UN humanitarian operations threatened by donor funding shortfall

The coordination of the UN's emergency operations has been considerably improved in response to internal and donor pressure, yet the disappointing donor response to the resulting Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) has left vital relief programmes threatened, a senior UN official said on Thursday. Many of those involved are questioning whether the extensive resources put into the drafting and consolidation of the appeals can be justified. "If one adds up the total requirements of the various consolidated appeals for the Great Lakes region against the funds received, we reach an average of 31 percent, as of early July," said Ross Mountain, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Geneva. "Coordination is of limited use if we have nothing to coordinate except ideas and concepts," he added. Mountain was speaking at the launch of a revised appeal for US $2.3 billion for UN agencies to assist 26 million people at risk around the globe. In addition to revising its appeals for the Great Lakes region, Somalia and Sudan, the UN launched two new consolidated appeals for the DRC and the Republic of Congo. The Consolidated Appeals Process puts a huge strain on UN humanitarian workers in the field and "when one considers the response of the donor community to the 1998 and now 1999 appeals, many agencies are starting to wonder if all these efforts are not wasted", said Mountain.