OCHA's humanitarian news and analysis service re-launches web site

(New York, 15 February 2007) -- Wondering what is going on in Guinea? How relief aid really works? What went wrong with the anti-HIV gel tests? What's the latest from Somalia? Can you imagine what it feels like for your fiancé to dump you after your leg is blown off in Iraq?

All of this - and much more on dozens of crises around the world - is available on the website of the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), which today is re-launched with new content and features, an attractive new design and improved ease of use.

Formed in 1995, IRIN is a multimedia humanitarian news and analysis service covering crises in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and is a key project of the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), responsible for international emergency coordination, humanitarian advocacy and policy.

IRIN enjoys editorial independence from its donors and OCHA. Ninety-five percent of its readers regard IRIN as objective, according to a 2006 reader survey, while 78% feel IRIN reflected the views of the broader humanitarian community.

"IRIN has provided a unique and vital service to the humanitarian community and millions of people in need since 1995," said Margareta Wahlström, the acting United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator. "The new IRIN website - dynamic, modern and flexible - is a key tool for humanitarian advocacy. IRIN is a unique source of humanitarian news and analysis; this new site is easier, quicker and more productive for the visitor."

Growing demand led to the need for the new site, which offers daily news and analysis, personal testimonies, as well as audio and video clips highlighting humanitarian issues. All of this is easily accessible and freely available at the touch of a button.

IRIN material is republished on a range of popular news websites. This brings humanitarian issues to the attention of millions of readers whose favourite publications would otherwise not have the resources or awareness to cover the situations or issues themselves.

IRIN's main online audience is the humanitarian community, the media and academia. Continual audience feedback helps to guide the work of IRIN. A reader from the BBC recently had this to say of IRIN: "What has struck me most forcefully about the news and features that IRIN provides are the originality of its outlook and the strength of its journalism. It covers stories and angles on stories which are barely, if at all, referred to in the mainstream agencies."

IRIN's major donors are Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Commission (ECHO), Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA (USAID).

IRIN: http://www.irinnews.org

OCHA: http://ochaonline.un.org/

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. Katarina Toll Velasquez, IRIN Donor and External Liaison Officer Geneva, +41 229171107(tollk@un.org). OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.