OCHA: Slow-onset Emergencies

This paper discusses OCHA’s role in slow-onset emergencies and recommends how OCHA can support national and international humanitarian partners to prepare for and respond to them more effectively. It is primarily based on research commissioned by OCHA. This included a review of literature in the fields of disaster risk reduction, contingency planning, slow-onset emergencies, food security, and vulnerability reduction, as well as more than 100 interviews with OCHA staff and partners in the field and in headquarters.

Although the main focus of the research was on drought in Africa, it is also relevant to other kinds of slow-onset emergencies, including compound crises resulting from global challenges such as food and energy insecurity, which are increasingly recognised as important emerging drivers of vulnerability and humanitarian need.