The HNO is a critical document in the HPC, a clear understanding of need is required before an adequate response can be planned or implemented. Work on the HNO should begin 6-8 months before the document is due as there are many dependencies. Ideally, the OCHA office should have a timeline or work plan for the entire HPC with clear deadlines and responsibilities.
Dependances for the HNO include:
- CODs - Administrative boundaries and population statistics with sex and age-disaggregated to lowest possible level, at a minimum, are agreed upon, clean, and sharable.
- Humanitarian Profile
- Needs assessments
- Access mapping
Essential reading on the Humanitarian Needs Overview for IMOs
- Humanitarian Needs Overview Guidance and templatess - HNO guidance documents are available in English and French and are updated yearly. These documents clearly outline the information needed to produce an HNO.
- Practical Step by Step Guide - includes Step-by-Step Practical Guide for HNO and HRP (includes: HPC Process Overview, HPC Visual Guidance, Design Assets, templates) Available in Arabic, English and French
Recommended reading on Humanitarian Needs Overview for IMOs
HNO Checklist for IMOs
- Read the previous years HNO
- Download and read all guidance documents as soon as they become available.
- Contact the Programme Support Branch in Geneva to identify a focal point that can help you prepare for and plan especially if this is the first time you have been involved in an HNO.
- Discuss the previous years HNO with cluster and OCHA colleagues. Ask what could be improved.
- If not already done request a staff meeting on HNO to determine timeline and responsibilities.
- Prepare an OCHA or IMU work plan for the HNO with clear deadlines and responsibilities.
- Needed data is identified and acquired (note this can take an extraordinary amount of time - plan for it!)