The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is now presenting information about aid contributions in a format that is compatible with industry standards.

OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS) has been publishing data on international humanitarian aid reported by donors and recipient organisations for the past 20 years. By working with the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), and meeting its standards, data reported will become more accessible, allowing technical users to convert the information into databases, spreadsheets, web applications, printed documents and data visualisations.

“Signing up to the International Aid Transparency Initiative is a significant step towards greater accountability and data usability,” said Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. “It is a demonstration of OCHA’s commitment to transparency, which is crucial for monitoring our impact and improving our effectiveness.”

IATI is a multi-stakeholder initiative that has brought together donors, aid-recipient governments, civil society and aid information experts to agree on a common, open, international standard for publishing information about humanitarian and development aid.