This study traces humanitarian aid coordination in three distinct phases: 1985-1990: The intensification of the emergency in Mozambique and the challenge to Government in directing aid; 1990-1992: Peace talks and the protracted emergency with increased UN control of Aid Coordination; 1993-1995: ONUMOZ and donor driven resource allocation. In addition to documenting the forms and mechanisms of aid coordination, the study reveals how the UN often worked against itself. The changing policies on the role of the UN in humanitarian crises are described in the Mozambican context.