What it does
OCHA Humanitarian Icons supports reporting on aid services, needs and crises. The current BDU collection provides single-colour SVGs, category metadata and prepared presentation or reference exports. It is free under CC BY 4.0, with attribution to OCHA.
For a needs-assessment dashboard, use the family and keyword metadata to find a symbol, then label the actual measure being shown. OCHA treats these icons as indicative resources with flexible meanings, rather than a universal vocabulary. A shelter symbol can support a clearly named category without replacing its text.
The current collection provides single-colour SVGs through direct downloads or public CDN links. Change the SVG fill or apply a CSS filter for another colour. Prepared PowerPoint slides, Excel reference sheets, a CSV lookup, an SVG overview and an icon font support other production workflows.
The current BDU edition is free under CC BY 4.0 with appropriate credit to OCHA. Its staff wordmark generator is a separate internal tool with an approval requirement; use the published files for ordinary icon reuse.
Strengths
- Category and keyword metadata support consistent selection.
- Prepared presentation and reference exports accompany SVGs.
Watch out for
- Current BDU artwork requires appropriate CC BY 4.0 attribution.
Best for
- Humanitarian dashboards and reports
- Presentations explaining aid services and crisis impacts
Sources
- OCHA Humanitarian Icons - Brand and Design Unit (Oct 27, 2026)
- United Nations OCHA Humanitarian Icons (Oct 27, 2026)