User:Jduplooy/Humanitarian aid

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One of the main purposes of the United Nations is to provide humanitarian response and aid.

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The first humanitarian response the United Nations delivered was after the second world war and it was to rebuild the European region. The United Nations relies fully on the international community to organize humanitarian relief from natural and or man-made disasters in countries that do not have the resources to overcome the damages. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is responsible for the delivery of aid to emergencies and does this through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee who provides emergency relief. The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund is managed by OCHA and is one of the fastest effective ways to provide humanitarian responses affected by natural disasters and armed conflict. The UNDP maintains the logistical side of the relief at the national level, UNHCR helps with refugee crisis management, UNICEF helps children, WFP provides food, and WHO heals the sick. These different sectors of the United Nations all help when executing and delivering a humanitarian plan.

Gender and humanitarian aid
Even prior to a humanitarian crisis, gender differences exist. Women have limited access to paid work, are at risk of child marriage, and are more exposed to Gender based violence, such as rape and domestic abuse. Conflict and natural disasters exacerbate women's vulnerabilities. When delivering humanitarian aid, it is thus important for humanitarian actors, such as the United Nations, to include challenges specific to women in their humanitarian response. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee provides guidelines for humanitarian actors on how be inclusive of gender when delivering humanitarian aid. It recommends agencies to collect data disaggregated by sex and age to better understand which group of the population is in need of what type of aid. In recent years, the United Nations have been using sex and age disaggregated data more and more, consulting with gender specialists. In the assessment phase, several UN agencies meet to compile data and work on a humanitarian response plan. Throughout the plans. women specific challenges are listed and sex and age disaggregated data are used so when they deliver aid to a country facing a humanitarian crisis, girls and women can have access to the aid they need.