Nour AlQattan is a Humanitarian Affairs Officer with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kuwait. In this interview, she shares insights into building meaningful partnerships across sectors to elevate OCHA’s role in the region.
What does your work involve?
Our main focus is on fostering strong, durable partnerships.
Through a multi-layered approach, we’ve expanded our partner base to include Kuwait Fund for Development, private sector organizations and NGOs, in addition to our primary counterpart—the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Our overarching goal is to position OCHA as a key player in Kuwait’s humanitarian ecosystem. We’ve secured increased donor contributions from Kuwait to the Country-Based Pooled Funds, with a focus on vital operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia.
We’ve also worked to strengthen OCHA’s visibility through targeted outreach, including high-level briefings, bilateral meetings, and participation in regional forums. These efforts have helped build trust and deepen engagement with key stakeholders.
And we hosted Kuwait’s first in-country launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview, a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of global humanitarian needs and elevate OCHA’s profile in the Gulf.
In light of the Kuwait Fund’s support to the Country-Based Pooled Funds in recent years, what are the key aspects of managing the partnership with them?
There are two main factors to always keep in mind.
First and foremost, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development’s core mandate centres on development rather than humanitarian assistance, so their focus is typically on infrastructure, energy, and agriculture projects, making their approach more aligned with long-term economic development.
For us, this means a stronger focus on humanitarian-development collaboration during discussions, highlighting how humanitarian efforts can lay the groundwork for sustainable development.
Another aspect is their preference for earmarking specific projects. The Kuwait Fund seeks clear visibility on the outcomes of its contributions, which can be difficult for OCHA, as we manage pooled funds rather than individual projects.
Despite this, our relationship has deepened through open communication, shared humanitarian values, and tangible results. The Kuwait Fund has now become a key supporter of the Country-Based Pooled Funds through significant contributions.
What’s next?
We are now exploring the possibility of formalizing our collaboration with Kuwait Fund through a partnership framework agreement, which would lay the foundation for more structured and sustained engagement.
