The Humanitarian Response Division (HRD), based in Geneva, leads UNFPA’s humanitarian emergency response to save the lives of women and girls in crisis situations. It coordinates support from headquarters to country and regional offices, ensuring UNFPA's mandate is upheld at the outset of and during emergencies.
The following key objectives of HRD ensure effective, coordinated, coherent and impactful humanitarian responses, positioning UNFPA as a key player within the humanitarian architecture, and in addressing the specific needs of women and girls in emergency situations:
Emergency Response Leadership:Facilitating and coordinating effective and comprehensive responses to crises, including swift access to financial resources, supplies, and humanitarian expertise.
Humanitarian Programme Support: Supporting regional and country offices in catalysing and implementing transformative changes for effective humanitarian interventions. This includes developing minimum and harmonized standards for humanitarian programmes in an integrated manner and enhancing humanitarian operational capacity and efficiency.
Positioning and Influencing: Ensuring the positioning of UNFPA and its mandated issues within the international humanitarian community, notably in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). This involves collaborating with humanitarian partners, advocating for the inclusion of SRH and GBV concerns in humanitarian responses, and leading and actively participating in relevant forums.
Result Based Communication for Resource Mobilization: Overseeing UNFPA’s global humanitarian appeal and monitoring, reporting and communicating results of UNFPA’s humanitarian actions for advocacy and resource mobilization.
Ms. Arakaki is the Director of the Humanitarian Response Division in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). She previously served as Chief of Branch, Partnerships, Inter-governmental process and Inter-agency cooperation, and Chief of Regional Programme Coordination and National Implementation Support in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Prior to joining UNDRR, Ms. Arakaki served in multiple leadership roles in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), including Chief of External Relations and Partnerships Section, and Chief of the Funding Coordination Section.
Ms. Arakaki has a proven track record in the field of humanitarian, development, peace and security. She brings over 29 years of diverse experience across different bodies of the UN system such as OCHA, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO), as well as international NGOs. Ms. Arakaki’s extensive humanitarian career, both at headquarters and in the field, has taken her to different parts of the world, including field assignments in Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, East Timor, and Southeast Asian countries.
