In 2000, the United Nations, through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), continued to coordinate humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies, promote preparedness and prevention, and facilitate sustainable solutions. OCHA’s advocacy efforts aimed to help guarantee the protection of civilians in armed conflict and marshal the resources necessary for swift and vigorous humanitarian responses worldwide. Consolidated inter-agency appeals were launched or ongoing for Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Great Lakes region and Central Africa, the Maluku islands of Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South-Eastern Europe, the Sudan and Tajikistan. The total sought for the appeals amounted to $1,922 million, of which $1,139 million was received, meeting 59.2 percent of the requirements. In addition, an inter-agency appeal covering
Afghanistan for 2000, which sought $220.8 million, received contributions totalling $106.8million, or 48.38 percent of the requirements. During the year, OCHA reported contributions for natural disasters totalling $460.7 million for 45 situations in 35 countries. In December, the General Assembly welcomed the closure of the nuclear power station in Chernobyl, Ukraine