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ReliefWeb

Interview with Sharon Ru

Acting Coordinator

humanitarians Q: Could you please tell us ordinator was formed.
For
worldwide, journalists, about Reliefweb and how ReliefWeb was a child of
donors and many it all started? this newagency.
others, ReliefWeb is a
ReliefWeb came together Within the UN system there
well-known name. It all
over a long period, starting has always been a need for
started here in Geneva
in the 1980s, through the timely and reliable informa-
in the 1980s and has
development of various tion -- there still is today --a
grown into a global
types of managed informa- key factor in co-ordination.
reference for humani-
tion systems. In those days, Since the Emergency Relief
information.
tarian
the United Nations Disaster Co-ordinator must persuade
Today, ReliefWeb has Relief
Organization UN agencies to co-operate in
offices around the (UNDRO) was in charge of order to improve co-ordina-
world, spanning major disaster relief and saw the tion of joint efforts, informa-
time zones, to ensure need for a wider information tion is central to that persua-
that nothing escapes system to aid disaster sion. Gathering information,
the attention of the response. UNDRO was processing it and widely dis-
international communi- responsible for the precur- seminating it to key actors
sors to ReliefWeb: UNIENet ensures informed humanita-
ty. We wanted to know
and IERIS among others. rian decisions.
a Little bit more about
Following the Gulf War in
ReliefWeb so we went
1991, and General Assembly Though UN information
knocking on their door,
Resolution 46/182, the systems had been developed
where Ms Sharon Rusu,
Department for Human- over many years for disaster
the ReliefWeb co- itarian Affairs (T.JNDHA) relief, they had some way to
ordinator, is one of the and the office of the go to meet the challenges of
people behind the Emergency Relief Co- humanitarian emergencies in
system.
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