifth meeting to be held under the presidency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the donor group 2022-2023.
