UN humanitarian chief meets HRH Princess Haya and addresses aid conference in Dubai

(Dubai/New York, 28 March 2011): Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, today delivered an opening address at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition (DIHAD) 2011. The conference's theme is "New technologies: How these impact humanitarian and development operations".

"In a world awash with information, one of the biggest challenges is to pinpoint the right information to enable us to make good decisions," Ms. Amos said in her address. "More than ever, our collective energy, resources and efforts are needed to strengthen our humanitarian response capacity. The emphasis this conference is placing on new technologies is very appropriate".

Ms. Amos also met with Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai.

Ms. Amos expressed her gratitude for the Princess's strong support and deep engagement in humanitarian affairs and thanked the UAE and Princess Haya for hosting the International Humanitarian City (IHC) in Dubai. The IHC is a hub at the service of humanitarian organizations. Ms. Amos also had discussions with senior officials from the UAE Office for the Coordination of Foreign Aid.

Later in the day, Ms. Amos launched the report Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Information Sharing in Humanitarian Emergencies, written by a team of researchers at The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and supported by the Vodafone Foundation, United Nations Foundation, and OCHA.

A press release and background material on the report is available on the UN Foundation website www.unfoundation.org/global-issues/technology.

For further information, please call: Jens Laerke, OCHA-Cairo +20 19 555 8662, laerke@un.org;

Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1347 244 2106, bunker@un.org;

Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org;

Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org.

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.

For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org