Actors The four main actors in humanitarian aid are: 1. International and Regional Organizations The most important actor in the provision of humanitarian aid and development assistance is the United Nations and its various agencies, the work of which is funded by member states. The World Bank also funds many development projects, in addition to regional development banks 2. Unilateral Assistance As well as multilateral assistance, many countries also direct aid unilaterally through their own foreign aid and development agencies. Major donors include the United States, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Switzerland. As well as being informed by a moral obligation, aid also forms a significant component of foreign policy for many of these countries, and levels of aid vary according to the foreign policy imperatives of the incumbent government. 3. Non-Governmental Organizations Non-governmental organizations increasingly play a key role in providing humanitarian aid and development assistance. In Rwanda around 250 NGOs played a part in providing assistance to refugees and IDPs in and around Rwanda, both directly and as partners to UN agencies. NGOs often have an advantage over international organizations or foreign governments. They are generally apolitical, smaller and more flexible. Their diversity and independence allow them to work in very difficult places. A well as being less encumbered by bureaucracy, they may enjoy greater access to remote and inaccessible parts of the country. This is because they are less limited by political constraints and because rebel groups may be more likely to trust them. Particularly if they are local organizations with pre-existing networks, they can operate in rebel-held areas that are shut off to the UN, as occurred in Liberia in the 1990s. 4. The Military The military is important primarily in order to provide a secure environment in which relief agencies can operate. In some circumstances the military also plays a direct role in providing aid. This is usually when the escalation of circumstances mean that IOs and NGOs find themselves overstretched or unable to deal with security problems faced in particular situations. The military can be used to improve the management and coordination of the overall humanitarian response and to provide capacity for technically and physically demanding needs such as infrastructure repair to restore communications and supply routes. The military formed an important part of the humanitarian response in Somalia, Rwanda and Kosovo. In 1999 the US spent over $1.5 billion on humanitarian aid alone. This money is channelled through several agencies, the most important of which is the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, and the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), in addition to the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), Food for Peace (FFP), the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), and several other agencies. Approximately one half to two thirds of this assistance goes to African countries.
In 1982 USAID reported 144 humanitarian agencies registered with them; this number had increased to 419 by 1994, and in 1995 the emergency aid business alone was worth US$5 billion a year.
Coordination Coordination and effective leadership of the humanitarian relief effort is extremely important, in order to minimize duplication and conflicting activities, and maximize the exchange and flow of intelligence in an extremely difficult and stressful working environment. After the Rwandan genocide there were over seven UN agencies, around 250 NGOs, multiple branches of the Red Cross, and over eight military contingents. The principal coordinating agency of almost all relief operations is the UN, most often UNHCR. Funding Financial backing for humanitarian aid and development assistance comes mostly from public sources. The largest donors are the US and the European Union. Approximately 50% of funding is typically channelled through UN agencies, the greatest amount going to UNHCR and the World Food Program (WFP). Much of this is then allocated to implementing partners, the biggest of which is the Red Cross movement. | 
