Report from the Commission - Directorate-general for humanitarian aid (ECHO) - Annual Report 2008 {SEC(2009)825)
Date: 2009-07-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ECHO, activity report, humanitarian aid

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 1.7.2009 
COM(2009) 290 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid - (ECHO) 
Annual Report 2008 

{SEC(2009)825) 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

General policy aspects.................................................................................................. 4 

Global overview of DG ECHO’s humanitarian operations in 2008 ............................ 5 

Overall situation ........................................................................................................... 5 

Main interventions in 2008 by region and allocation of funds .................................... 7 

Comparative analysis ................................................................................................... 8 

Disaster Risk Reduction including disaster preparedness activities ............................ 9 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD).............................................. 9 

Main partners in the humanitarian operations.............................................................. 9 

Relations with Stakeholders....................................................................................... 10 

Other activities ........................................................................................................... 10 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 11 

Annexe: 

The annexe provides further details on: 

- A country by country overview of humanitarian operations; 

- Relations with stakeholders; 

- Results of evaluations and; 

- Financial tables. 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  European  Union’s  humanitarian  aid  policy  reflects  its  founding  principles  –  solidarity, 
tolerance  and  respect  for  human  dignity.  Humanitarian  aid,  while  not  a  crisis  management 
tool, is one of the pillars of Community action for countries affected by natural or man made 
disasters as well as by complex emergencies1. Through its activities in disaster areas and its 
active contribution to promote respect for and adherence to International Humanitarian Law2, 
the European Commission has asserted itself as a major player in international humanitarian 
aid.  Today  it  is  the  largest  single  donor  in  operations  providing  assistance,  relief  and 
protection to populations in third countries affected by humanitarian crises. 

The  Directorate-General  for  Humanitarian  Aid3  (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  relations4,  set  out  by  the  European 
Union (EU) Treaty. 

DG  ECHO  defends  the  humanitarian  space  and  principles,  which  are  increasingly  under 
threat,  by  maintaining  a  high  level  of  engagement  in  the  Good  Humanitarian  Donorship 
(GHD5)  principles,  remaining  committed  to  high  quality  assistance  and  maintaining  a 
transparent dialogue with other key players. 

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. 

DG  ECHO’s  task  is  to  ensure  that  goods  and  services  get  to  crisis  zones  fast  through  its 
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 
identification  of  vulnerable  sections  of  society,  an  accurate  assessment  of  needs,  a  rapid 
identification of suitable partners and projects to meet such needs. This is followed up by on-
the-spot  monitoring  of  partners'  and  projects'  progress  in  order  to  ensure  sound  financial 
management in support of the declaration of assurance that resources have been used for their 
intended purpose. 

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. 

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COM(2008) 130, Reinforcing the Union's Disaster Response Capacity 
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_in_brief?OpenDocument 
See Council Regulation n° 1257/96 
Article 21 Para 2.g of the EU Treaty  
http://www.goodhumanitariandonorship.org/ 

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The  current  report  is  being  issued  in  compliance  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". 

This report sums up DG ECHO's main activities implemented in 2008. 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  2008 
financial report6. 

2. 

GENERAL POLICY ASPECTS 

Although  the  humanitarian  situation  throughout  the  world  does  not  change  drastically  from 
one  year  to  the  next,  humanitarian  needs  continue  to  remain  high  and  interventions  are 
increasing in terms of frequency. 

In the last decade, the number of natural disasters has increased substantially, mainly due to 
the  effects  of  climate  change.  Nine  out  of  every  ten  disasters  are  now  climate-related7  and 
over the past two decades, the number of recorded disasters has doubled. Natural events often 
turn out to be disasters, because of the high level of vulnerability and lack of coping capacity 
of populations, in particular in developing countries.  

In parallel to these disasters whose origin is partly found in human behaviour, the number of 
conflicts  has  not  changed  significantly  but  tend  to  last  longer  and  increasingly  destructive. 
The  consequence  is  an  increasing  demand  on  global  humanitarian  aid.  The  challenge 
humanitarian  donors  like  DG  ECHO  face  is  to  keep  a  necessary  equilibrium  between  the 
funding  of  actions  aimed  at  prevention  of  humanitarian  disasters  and  quick  response  to 
emergencies, be they natural or man-made. 

On  a  policy  level,  the  signing  of  the  European  Consensus8  on  Humanitarian  Aid  by  the 
Presidents  of  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  European  Commission  in 
December 2007, followed by the adoption of an action plan9, is a considerable step forward 
for the European Union which has finally given itself a common set of values, principles and 
objectives  intended  to  strengthen  the  coherence  of  its  overall  humanitarian  action.  The 
Consensus stresses the importance of the principle of diversity of the implementing partners 
and, as such, recognises that each of these bodies has comparative advantages in the response 
to specific situations or circumstances. 

As  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  action  plan,  a  conference  on  International 
Humanitarian Law (IHL) was held at the European Parliament on 16th September 2008. The 
objective of this conference was to widen awareness raising to IHL violations and explore, in 

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Available at http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding/key_figures/echo_en.htm  
The Economist's, J. Holmes, "The Year in 2009", More help now, please (p. 110)  
OJ C 25 – 30/1/2008 
SEC(2008)1991 – May 2008 

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the  framework  of  the  European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian  Aid,  ways  to  better  promote 
respect of IHL at European Union's level. 

Finally,  in  March,  the  Commission  adopted  a  communication  on  "reinforcing  the  Union's 
Disaster  Response  Capacity",  to  respond  to  increasing  challenges  whether  they  come  from 
natural disasters or man-made crises and in order to reinforce the Union's capacity to provide 
civil protection and humanitarian assistance either on its own territory or in third countries. 

3. 

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF DG ECHO’S HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS IN 2008 

3.1. 

Overall situation 

Through  its  Directorate-General  for  Humanitarian  Aid  (DG  ECHO),  the  Commission 
provides  humanitarian  assistance  to  the  victims  of  natural  or  man-made  disasters  in  third 
countries, on the sole basis of humanitarian needs. This year, the Commission's needs-based 
response  to  humanitarian  crises  in  over  60  countries  was  channelled  through  90  funding 
decisions,  totalling  €937  million .  The  initial  budget  of  €751  million  was  reinforced  on 
several occasions in order to respond to new crises and natural disasters occurring during the 
year and also, most importantly, in order to reply to soaring food prices.  

In  2008,  DG  ECHO  had  to  deal  with  the  effect  of  soaring  food  prices.  As  a  result  of  the 
surge  in  the  prices  of  basic  food  aid  products  and  oil,  the  cost  of  responding  to  the 
humanitarian  needs  identified  for  2008  escalated  significantly.  Furthermore,  the  poor 
populations'  vulnerability  to  crises  increased  as  they  have  to  devote  more  of  their  limited 
resources to food purchases. In order to tackle the short-term effect of rising food prices, the 
budget  for  DG  ECHO's  emergency  food  assistance  almost  doubled  in  2008,  with  additional 
resources drawn from the Emergency Aid Reserve. At the end of the year, the food aid budget 
was €363 million, allowing aid to reach out  to more than 25 million people. 

In  addition  to  the  food  crisis,  natural  disasters  accentuated  by  climate  change,  continue  to 
increase both in frequency and severity, affecting more frequently and more severely already 
vulnerable populations.  

Natural  disasters  created  serious  damage  in  the  following  geographical  areas  in  2008: 
cyclones/hurricanes in the Caribbean region, affecting Haiti, Bahamas, Cuba, Madagascar and 
in Burma/Myanmar; droughts in the Horn of Africa, Sahel, Republic of Moldova, Paraguay, 
Honduras and Palestinian territories; earthquake in China; epidemics in Benin, Latin America 
and  the  Caribbean;  floods  in  Bangladesh,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  Guatemala,  Honduras,  Nepal, 
Namibia, India and Yemen; period of extreme cold in Peru and Bolivia and typhoons in Laos 
and Vietnam. The Commission had to respond speedily to help thousands of suffering people, 
who in some cases already affected by other crises. 

In terms of "man-made" crises, the conflict between Georgia and the Russian Federation in 
South Ossetia in August led to emergency intervention in favour of the population affected by 
this new conflict. Kenya was affected by widespread political turmoil following the disputed 
presidential  elections.  The  post-election  violence  led  to  the  displacement  of  more  than 
500,000 people. In 2008, Yemen experienced an escalation of the internal conflict in the north 
of the country. In August, the failed signature of a peace agreement between the Moro Islamic 
Liberation Front and the Government of Philippines sparked renewed fighting in the southern 
island  of  Mindanao,  causing  the  displacement  of  more  than  550,000  people.  At  year  end, 

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around 320,000 people remained displaced, with no perspective of a solution in sight. Finally, 
in  Sri  Lanka,  the  government  revoked  the  2002  ceasefire  agreement  and  intensified  their 
offensive in the north of the country. 

In  addition  to  these  new  crises,  the  Commission  had  to  manage  worsening  humanitarian 
situations often involving protracted, complex emergencies dating from previous years. The 
two main examples are Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

Through  its  humanitarian  aid  budget  –  food  aid  included  –,  the  EU  provided  humanitarian 
assistance  to  an  estimated  143  million  beneficiaries  in  third  countries10.  In  addition, 
18.5 million  of  people  were  supported  in  respect  of  disaster  preparedness,  by  strengthening 
community resilience and local response capacity. 

The Commission allocated a total of €552 million  (i.e. 58.9% of its total final budget) to ACP 
countries, the largest recipient of DG ECHO's funding, followed by Asia and Latin America 
(€192  million  –  20.5%)  and  Eastern  Europe,  Ne w  Independent  States,  Middle  East  and 
Mediterranean countries (€156 million – 16.3%). 

The  application  of  needs-based  principles11  has  led  to  the  following  geographical 
breakdown12 of the funds committed for humanitarian aid in 2008 (in '000): 

Humanitarian assistance in 2008 
Unit/Region 

A/1: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific 
Sudan and Chad 
Horn of Africa 
Central & Southern Africa, Indian Ocean 
West Africa 
Caribbean 
A/2: New Independent States, Middle East, Mediterranean 
Middle East, Mediterranean 
Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia 
A/3: Asia & Latin America 
South Asia 
South East & East Asia 
Latin America 
Non-geographic instruments 
Capacity building, grants & services, DREF13 decision and other 
Technical Assistance 
Support Expenditure 
TOTAL 

Total 
551 847 
197 000 
167 897 
126 200 
39 100 
21 650 
152 635 
124 860 
27 775 
192 327 
94 257 
64 000 
34 070 
39 833 
7 021 
25 000 
7 812 
936 642 

% 
58.9%

16.3%

20.5%

0.7%
2.7%
0.8%
100%

. 

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Out of this figure, DG ECHO assisted 13.5 million IDPs on the total amount of 26 million reported – 
www.internal-displacement.org (IDMC, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Global overview of 
Trends and Developments in 2007) 
DG  ECHO  delivers  its  aid  on  the  basis  of  humanitarian  needs  assessment  using  two  complementary 
indices: the crisis index and the vulnerability index explained in part II of the annex 
Breakdown by budget line of the total committed in 2008 is available in part VIII 
Disaster Relief Emergency Fund 

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For 2008, of the 41 countries currently experiencing a crisis as defined by the evaluation, 15 
have  been  considered  as  extremely  vulnerable:  of  which  11  in  Africa,  the  others  being 
Afghanistan, Chechnya (Russian Federation), East Timor and Yemen. 

In conformity with the methodology used, DG ECHO committed in 2008 85% of its initial 
planned  budget  on  the  main  line  for  humanitarian  aid  (23.02.01)  in  priority  areas  of  high 
humanitarian needs. 

DG  ECHO’s  aid  strategy  continues  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). For more detail on forgotten crises, see annex, part II. 

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 2008 by region and allocation of funds 

The  Commission  had  to  deal  with  a  high  number  of  natural  disasters  and  man-made  crises, 
but also with worsening humanitarian situations, sometimes protracted, complex emergencies 
already existing in previous years. D.R. Congo, for example, has posed a significant challenge 
to humanitarian organisations over a number of years with recurrent outbreaks of fighting in 
the  east  of  the  country  causing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  to  flee  their  homes.  The 
Darfur  region  in  Sudan  is  considered  the  worst  humanitarian  crisis  in  the  world  and 
consequently  the  international  humanitarian  aid  effort  is  enormous.  The  lives  of  millions  of 
people depend on external aid. 

Interventions listed in the following sections are detailed in annexe – part III. 

3.2.1.  Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP countries) 

In 2008, DG ECHO allocated its largest funding to Sudan with a total of €167 million and to 
the  Democratic  Republic  of  Congo  (€45.5 m illion  +  €8  million  fo r  the  ECHO  FLIGHT 
service).  The  other  major  interventions  in  Africa  which  required  more  than  €20 million  of 
funding  were,  Somalia  (€44  million),  Chad 
(€30 million),  regional  drought  preparedness 
programme (€30 million), Zimbabwe (€25 million) and Ethiopia (€40 million). 

3.2.2.  Middle East and NIS 

The  Commission  continued  its  response  to  the  serious  humanitarian  situation  in  the  West 
Bank and Gaza Strip which did not show any improvement in 2008, in spite of the resumption 
of  structural  assistance  to  the  Palestinian  Authority  in  December  2007.  In  addition  to  the 
political  situation,  the  most  vulnerable  segments  of  the  Palestinian  population  in  the  West 
Bank were affected by two climatic events: frost and drought. Funding of €82.8 million was 
provided to cover food needs of the most vulnerable population in the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip  and  Palestinian  refugees  in  Lebanon.  €30  million  was  also  used  to  respond  to  the 
humanitarian and food needs resulting from the Iraqi crisis for beneficiaries inside and outside 
Iraq. 

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In the Northern Caucasus, the Commission pursued its funding to the victims of the Chechnya 
conflict in approving a total amount of €11 million. 

3.2.3.  Asia 

€39  million  was  allocated  to  help  people  in  Burma/Myanmar  affected  by  cyclone  Nargis 
which hit the country, €36.3 million targeted vuln erable people affected by the conflicts and 
natural  disasters  in  Afghanistan,  Iran  and  Pakistan.  €20.15  million  was  allocated  to  people 
affected by natural disasters in Bangladesh (rodent infestation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, 
remaining needs from cyclone Sidr which hit the country at the end of 2007, heavy monsoon 
rains  at  the  end  of  September  2008,  combined  with  heavy  water  surges  resulting  in  water-
logging in the South-West). An additional €351,000 was allocated to support the (Burmese) 
Rohingya refugees present in Bangladesh. 

3.2.4.  Latin America 

Finally, €34 million were allocated to Latin Am erica of which €12.5 million for the victims of 
the  Colombian  conflict  and  the  rest  in  response  to  several  natural  disasters,  such  as  the  La 
Niña phenomenon in Bolivia and Ecuador, drought in Paraguay and Honduras, cold waves in 
Bolivia and Peru and floods in Guatemala and Honduras. 

3.3. 

Comparative analysis 

In  the  chart  below,  the  comparative  analysis  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  funding 
decisions  for  the  period  2004-2008  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 VIII. 

Geographical distribution of funding decisions
2004-2008

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Africa, Caribbean, Pacific

Asia, Latin America

Eastern Europe, NIS, Mediterranean, Middle East

Other

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3.4. 

Disaster Risk Reduction including disaster preparedness activities 

As part of its mandate, DG ECHO finances activities to prepare for and reduce risks faced by 
the most vulnerable communities and those most exposed to natural disasters.  

Considering the increasing awareness of the importance of preparedness, the substantial rise 
in the number and intensity of disasters over the last decades and the Hyogo Framework for 
Action 2005-2015 that calls  for  all  governments and international organisations to prioritise 
and  invest  in  Disaster  Risk  Reduction  (DRR),  DG  ECHO  has  stepped  up  its  funding  for 
community-based disaster preparedness over the past years and is prepared to further refine its 
approach.  Whilst  remaining  within  the  limits  of  its  humanitarian  mandate,  DG ECHO  can 
support a multitude of actions by making use of its proven strengths. 

DG  ECHO's  contribution  to  DRR  is  channelled  through  its  DIPECHO  programme,  drought 
preparedness initiatives, the integration of disaster preparedness measures in relief operations 
and advocacy efforts. 

There are two main ideas at the core of DG ECHO’s disaster preparedness approach: on the 
one  hand,  making  communities  more  aware  of  the  risks  they  face  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
increasing their resilience. At the same time, activities have been started which are intended to 
strengthen  capacities  of  the  local  public  institutions  responsible  for  protecting  their 
populations.  Disaster  preparedness  activities  are  implemented  through  a  wide  range  of 
partners who are working in close collaboration with local organisations, which makes access 
to the most vulnerable and marginalised communities easier. 

With its new action plan launched in South East Africa, DG ECHO is now present in seven 
regions of the world particularly prone to natural disasters. 

3.5. 

Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) 

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 

3.6.  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,  ensuring  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 2008, DG ECHO implemented its humanitarian operations through NGOs (44%), United 
Nations agencies (46%) and International organisations (10%). 

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During  the  year,  DG  ECHO  reviewed,  reassessed  and  refined  the  partnership  agreements 
governing  relations  with  its  partners,  by  streamlining  the  procedures  without  compromising 
the  control  over  the  monitoring  and  supervision  of  the  aid  delivered.  In  doing  so,  the 
effectiveness of humanitarian aid has been maintained. For more details on the annual spread 
between families of partners, see annexe section VIII.5. 

4. 

RELATIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS  

As  in  previous  years,  DG  ECHO  pursued  its  active  relationship  with  other  European 
Institutions, Member States and International Organisations and continued to promote respect 
for international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles (humanity, impartiality, non-
discrimination and neutrality). 

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 consolidated a 
solid working relationship with the Humanitarian 'Rapporteur' of the European Parliament. 

Close  contacts  with  the  French  and  the  incoming  Czech  Presidencies  were  pursued.  In  this 
regard, work has taken on particular importance with the creation of a new Council Working 
Group on Humanitarian and Food aid. 

In the framework of its relations  with  non-EU  donors,  DG  ECHO  maintained contacts  with 
the US including the organisation of a Strategic Partnership Dialogue (SPD) as well as other 
meetings and pursued its relations with other key donors. 

Finally,  DG  ECHO  continued  to  ensure  representation  and  visibility  of  the  humanitarian 
perspective in UN fora and ensured that EU co-ordinated positions, resolutions and statements 
in UN bodies reflect the EC policy. 

More details on these stakeholders are given in annexe – section V. 

5. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

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

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

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

Support to the reinforcement of partners' institutional capacities in some specific areas 
to  improve  their  capacity  to  respond  quickly  and  efficiently  to  emergencies  through 
capacity building programmes; 

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

Communication strategy and information and 

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 VI. 

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6. 

CONCLUSION 

DG ECHO continued to respond speedily to unforeseen events in order to help thousands of 
suffering people sometimes already affected by long term crises. These long and increasingly 
destructive conflicts have dramatic consequences not only on the current populations who are 
permanently dependent of humanitarian assistance but also on future generations. 

If climate change  is the most important factor in the increase of humanitarian needs, global 
food crisis is the immediate problem. Added to the world financial and economic crisis, it is 
foreseen that many developing countries will reach the critical poverty level. Any decrease in 
international  investments  and  assistance  due  to  the  crisis  would  particularly  affect  the  most 
vulnerable regions. 

Since its creation DG ECHO has continuously adapted its strategy so that its aid reaches the 
most needy populations. It is clear that the current geopolitical context poses new challenges. 
One is to protect a threatened humanitarian space and to promote adherence to International 
Humanitarian Law by all parties involved in an armed conflict. Another is the need to ensure 
coherence between increasing number of actors in order to bring effective and appropriate aid 
to those in need. 

Finally, on the political side, the effort of co-ordination launched by the signing of a European 
Consensus on Humanitarian Aid – and the adoption of the action plan for its implementation – 
will  allow  DG ECHO  to  mark  its  ambition  to  actively  contribute  to  the  definition  of  a 
humanitarian policy  and  to  strategic  questions regarding  the capacity to provide appropriate 
and effective humanitarian aid where most needed.  

EN 

11 

   EN