a guide to peace support operations - The Watson Institute for ...

Part II, Section 2, paragraph 2
(1) Multilateral
Responsive funding may consist of emergency-specific funding to the
UN agencies and/or to the European Community Humanitarian Office
(ECHO). “Service packages” are standing arrangements between
donors and UNHCR to make certain assets available when the need
arises (see Part II, Section 3, paragraph 9b). Emergency specific
funding is also made in response to individual appeals launched by UN
agencies and ECHO or consolidated interagency appeals launched by
the DHA. UN agencies can have a role as donors themselves; for
example UNHCR plays a central role in funding NGOs and other
organizations in the field. UNICEF, WFP, and other UN agencies (as
well as some large NGOs) also may be important donors.
(2) Bilateral
Donors also may fund operational agents directly. Organizations
funded in this way may include the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), international nongovernmental
organizations (INGOs), local NGOs, and NGO umbrella associations,
and agents of the governments of the affected states or private
sectors that are available for subcontracting. Bilateral funding gives
donors greater visibility, may be swifter, can provide a wide choice of
outlets that increases the political and operational flexibility of donors,
and allows responses to be suited to different contexts. It also
enables the donor, if it wishes, to have greater control over how
resources are used. However, many donors do not have the resources
for this kind of micromanagement in emergencies.
(3) Amounts of Funding Donated
Donors differ greatly in the amount they channel bilaterally to emergency
aid. Broadly speaking, ECHO is now the largest emergency aid
donor, followed by the United States and Germany (see Table 1).
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