2005-2006 Gender Action Plan Progress Report

Introduction

In 2004 the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) launched OCHA's first action plan for
implementation of the OCHA gender equality policy. The gender action plan details specific
branch and unit actions to ensure the promotion of gender equality in their ongoing work.
OCHA also employed a full-time Senior Gender Adviser in 2005 to assist OCHA in the full
implementation of the policy. The 2005 - 2006 gender action plan has focused on
headquarters activities but towards the end of 2006, the development and implementation of
gender action plans was made a responsibility for all OCHA offices, including field offices.

Over the last two years OCHA has progressed a long way in incorporating gender issues into
its day-to-day work. Through its coordinating role, OCHA has also been a key actor in
working within the structures of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to ensure
gender equality programming within the humanitarian reform efforts. OCHA will develop a
new gender action plan for 2007-2008, building on the lessons learned highlighted in this
report.