1. 7.
FACT SHEETS ON TOOLS
AND RESOURCES

2. 7.
TOOLS AND RESOURCES
The next three chapters of the guide present fact sheets in the principle areas of action: coordination (Chapter 7), financial
resource mobilization (Chapter 8) technical team mobilization (Chapter 9), and information management (Chapter 10).
These tools have been developed by international actors to enable them to meet their support obligations to national
authorities and ensure coordinated support in disaster response.
Above all, humanitarian assistance focuses on the affected people who are the primary beneficiaries. In the case of
disasters, assistance is organized by area, such as water and sanitation, hygiene, food assistance, education, shelter,
among others. For every assistance area, there are tools at the disposal of humanitarian workers developed by the
international community such as EDAN, CERF, UNDAC, and RNA. The many procedures, protocols, and tools should
never obscure the main goal of humanitarian action, which is to assist the affected people
Responsibility for the Coordination of International Humanitarian Assistance While governments are responsible for
attending to the victims of disasters in their territories, the UN, led by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) and OCHA
are required to support governments to ensure the coordination of international humanitarian assistance as established in
Resolution 46/182 of the General Assembly. This assistance from the UN comes into force from the time that a State
requests or accepts international assistance based on its evaluation of whether its capabilities have been partially or
completed exceeded and whether assistance is needed on a temporary or more permanent basis.
Shared Responsibilities The governments and international actors have shared roles and responsibilities. The
following table describes some of these responsibilities at a national and international level
Responsibility for the Coordination of International Humanitarian Assistance While governments are responsible
for attending to the victims of disasters in their territories, the UN, led by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) and
OCHA are required to support governments to ensure the coordination of international humanitarian assistance as
established in Resolution 46/182 of the General Assembly. This assistance from the UN comes into force from the time
that a State requests or accepts international assistance based on its evaluation of whether its capabilities have been
partially or completed exceeded and whether assistance is needed on a temporary or more permanent basis13.
13
The assessment of national capacity for response is a matter of national interpretation, which depends on the level of information available after the emergency, as well as the different
realities of national organization that can lead to defining the required assistance level. Currently, there is not a tool that supports the analysis of national post-disaster capacities
CHAPTER 7
28

3. Shared Responsibilities The governments and international actors have shared roles and responsibilities.
The following table describes some of these responsibilities at a national and international level.
To be revised->
Areas
Responsibility
National
International
the government is responsible
to attend the affected
population
UN & OCHA are responsible
to assist the government in the
coordination of international
assistance (UN Res 46/182)
Accountability
to its people and institutions
UN and associates, towards the
international community, affected
government, donors and affected
populations
Leadership
strategic and operational
coordination of international
actors: RC/HC
Organization
sectorial tables
clusters
Funding
state budget
national emergency fund
bilateral contributions loans
contributions from civil society
contributions from the private
sector
national emergency team
management
emergency funds
CERF
bilateral donations
contributions from the
international civil society
Flash Appeal
international emergency team
management
Communication
news
LEMA situation reports
SITREPS, OCHA and other
partners
Responsibility
for the response
Coordination
Financial resource
and technical team
mobilization
Information
Management
CHAPTER 7
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