Report from the Commission - Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO): Annual Report 2007 {SEC(2008) 2236}
Date: 2008-07-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ECHO, activity report, humanitarian aid

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 9.7.2008 
COM(2008) 449 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid - (ECHO) 
Annual Report 2007 

{SEC(2008) 2236} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 3 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS ........................................................................................ 4 

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS IN 2007 ........... 6 

Generalities .................................................................................................................. 6 

Main interventions in 2007 by region and allocation of funds .................................... 8 

Comparative analysis ................................................................................................. 10 

Thematic funding ....................................................................................................... 10 

Disaster preparedness activities ................................................................................. 11 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) ........................................... 12 

Main partners in humanitarian operations.................................................................. 12 

RELATIONS WITH OTHER EU INSTITUTIONS, MEMBER STATES, MAJOR 
HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS AND NON–EU DONORS ................................................ 12 

OTHER ACTIVITIES.................................................................................................... 13 

CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................. 13 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4 

3.5. 

3.6. 

3.7. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Annex: 

Detailed  country  by  country  overview  of  humanitarian  operations,  relations  with  partners, 
results of evaluations and financial tables. 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

DG  ECHO  is  the  service  of  the  European  Commission  responsible  for  providing 
humanitarian assistance to the people affected by conflicts or disasters, both natural and 
man-made, in third countries. This general objective contributes to the strategic objective of 
the  Commission  "Europe  as  a  world  partner"  included  in  the  general  objective  of  External 
relations1, set out by the European Union (EU) Treaty. The mandate of DG ECHO is to save 
and  preserve  life,  reduce  or  prevent  suffering  and  safeguard  the  integrity  and  dignity  of 
populations  affected  by  humanitarian  crises  as  described  in  Council  Regulation 
N° 1257/96. 

In 2007, through its humanitarian aid budget, the EU provided humanitarian assistance to an 
estimated  127  million  beneficiaries  in  third  countries2.  In  addition,  19.5  million  people 
benefited from actions in respect of disaster preparedness and improved response capacity to 
potential risks. 

With  these  figures,  the  European  Union  continues  to  be  the  largest  single  donor  of 
humanitarian assistance in the world.  

DG  ECHO  supports  humanitarian  aid  operations  in  line  with  internationally  agreed 
humanitarian principles in a neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory manner, in respect 
of  International  Humanitarian  Law  ("IHL3")  and  defends  the  humanitarian  space  and 
principles which are increasingly under threat. For DG ECHO, the best way to preserve this 
humanitarian  space  is  to  maintain  a  high  level  of  engagement  in  the  Good  Humanitarian 
Donorship (GHD4) principles, to remain committed to high quality assistance and to maintain 
a transparent dialogue with other key players. 

The  decisions  and  actions  taken  by  the  service  are  solely  determined  by  the  assessment  of 
humanitarian needs and are not guided by or subject to political considerations other than the 
affirmation of the European Union’s solidarity with people in need. The aid is intended to go 
directly to those in distress, irrespective of race, religion or political convictions 

DG ECHO does not implement assistance programmes itself. It is a donor who implements its 
mission  by  funding  Community  humanitarian  actions  through  partners  who  have  signed 
either  the  Framework  Partnership  Agreement  (FPA)  such  as  European  NGOs  and 
International  Organisations  (Red  Cross  family)  or  the  Financial  and  Administrative 
Framework  Agreement  (FAFA)  for  the  UN  agencies  (in  2007,  mainly  UNICEF5,  UNHCR6 
and WFP7). 

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New Article 10c – para.2 of the EU Treaty 
Out of this figure, DG ECHO assisted 12 million refugees and a stable amount of 25 million displaced 
persons  (in  their  own  country)  in  more  than  50  countries  –  www.internal-displacement.org  (IDMC, 
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Global overview of Trends and Developments in 2006). 
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_in_brief?OpenDocument 
http://www.goodhumanitariandonorship.org/ 
United Nations Children's Fund  
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  
United Nations World Food Programme 

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DG  ECHO’s  task  is  to  ensure  that  goods  and  services  get  to  crisis  zones  fast  through  these 
partners.  The  rapidity  of  aid  delivery  is  facilitated  by  special  provisions  in  the  Financial 
Regulation  and  their  implementing  measures.  These  structural  arrangements  also  enable 
DG ECHO  to  deploy  technical  assistants  (ECHO  experts)  in  the  field  thereby  ensuring  the 
identification  of  vulnerable  sections  of  society,  an  accurate  assessment  of  needs,  the  rapid 
identification of suitable partners and projects to meet such needs. This is then followed up by 
on-the-spot monitoring of partners' and projects' progress in order to ensure a sound financial 
management in support of the declaration of assurance that resources have been used for their 
intended purpose. 

DG ECHO's assistance also aims at facilitating, together with other aid instruments, the return 
of populations to self-sufficiency wherever and whenever possible, and to permit the phasing 
out  of  DG  ECHO  funding  in  good  conditions.  In  that  perspective,  DG  ECHO  is  actively 
engaged 
linkage  strategy  between  relief,  rehabilitation  and 
development  “LRRD”  and  in  developing  stronger  cooperation  with  other  Commission 
services or donors. 

implementing  a 

in 

Based  on  its  experience  in  responding  to  disasters,  DG  ECHO  also  works  at  promoting 
disaster preparedness in order to reduce both vulnerability and exposure of people to risks 
and  disasters  as  well  as  to  reduce  the  economic  costs  of  such  disasters.  With  a  view  to  the 
effective discharge of its mandate, DG ECHO may support – where appropriate and necessary 
– capacity building measures of its implementing partners. 

This  report  sums  up  DG  ECHO's  main  activities  in  2007.  The  annex  provides  an  extensive 
overview  of  the  operations  funded  in  the  various  countries  and  regions  where  DG  ECHO 
provides  assistance  through  its  partners  and  statistics  extracted  from  the  2007  financial 
report8. 

The current report is being issued in order to comply with the requirement of art.  19 of the 
Humanitarian Aid regulation:  

"At  the  close  of  each  financial  year,  the  Commission  shall  submit  an  annual  report  to  the 
European Parliament and to the Council with a summary of operations financed in the course 
of  that  year.  The  summary  shall  contain  information  concerning  the  agencies  with  which 
humanitarian  operations  have  been  implemented.  The  report  shall  also  include  a  review  of 
any outside assessment exercises which may have been conducted on specific operations". 

2. 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS  

In  general,  over  the  last  few  decades,  the  magnitude,  strength  and  number  of  natural 
disasters have increased. The number of people affected has also increased and the poorest 
people have been affected disproportionately. According to forecasts, this tendency is likely 
to further increase in the future.  

In parallel, the number of conflicts has not changed significantly but tend to last longer and 
are increasingly destructive, despite the number of refugees falling in recent years. 

8 

Available at http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding/key_figures/echo_en.htm 

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The international context in which humanitarian aid takes place has changed considerably and 
new  actors  have  appeared  on  the  scene.  In  this  context,  the  three  Institutions  (European 
Parliament,  Council  and  Commission)  have  signed  a  European  Consensus  on 
Humanitarian Aid9 in December 2007 recognising the increasingly challenging environment 
for humanitarian response and driving forward a more efficient and coordinated EU approach. 
This Consensus will be followed up in 2008 by an Action Plan representing the concrete and 
operational  translation  of  the  numerous  political  commitments  contained  in  the  EU 
Consensus on Humanitarian Aid. 

In order to improve the Commission's response to disasters and within the framework of the 
EU strategy to strengthen its response to disasters and to crises in third countries10, DG ECHO 
has  continued  to  increase  the  number  of  experts  in  the  field,  in  order  to  ensure  the  rapid 
evaluation  of  needs  and  its  rapid  response  in  the  event  of  a  disaster.  The  strengthening  of 
DG ECHO's  operational  and  contractual  procedures  applicable  to  its  implementing  partners 
(European NGOs, UN agencies and International Organisations) as well as its increased field 
capacity11 improved the response time for delivering humanitarian aid. These improvements 
to the service provide a significant contribution to the development of the EU's capacity for 
dealing with crises and disasters, which is increasingly becoming a political priority as shown 
by  the  post-tsunami  communications,  the  Barnier  Report12  and  the  relevant  Presidency 
conclusions of the Brussels European Council of December 2007.  

The  principle  of  "one  instrument  per  policy  area"  established  by  the  Commission's 
communication13  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  Community  action,  together  with  the 
Commission's  communication  on  the  financial  perspectives  2007-2013,  transferred  the 
responsibility for the management of humanitarian food aid from DG AIDCO to DG ECHO 
with  effect  from  1 January 2007.  DG  ECHO  has  focused  the  food  aid  budget,  within  the 
framework of its mandate, to save and preserve life during emergencies and their immediate 
aftermath  and  with  the  same  principle  of  needs  assessment  which  is  applied  to  all  its 
interventions.  

Due  to  the  integration  of  food  aid  and  aid  to  uprooted  people  within  DG  ECHO,  the  initial 
humanitarian  aid  budget  made  available  for  the  year  2007  rose  to  € 722 million  with  a 
increase).
predicted  annual 

inflation  and  1%  net 

increase  of  3%  (2% 

indicative 

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Based  on  the  Communication  "Towards  a  European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid"  adopted  on 
13/6/07 (COM(2007)317 final) 
COM(2005)153 
The amount of experts increased from 83 to 96 between 2005 and 2007 
For a European civil protection force: Europe aid 
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/pdf/rapport_barnier_en.pdf 
COM(2004)101 

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3. 

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS IN 2007 

3.1. 

Generalities 

In  contrast  with  previous  years,  2007  has  seen  no  major  new  crises  in  the  field  of 
humanitarian  aid,  whether  it  be  natural  disasters  or  complex  emergencies.  Nevertheless, 
natural disasters, accentuated by climate changes, continue to increase both in frequency and 
severity, affecting already vulnerable people more often and more severely. Since 1975, the 
number  of  natural  disasters  has  increased  from  around  75  to  more  than  40014  a  year.  In 
particular,  the  average  number  of  hydro-meteorological  disasters  reported  was  195  for  the 
period  1987-1998  and  this  increased  by  187%  to  an  average  of  365  for  the  period  2000-
200615. 

In 2007 natural disasters caused serious damage: medium scale earthquakes in Peru and in 
the  Solomon  Islands;  floods  in  Africa,  India,  Indonesia,  North  Korea,  Vietnam  and  Latin 
America;  cyclones  in  Nicaragua  (Felix),  Mozambique  (Favio)  and  Bangladesh  (Sidr); 
Hurricane Dean in the Caribbean; tropical storm in Haiti and Dominican Republic (Noel) and 
droughts in Moldova, Paraguay, Kenya, Somalia and the Sahel region. DG ECHO had to react 
speedily to help thousands of suffering people, some of whom were already affected by other 
crises. 

Despite the continuation of many complex emergencies and the damage caused by the above- 
mentioned  natural  disasters,  the  absence  of  major  large-scale  crises  resulted  in  DG  ECHO 
remaining within the funds made available by the Budget Authority, together with additions 
from  EDF  resources  and  re-committed  funds.  Therefore,  in  contrast  to  previous  years, 
DG ECHO did not have to draw on the Commission's Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR).  

DG  ECHO's  response  to  humanitarian  crises  in  2007  was  channelled  through  85  funding 
decisions. The implementation of the commitment appropriations was 100%. ACP countries 
were  the  biggest  recipients  of  aid  (EUR  422.7  million  (i.e.  55%  of  its  total  final  budget), 
followed by Asia and Latin America (EUR 157.4 million – 20.5%) and Eastern Europe, New 
Independent States, Middle East and Mediterranean countries (EUR 124.9 million - 16.2%).  

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Source:  Centre  for  Research  on  the  Epidemiology  of  Disasters(CRED),  2006  disasters  in  numbers 
http://www.unisdr.org/eng/media-room/press-release/2007/2006-Disaster-in-number-CRED-ISDR.pdf  
Source:  id.  Annual  Disaster  Statistical  Review,  Numbers  and  Trends,  2006  http://www.em-
dat.net/documents/Annual%20Disaster%20Statistical%20Review%202006.pdf  

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The application of needs-based principles led to the following geographical breakdown16 of 
the funds committed for humanitarian aid in 2007. It should be noted that the 2006 figures do 
not include food aid since it was still managed by DG AIDCO in that year (in '000): 

Humanitarian assistance in 2007 (including Food aid) 
% 
55.0%

Unit/Region 

A/1: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific 
All Africa 
Horn of Africa 
Great Lakes 
West Africa 
Caribbean, Pacific 
Southern Africa, Indian Ocean 
A/2:  New  Independent  States, 
Middle East, Mediterranean 
NIS (Chechnya, Caucasus, Tajikistan …) 
Middle East, Mediterranean 
A/3: Asia & Latin America 
Asia 
Latin America 
Non-geographic instruments 
–  Thematic funding + grants 
–  Technical  Assistance  (experts  & 

Total 
422.760
2.000
217.950
89.500
46.600
16.310
50.400

Compared to 2006 
% 

Total 
322.060  48.0%

161.050 
84.050 
56.150 
1.610 
19.200 

124.897

16.2%

177.900  26.5%

25.807
99.090
157.366
117.301
40.065

20.5%

33.000 
144.900 
124.540  18.6%
99.940 
24.600 

28.900
25.400

3.8%
3.3%

20.500 
19.000 

3.1%
2.8%

field offices) 

–  Use of re-assigned revenue 
–  Support Exp. (audits, evaluation, 

307
8.900

1.2%

817 
6.189 

1.0%

information, etc.) 

TOTAL 

768.530

100%

671.006 

100%

Humanitarian Aid 2007

Technical 
assistance
3,3%

Thematic funding, 
grants
3,8%

Support 
Expenditure, use 
of reassigned 
revenue
1,2%

Asia, Latin 
America
20,5%

NIS, Middle East, 
Medit.
16,2%

ACP countries
55,0%

16 

Breakdown by budget line, including EDF, of the total committed in 2007 is available in part VI 

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DG ECHO delivers financial assistance to the victims of conflicts or natural disasters in third 
countries, on the basis of humanitarian needs assessment. The methodology17 applied ranks 
third  countries  according  to  their  overall  vulnerability  (=  vulnerability  index18  and  as  to 
whether  they  are  undergoing  a  humanitarian  crisis  (=  crisis  index19).  As  a  result  of  this 
exercise, 50 countries/territories have been identified as undergoing a crisis, 23 of these were 
identified as the most vulnerable, and 18 were in sub-Saharan Africa. These results are then 
matched with the evaluation undertaken in the field by DG ECHO's experts and geographical 
units of DG ECHO in order to define the strategy for the countries/regions concerned. 

In conformity with the methodology used, DG ECHO committed in 2007 94.6% of its initial 
planned  budget  on  the  main  line  for  humanitarian  aid  (23.02.01)  in  priority  areas  of  high 
humanitarian needs.  

In order to programme its action in favour of the populations in greatest humanitarian need, 
DG  ECHO’s  aid  strategy  continued  to  focus  on  forgotten  crises  (situations  where  major 
humanitarian needs receive little attention on the part of donors - reflected by the low level of 
aid  received  -  and  the  media).  DG ECHO’s  analysis  and  methodology  for  identifying 
forgotten  crises  is  based  on  both  quantitative  data  (lack  of  media  coverage  or  low  donor 
support  combined  with  high  needs)  and  qualitative  factors  (field  assessment  by  DG ECHO 
experts and desk officers).  

The forgotten crises identified in 2007 were: Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, Chechnya and the 
neighbouring  republics  affected,  population  of  India  affected  by  unrest  in  Jammu  and 
Kashmir,  the  persisting  crisis  of  Bhutanese  refugees  as  well  as  the  Maoist  insurrection  in 
Nepal, population affected by the conflict in Burma/Myanmar both within the country itself as 
well  as  in  neighbouring  countries  and  the  population  affected  by  the  crisis  in  Colombia  as 
well as in neighbouring countries. Apart from Colombia, these crises were already identified 
as "forgotten crises" in 2006. 

In  2007,  financial  support  of  € 60.7 million  was  al located  to  these  crises,  which  represents 
13% of the initial operational budget20.  

The  results  of  Global  Needs  and  Forgotten  Crises  assessments  can  be  found  on  the  Europa 
website http://ec.europa.eu/echo/policies/strategy_en.htm 

3.2.  Main interventions in 2007 by region and allocation of funds 

In terms of crises, no new complex crisis emerged in 2007 but the Commission had to deal 
with worsening humanitarian situations, sometimes protracted, complex emergencies already 
existing  in  previous  years.  Some  examples  are  Sudan,  where  the  situation  remains  very 
worrying:  violence  and  extortion  towards  the  civilian  population  continues  and  have  again 
forced  many  to  flee  elsewhere  in  the  country  or  to  take  refuge  in  neighbouring  countries. 

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http://ec.europa.eu/echo/policies/strategy_en.htm 
The  vulnerability  index  seeks  to  measure  the  national  capacity  to  absorb  and  reduce  the  effects  of  a 
crisis. It is made up of different measurements, going from the Human Development Index (HDI) to the 
mortality rate of children under 5. http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/policies/strategy/strategy_2008_en.pdf 
The crisis index evaluates the nearness in time of a severe incident – a war or a natural disaster – or the 
weighting of a population of refugees or internally displaced on the total population of the country in 
question. 
Humanitarian aid budget line 

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Floods  affecting  the  North  of  Sudan,  including  Darfur,  in  July  2007  have  compounded  the 
situation.  

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the fighting and tensions in the East of the country 
restarted during the summer of 2007, particularly in the North and the Southern part of Kivu, 
causing numerous population movements and new humanitarian needs. Somalia also had to 
face both natural disasters (droughts) and violence, forcing many to leave their homes.  

The interventions listed in the following sections are detailed in annex – section I. 

3.2.1.  Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP countries) 

In  2007,  DG  ECHO  allocated  a  total  of  €  422  milli on  (i.e.  55%  of  its  total  final  budget)  to 
ACP countries, with the largest funding for Sudan with a total of € 110.45 million, and the 
Democratic Republic of Congo (€ 50 million). The other major interventions in Africa which 
required  more  than  € 20 million  of  funding   were  Chad  (€  30.5  million),  Zimbabwe 
(€ 30.2 million), Sahel (€ 25.5 million), Uganda (€ 24 million) and Ethiopia (€ 20 million). 

3.2.2.  Middle East and NIS 

In  the  Middle  East,  the  humanitarian  situation  further  deteriorated  in  2007.  DG  ECHO 
pursued its response by providing more than € 88  million of aid which covered the needs of 
the most vulnerable populations of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and of Palestinian refugees 
in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. This amount was also used to respond to the internal crisis in 
Iraq, including refugees in neighbouring countries. 

In  the  Northern  Caucasus,  the  Commission  continued  its  funding  to  the  victims  of  the 
Chechnya conflict in approving a total amount of € 20.8 million.  

3.2.3.  Asia 

In Asian countries € 27 million targeted vulnerable people affected by the Afghan crisis and 
natural  disasters  in  Afghanistan,  Iran  and  Pakistan  and  €  19  million  were  allocated  to  help 
vulnerable populations in Myanmar and Burmese refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border as 
well  as  €  19.5  million  to  South  Asian  countrie s,  without  taking  into  account  disaster 
preparedness funding, for the recovery of communities affected by floods. 

3.2.4.  Latin America 

Finally,  in  Latin  America,  funding  continued  to  provide  assistance  to  the  victims  of  the 
conflict in Colombia (€ 12 million). However, a se ries of natural disasters affected both South 
and  Central  America  (earthquake  in  Peru,  hurricane  in  Nicaragua,  floods  in  Bolivia  and 
Colombia,  cold  wave  in  Peru  and  drought  and  wildfires  in  Paraguay)  and  required  un-
programmed ECHO intervention totalling € 19 million. 

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3.3. 

Comparative analysis 

In the chart below, the comparative  analysis of the  geographical  distribution of funding 
decisions  for  the  years  2003-2007  shows  that  the  relative  share  of  the  funding  to  ACP 
countries is continuously increasing, apart from 2005, when this trend was reversed, leaving 
the  lion's  share  of  funding  for  Asia  for  the  two  main  crises  in  that  part  of  the  world:  the 
tsunami and the earthquake in Kashmir. If one looks at a five-year perspective, it should also 
be pointed out that the funding for the various regions and areas of the world is very variable, 
which confirms that DG ECHO intervention is by nature and definition short-term oriented. It 
should  also  be  noted  that  over  96%  of  the  humanitarian  aid  budget  is  for  funding 
humanitarian operations, whereas less then 4% is for support and administrative expenditure 
(information, audits, evaluations, support staff, etc.). See annex, section VI. 

Geographical Distribution of Funding 
decisions 2003-2007

500

400

300

200

100

0

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Africa, Caribbean, Pacific

Eastern Europe, NIS, 
Mediterranean, Middle East

Asia, Latin America

Other

3.4. 

Thematic funding 

Given  the  central  role  played  by  the  main  international  organisations  with  a  humanitarian 
mandate  (United  Nations  agencies,  International  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross  (ICRC), 
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), etc) in the effective 
delivery  of  humanitarian  aid,  DG  ECHO  continued  in  2007  to  support  the  reinforcement  of 
their institutional capacities through thematic funding programmes. 

In 2007, DG ECHO supported UN agencies and Red Cross movement organisations as lead 
agencies for a total amount of € 27.5 million.  

Emphasis  has  been  put  on  the  following  gaps  which  are  targeted  to  create  an  effective 
response capacity: assessing sector capacity, strengthening surge capacity, capacity building, 

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increase  of  the  availability  of  relief  items  at  the  onset  of  new  emergencies,  development  of 
standard operating procedures, applying benchmarks to measure performance and improving 
coordination and support for the UN led cluster approach to address the above issues.  

3.5. 

Disaster preparedness activities  

In  line  with  Council  Regulation  1257/96,  DG  ECHO  promotes  -  alongside  its  humanitarian 
relief  -  disaster  preparedness  through  coordination,  advocacy  and  the  specific  DIPECHO 
programme.  The  consequences  of  disasters  as  well  as  the  more  open  recognition  of  global 
climate change and its impact show that this commitment is both relevant and appropriate. 

On  a  strategic  level,  DG  ECHO  pursued  its  reinforcement  of  institutional  resources  on 
disaster  preparedness  which  is  expected  to  facilitate  a  more  coherent  and  comprehensive 
approach  to  mainstreaming  disaster  preparedness  in  humanitarian  relief  and  rehabilitation 
programmes. This is fully in line with the global attention to disaster risk reduction activities 
among  humanitarian  and  development  donors  and  the  planned  follow-up  to  the  Hyogo 
Framework for Action 2005-2015. 

In 2007,  DG ECHO continued its  engagement in  advocacy activities aimed at ensuring that 
development  donors  include  disaster  risk-reduction  components  in  their  work  in  regions  at 
risk  of  natural  disasters  such  as  earthquakes,  floods,  cyclones,  etc,  and  to  support  practical 
measures  to  reduce  these  risks.  DG  ECHO  is  also  a  strong  advocate  for  community-based 
approaches  to  disaster  risk-reduction  which  increase  the  coping  capacity  of  vulnerable 
communities. 

Due  to  significant  weaknesses  in  the  national  response  capacity  and  the  capability  of  local 
communities to cope with the consequences of a disaster, developing countries are especially 
at  risk  from  such  risks.  DIPECHO  projects  are  community-based  disaster  preparedness 
projects  which  focus  on  communities  which  are  most  exposed  to  natural  disasters  and  have 
low coping capacity. The projects have a demonstrative and replicable purpose with a view to 
being integrated into long-term development and national strategies. As well as country-based 
operations,  DIPECHO  Action  Plans  contain  regional  projects.  The  rationale  behind  this  is 
simple: natural disasters are not confined to state boundaries. In 2007, DG ECHO committed 
a total of EUR 19.5 million for DIPECHO Action Plans in Central America, Latin America, 
South Asia and the Caribbean. 

Moreover,  DG  ECHO  mainstreams,  when  possible  and  appropriate,  disaster-preparedness 
components in its humanitarian response to natural disasters. In 2007, this was the case in 18 
funding decisions launched in response to natural disasters in 17 countries (Solomon Islands, 
Haiti,  Jamaica,  Dominican  Republic,  Belize,  Dominica,  Santa  Lucia,  India,  Nepal, 
Bangladesh,  Sri  Lanka,  Afghanistan,  Vietnam,  Nicaragua,  Paraguay,  Peru  and  Columbia) 
with  related  contracts  amounting  to  approximately  € 2.135  million.  In  addition,  DG  ECHO 
allocated € 4 million to strengthen IFRC capacities  to respond to natural disasters in selected 
high risk regions. 

At  international  level,  DG  ECHO  collaborates  with  the  main  actors  in  the  field  of 
development  cooperation.  The  aim  is  to  better  integrate  disaster  risk  reduction  into 
development  activities  and  ensure  a  stronger  linkage  with  efforts  done  relating  to  climate 
changes adaptation in high-level risk countries. 

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3.6. 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) 

DG  ECHO  is  committed  to  developing  appropriate  exit  transition  and  strategies  for 
humanitarian  assistance  (the  linkage  between  relief,  rehabilitation  and  development 
“LRRD”). In 2007, new external instruments (Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI), 
Stability Instrument in particular) have come on stream, presenting a new environment for the 
implementation of LRRD. A particular effort was made by the relevant Commission services 
to  ensure 
improved  articulation  between  humanitarian  assistance  and  development 
cooperation. A list of pilot countries was set up where the LRRD approach received particular 
attention.  This  non-exhaustive  list  included  Kenya,  Liberia,  Mauritania,  Sudan  and  Uganda. 
DG ECHO also contributed to the work led by DG Development on countries in situations of 
fragility. 

3.7.  Main partners in the humanitarian operations 

The  humanitarian  aid  provided  by  DG  ECHO  is  implemented  through  partners.  DG  ECHO 
works  with  about  200  non-governmental  organisations,  United  Nations  agencies  and 
International  Organisations  such  as  the  International  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross  and  the 
International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies. 

Having  a  wide  and  diverse  range  of  partners  is  important  for  DG  ECHO.  It  ensures  the 
efficient coverage of an increasing list of needs all over the world. DG ECHO has developed 
close  working  relationships  with  its  partners  at  the  level  of  both  policy  issues  and 
management of humanitarian operations. 

In  2007,  DG  ECHO  implemented  its  operations  through  NGOs  (47%),  United  Nations 
agencies (42%) and International organisations (11%). For more details on the annual spread 
between families of partners, see annex section VI.6. 

4. 

RELATIONS  WITH  OTHER  EU 
HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS AND NON–EU DONORS  

INSTITUTIONS,  MEMBER  STATES,  MAJOR 

As  in  previous  years,  DG  ECHO  pursued  its  active  relationship  with  other  Institutions, 
Member  States  and  International  Organisations  and  continued  to  promote  the  respect  for 
international  humanitarian  law  and  humanitarian  principles  (humanity,  impartiality,  non-
discrimination  and  neutrality),  particularly  in  relation  to  developments  under  the  Common 
Foreign and Security Policy, such as EUFOR Chad.  

It also ensured that the obligation to respect the humanitarian space during emergencies has 
been taken into account in the European and international debate. DG ECHO also developed a 
solid  working  relationship  with  the  recently  appointed  Humanitarian  Rapporteur  of  the 
European Parliament. 

In the framework of its relations with non-EU donors,  DG ECHO maintained contacts  with 
the  US  (USAID21  and  PRM22),  in  particular  through  regular  videoconferences,  addressing 

21 
22 

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration - US (PRM) 

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general  policy  issues  and  humanitarian  operations  in  specific  countries  with  a  view  to 
ensuring a coherent and complementary response.  

Finally,  in  order  to  ensure  a  strategic  and  reliable  dialogue  between  DG ECHO  and  its 
partners, DG ECHO organises annual high-level Strategic Partnership Dialogues (SPDs) with 
each organisation (UN-agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross Movement (ICRC and IFRC). 

More details on these partners are given in annex – section VI.6. 

5. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

In  the  context  of  its  activities,  DG  ECHO  has  also  to  deal  with  other  issues  to  support  the 
delivery and quality of Humanitarian Aid: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Development  of  DG  ECHO's  security  and  safety  policy  for  staff  involved  in  the 
delivery of humanitarian aid; 

Strengthening of its rapid response capacity in the field by organising multi-sectoral 
teams; 

Communication strategy and information 

On  training  initiatives,  DG  ECHO  supports  the  Network  on  Humanitarian 
Assistance (NOHA) which offers a multi-disciplinary post-graduate diploma. 

Details of these activities are given in Annex – section IV. 

The proper implementation of DG ECHO-funded operations is ensured through several layers 
of  checks  and  controls  at  various  stages  in  the  project  cycle  of  humanitarian  operations. 
Various  aspects  of  the  control  strategy  developed  by  DG  ECHO,  its  supervision  and 
monitoring procedures are described in Annex – section V. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

There  was  no  major  new  humanitarian  crisis  in  2007.  However,  natural  disasters  caused 
very  serious  damage  and  it  is  probable  that  their  magnitude,  strength  and  frequency  will 
continue to increase in the future, accentuated by climate change. In parallel, the number of 
conflicts has not changed, but tends to last longer and are increasingly destructive, affecting 
more often already vulnerable populations. 

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