Humanitarian aid and civil protection : helping victims of disasters and conflicts, and protecting those at risk.
Date: 2014-12-05
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU aid, aid policy, aid to disaster victims, dissemination of EU information, emergency aid, humanitarian aid, public awareness campaign

T H E   E U R O P E A N  
U N I O N  
E X P L A I N E D

Helping victims 
of disasters 
and conflicts, 
and protecting 
those at risk

Humanitarian 
aid and  
civil protection

Eu r op ean  h um ani tar ian  ai d m ake s   a 
t ru e  d iffer en ce  fo r  al l  t ho s e  p eo p le 
s uf feri ng  f r o m  di sast er s  and   c on f lic ts 
in   the   wo r ld.

CONTENTS 

Why we need an EU  
humanitarian aid and  
civil protection policy —  
saving lives and preventing  
human suffering  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .

How the EU goes about it —  
A needs-based approach  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .

 3

 7

What the EU does —  
Delivering on commitments  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10

Where we go from here —  
Meeting the needs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15

Find out more  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 16

The EU explained:  
Humanitarian aid and civil protection

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Citizens information
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript updated in November 2014

Cover and page 2 picture:
© Jupiterimages

16 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-42487-8
doi:10.2775/81195

Luxembourg: Publications Office  
of the European Union, 2014

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction 
of individual photos, permission must be sought directly 
from the copyright holders.

THE EUROPEAN UNION 
EXPLAINED

This publication is a part of a series that explains  
what the EU does in different policy areas,  
why the EU is involved and what the results are. 

You can find the publications online:
http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/!bY34KD

How the EU works
Europe in 12 lessons 
Europe 2020: Europe’s growth strategy
The founding fathers of the EU

Agriculture
Banking and finance 
Borders and security 
Budget
Climate action
Competition
Consumers
Culture and audiovisual
Customs
Digital agenda 
Economic and monetary union and the euro
Education, training, youth and sport 
Employment and social affairs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Fight against fraud
Food safety
Foreign affairs and security policy

Humanitarian aid and civil protection 

Internal market
International cooperation and development
Justice, fundamental rights and equality 
Maritime affairs and fisheries 
Migration and asylum
Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Taxation
Trade
Transport

3

Why we need an EU humanitarian aid  
and civil protection policy

Saving lives and preventing human suffering

•  improve preparedness for disasters, for instance by 

developing early-warning systems;

•  ensure a smooth transition when the emergency 
operation comes to an end by linking up with 
development aid strategies;

•  strengthen the overall resilience of populations, for 
example by investing in measures that help prepare 
populations for future shocks. 

Constant adjustments are needed to rise to the new 
challenges caused by evolving global threats. To 
improve the effectiveness of its crisis response, in 2010 
the EU brought humanitarian aid and civil protection 
together under one roof. 

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism helps the 
participating countries prevent disasters, prepare for 
emergencies and pool their resources which can then be 
made available for a coordinated and rapid response in 
disaster-hit countries. While the EU’s humanitarian aid 
targets non-EU countries, the Mechanism can be 
mobilised in case of emergencies both inside and 
outside the EU. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is a 
tool which enhances European cooperation. It supports 
Member States’ own civil protection arrangements at 
the national, regional and local levels by providing 

The images of conflicts and disasters which fill our 
television screens and newspapers are the backdrop to 
our world’s increasingly complex and vulnerable 
environment. As the scale of natural disasters and 
conflicts increases, humanitarian needs grow. The EU 
responds by providing emergency assistance to victims 
of disasters and conflicts based on their needs around 
the world. It does this through the European 
Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection 
Department (ECHO). ECHO’s mission is to alleviate 
suffering, maintain the dignity of those affected and 
save lives. This is one of the most tangible expressions 
of the EU’s core value of solidarity.

There has been a surge in crises in recent years. 2014 
saw an unprecedented four ‘Level 3’ emergencies 
declared by the United Nations — the highest category 
on its scale. The EU is present in all four of these crisis 
zones: Syria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic 
and Iraq. But it is also helping people who need aid in 
Afghanistan, the Sahel region and throughout Africa, 
central and south America and south-east Asia. The EU 
also runs relief operations in ‘forgotten’ crises that 
benefit from little international attention. 

Helping the world’s most vulnerable populations is a 
moral obligation of the international community and 
the European Commission has a longstanding 
commitment to help. ECHO provides relief assistance 
directly to people in distress, irrespective of their 
nationality, religion, gender or ethnic origin.

The work of the European Commission goes beyond the 
immediate consequences of disasters and the needs of 
people affected by them. Investing in risk-prevention 
and preparedness before a disaster strikes pays 
significant dividends compared with facing the costs of 
relief, recovery and reconstruction afterwards. In this 
way the EU ensures that its efforts cover the full 
disaster cycle: prevention, preparedness, response and 
recovery.

This involves combining disaster-response with a vast 
range of activities in order to:

•  reduce disaster risks, for example through strategies 
to mitigate the consequences of climate change; 

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The EU has been funding humanitarian aid  
in India since 1996.

HUMANITARIAN AID AND CIVIL PROTECTION   
   
  
  
 
  
 
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effective tools for preventing, preparing for, and 
responding to natural and man-made disasters. The 
result for the EU of this complementary and 
streamlined framework is an enhanced response and 
coordination capacity with better use of resources.

Making a difference together

The European  Union, together with its Member States, 
is the world’s leading humanitarian aid donor. Every 
year, humanitarian funding from the EU budget provides 
assistance to more than 120 million people in more 
than 90 non-EU countries.

While representing only a fraction of EU spending — 
less than 1 % of the annual EU budget —  the amount 
of more than €1 billion in aid every year goes a long 
way in meeting the needs of people in crisis situations. 
From aid to the Philippines to help stabilise the country 
in the aftermath of the typhoon Haiyan in 2013, to the 
protection of civilians following the 2014 floods which 
devastated parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, 
from coordinating airlifts to Ebola-affected Guinea, 
Sierra Leone and Liberia after the largest recorded 
outbreak of the virus in 2014, and helping millions in 
the Sahel facing hunger, to the ongoing efforts to assist 
the millions of Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in 
their country, the assistance delivered has made a real 
difference to those in need.

United in solidarity

A survey carried out in 2012 revealed that 9 out of 10 
EU citizens support the EU’s funding of humanitarian 
aid. Despite the impact of the economic crisis, this trend 
was on the rise, endorsing a strong European 
commitment to action in this field. An overwhelming 
majority also agreed that coordinated EU action in the 
field of civil protection to respond to disasters is more 
effective than individual countries taking on the task 
alone.

The responsibility to provide humanitarian aid is shared 
between the EU’s Member States and our aid is 
delivered in cooperation with international and local 
humanitarian organisations. In the field of civil 
protection, the EU is responsible for supporting, 
coordinating and complementing the activities of its 
Member States. This coordination role has enabled the 
EU to set its goals higher by pooling European resources 
and expertise.

To manage the longer-term impact of disasters and 
step up prevention and preparedness, humanitarian aid 
and crisis response must go hand-in-hand with 
activities in other fields including development 
cooperation and environmental protection. This 
requirement makes coordination at EU level essential.

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This previously displaced 
Burundian family was able to 
return home thanks to EU 
resettlement support.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
   
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The Commission’s resilience-building initiatives in the 
Sahel and the Horn of Africa, as part of its response 
to the drought crises in these regions, have shown 
promising results. These initiatives (AGIR-Sahel and 
SHARE respectively) seek to break the vicious cycle of 
drought, hunger and poverty by increasing 
coordination between humanitarian and development 
assistance. The SHARE initiative in the Horn of Africa 
has already mobilised €350 million since 2012 and 
will be followed up by projects under the 11th 
European Development Fund. The AGIR initiative aims 
to mobilise €1.5 billion for resilience building in the 
Sahel between 2014 and 2020.

The European Commission’s focus on resilience will 
save more lives, be more cost-effective and 
contribute to reducing poverty — thus boosting the 
impact of aid and promoting sustainable 
development. 

Why we need to strengthen the resilience 
of vulnerable people

Every year millions of people are affected by 
droughts, floods, landslides, cyclones, earthquakes, 
tsunamis, wildfires and other hazards. An estimated 
97 % of natural disaster-related deaths occur in 
developing countries, and these countries bear the 
heaviest burden in terms of livelihoods lost. It is 
therefore crucial to increase the resilience of 
vulnerable people in the developing world so that 
they can better withstand and cope with disasters.

How is the EU helping?

Strengthening resilience lies at the junction between 
humanitarian and development assistance. With 
this in mind, in 2012 the European Commission 
proposed a new policy to the European Parliament 
and the Council on how EU development and 
humanitarian aid should aim to increase national 
resilience capabilities and reduce the vulnerability 
of people affected by disasters through disaster 
management plans and early-warning systems. 

In Vanuatu, children help to 
construct a model of the 
biggest threat to their lives, 
the volcano on Mount Gharat.

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HUMANITARIAN AID AND CIVIL PROTECTION 
 
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A joint response in the face  
of growing threats

The scale and frequency of humanitarian emergencies 
occurring around the globe every year is on the rise. 
Climate change, population growth and urbanisation, 
industrial activities and environmental degradation 
combined are a major root cause of this phenomenon.

Ever since its first intervention in war-torn former 
Yugoslavia in 1992, to the massive ongoing 
humanitarian disaster in Syria and the swiftly 
coordinated civil protection operations in the aftermath 
of the Haiyan typhoon in the Philippines and the floods 
in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014, the EU 
has demonstrated again and again its capacity to rise 
to new and growing humanitarian challenges.

TRENDS IN OCCURRENCE AND VICTIMS OF DISASTERS

Climate-related disaster mitigation:  
the case of Vanuatu

The Pacific region is one of the most disaster-prone 
areas in the world in terms of the recurrence, 
severity and scope of hazards. It suffers from high 
exposure to cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, 
landslides, forest fires and volcanic eruptions, as 
well as epidemics.

In the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, one of the 
world’s least developed countries, climate change 
has made the threat of natural disasters more 
severe.

The EU is helping local communities deal with the 
effects of disasters and improve their preparedness 
for such events, for instance, by means of threat 
assessments, planning for emergencies and the 
construction of cyclone shelters. Between 2007 and 
2012 the EU gave €4.3 million to help with 
disaster-preparedness and €2.3 million to assist 
communities affected by natural disasters in the 
western Pacific region. A €3 million disaster 
preparedness programme is currently ongoing in 
the Pacific region.

)
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N

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Victims (in millions) (*)

Number of reported disasters

413

421

8
5
6

432

414

355

278

259

227

3
4
3

4
8
2

7
6
2

386

343

332

5
4
2

7
1
2

N
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b
e
r

o
f

r
e
p
o
r
t
e
d

d
i
s
a
s
t
e
r
s

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

(*) Victims: sum of killed and total aﬀected.

Source: Guha-Sparir, D., Vos, F., Below, R., and Ponserre, S., ‘Annual disaster statistical review 2011: The numbers and trends’, CRED, Brussels, 2012; EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED 
International Disaster Database, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium (http://www.emdat.be).

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7

How the EU goes about it

A needs-based approach

The EU provides relief assistance based on the needs of 
the people affected and reaches out to those who need 
the help most, regardless of nationality, religion, gender, 
ethnic origin or political affiliation. 

The EU’s aid is carefully tailored to match the specific 
characteristics of each crisis, taking into account factors 
such as the gender and age of those affected. The EU 
carries out needs assessments before making funding 
decisions.

The EU concentrates on crisis situations which might 
have moved outside the focus of international media 
and donor attention while needs continue to be high. In 
such ‘forgotten crises’, the EU conducts specific 
assessments to identify the current needs on the 
ground and provide relief.

The EU has launched the EU Aid Volunteers initiative 
enabling Europeans to support and contribute to 
humanitarian projects in countries where assistance is 
most needed (see the chapter entitled ‘Where we go 
from here’ for more details on this initiative).

Common core values

The EU’s humanitarian aid partners must endorse 
fundamental humanitarian principles.

 — Humanity: suffering must be addressed 

wherever it is found.

 — Neutrality: aid must not favour any one group 

over others.

Help where needed, when needed

 — Impartiality: aid must be provided solely on the 

basis of needs without discrimination.

Humanitarian aid and civil protection interventions are 
often carried out in extreme circumstances: help must 
reach victims urgently and match their specific needs 
while logistic and security constraints often make 
access to disaster-stricken areas difficult.

In addition to the 347-strong workforce at headquarters, 
the EU has a worldwide network of 44 specialised 
humanitarian field offices present in 39 countries 
around the globe, along with 148 humanitarian experts 
in the field supported by 320 local staff members. In 
crisis situations, they provide technical support to 
EU-funded operations, monitor interventions and help 
locally with donor coordination. They also contribute to 
intervention strategies and policies. 

The EU provides funding to around 200 humanitarian 
partner organisations, including specialised United 
Nations (UN) agencies, non-governmental organisations 
(NGOs), EU countries’ agencies and organisations such 
as the International Committee of the Red Cross and 
the International Federation of the Red Cross and the 
Red Crescent Societies. The funding provided to these 
partners is based on their proposals on how to cover the 
needs of disaster-affected people. The EU ensures that 
the funds it provides are coordinated with those made 
available directly by its Member States and other 
humanitarian organisations.

 — Independence: the sole purpose of 

humanitarian aid is to relieve human suffering; 
it cannot serve any other objectives.

On the ground

To cover the basic needs of victims in a particular 
disaster and to help protect their livelihoods, EU-funded 
humanitarian aid can take various forms, depending on 
the particular circumstances of the crisis.

Food and nutrition assistance might include emergency 
rations for displaced people, including special nutritional 
products for acutely malnourished children in drought-
affected areas and seeds and fertilisers for farmers. 
Cash and voucher schemes and food assistance 
improve livelihoods and address nutritional issues.

Medical assistance includes vaccination campaigns to 
prevent epidemics, the treatment of injuries and the 
establishment of primary health clinics. Other aid 
services include the provision of drugs, hospital 
equipment, staff training and access to basic health 
care, with a focus on vulnerable people such as 
pregnant women and children.

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Access to clean water and sanitation is a priority in 
disaster zones to promote hygiene and proper 
sanitation and to prevent diseases from spreading. Aid 
activities include the creation of wells, boreholes and 
latrines, water piping, sewage treatment and hygiene 
education.

Shelter is essential for survival and is a basic form of 
security for people whose homes have been destroyed 
following a disaster. Affected people receive tents, 
plastic sheeting or other types of shelter. Emergency 
operations can also include repairs to infrastructure, 
demining actions, psycho-social support and education.

Many operations also prepare local residents to cope 
with disasters and to lessen the impact of possible 
future disasters on their communities.

Strengthening disaster preparedness 
worldwide — the Dipecho programme

Where it is impossible to foresee hazards and 
prevent disasters, improving the preparedness of 
populations can often reduce their toll. This is what 
the EU’s disaster preparedness programme 
‘Dipecho’ aims to achieve.

Dipecho projects focus on training, capacity-
building, awareness-raising, the establishment and 
improvement of local early-warning systems and 
contingency planning. They include simple 
preparatory measures which can often be 
implemented by the locals themselves. In most 
cases, they actively contribute to Dipecho activities.

The projects are carried out by European-based aid 
agencies and UN agencies in cooperation with local 
NGOs and authorities. Dipecho covers eight 
disaster-prone regions: the Caribbean, central 
America, south America, central Asia, south Asia, 
south-east Asia, south-east Africa and the south-
west Indian Ocean and Pacific region.

ALLOCATION OF BUDGET PER POLICY SECTOR (2013 DATA)

Protection, 
7 %

Coordination and support, 5 %

Disaster preparedness, 1 %

Transport, 1 %

Food and
nutrition, 
40 %

Water and 
sanitation, 
13 %

Healthcare and medical support, 14 %

Shelter, 19 %

Source: European Commission.

Joining forces to tackle crises globally

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism covers the entire 
disaster cycle from prevention and preparedness to 
response. It currently brings together 32 countries, 
namely the 28 EU Member States plus the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro 
and Norway. By pooling the civil protection resources of 
the participating states, the mechanism ensures better 
protection of people, the environment and property.
The primary responsibility for responding to the 
immediate effects of a disaster lies with the country 
where the disaster has occurred. However, when the 
scale of an emergency overwhelms national response 
capabilities, any EU or non-EU disaster-stricken country 
can request assistance through the Civil Protection 
Mechanism. Disaster situations include floods, forest 
fires, earthquakes, storms or tsunamis as well as acts 
of terrorism, technological or radiological accidents and 
environmental disasters such as marine pollution.

When a disaster-affected country requests assistance, 
the EU Civil Protection Mechanism’s operational hub, the 
Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), 
communicates the specific needs of the disaster-stricken 
country to all participating countries. Participating states 
offer in-kind assistance to deploy experts and to support 
the emergency response on site. This may include search 
and rescue teams or field hospitals, relief supplies, water 
purification plants or high capacity pumping modules, as 
well as specialised equipment for decontamination in 
cases of chemical or biological incidents. The ERCC 
coordinates the European response by putting requests 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED  
   
   
 
   
9

and offers of assistance together, by facilitating and 
often co-funding the transport of the assistance and by 
sending out teams to monitor the situation if needed. 
The ERCC is a 24/7 service.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism also strengthens 
disaster preparedness in the participating states with 
training programmes and exercises as well as the 
exchange of experts between different countries. These 
initiatives provide learning opportunities for the civil 
protection personnel in the participating states. They 
help to improve the speed and coordination of civil 
protection assistance and to promote the transfer of 
knowledge and the creation of networks.

Funding is also provided for prevention and 
preparedness projects. This may include encouraging 
research on disaster-related topics, strengthening early 
warning tools, or supporting awareness-raising 
campaigns aimed at the general public. The EU Civil 
Protection Mechanism focuses on areas where a 
common European approach can bring the most added 
value and also links civil protection to other areas of EU 
policy-making so as to maximise its impact.

Preparation through simulation

EU Prometheus, a major simulation exercise, took 
place in Greece in 2014. It was designed to test the 
cooperation and response capacities of Member 
States through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 
Teams from Greece, Croatia, Italy and Cyprus 
participated, alongside the ERCC. The decision-
making process and the role of the ERCC were also 
tested.

The exercise staged a twin disaster on the ground: a 
vast wildfire near populated areas had affected an 
industrial zone, resulting in an explosion. Fire-
fighting and rescue operations were carried out 
simultaneously and the populated areas were 
evacuated. 

Past exercises have included a forest fire caused by 
sparks coming from the brakes of a train and a 
village flooded by a broken reservoir system. 
Exercises of this type are organised every year with 
a financial contribution from the EU.

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An EU civil protection 
exercise, Prometheus 2014, 
tested the cooperation and 
response capacities of 
Member States.

HUMANITARIAN AID AND CIVIL PROTECTION   
 
 
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What the EU does

Delivering on commitments

Since 1992 the EU has helped millions of disaster 
victims throughout the world. In humanitarian funding, 
the EU institutions now provide an average of more 
than €1 billion every year to support the world’s most 
vulnerable people. Together with funding provided by EU 
countries individually, this makes the EU the leading 
humanitarian donor worldwide. Annually the EU 
provides humanitarian aid to more than 120 million 
people in 92 non-EU countries. 

Since its establishment in 2001 the EU Civil Protection 
Mechanism has monitored more than 300 disasters and 
has received more than 180 requests for assistance.  
Between 2010 and 2014, the mechanism was activated 
for more than 80 emergencies inside and outside the 
EU.

Achievements cannot be measured solely in terms of 
response statistics: the less visible impact of disaster 
preparedness and prevention plays an equally important 
role in the EU’s approach to humanitarian aid and civil 
protection. The existing framework allows EU countries 
to work together efficiently and to promote respect for, 
and adherence to, international humanitarian law.

Over two decades of solidarity

ECHO celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2012. It has 
come a long way since its creation. The decision to 
launch ECHO was taken by the EU’s then 12 member 
countries, as the scale and diversity of humanitarian 
crises affecting the world in 1991 made the limitations 
of Europe’s response capacity apparent. Large-scale 
disasters such as the conflict in former Yugoslavia, a 
cyclone in Bangladesh and a famine in Somalia called 
for more coordination at EU level to allow for a faster 
and more efficient response.

ECHO was launched with around 40 staff and has since 
then grown into a large but lean organisation with more 
than 300 people working at its Brussels headquarters, 
alongside over 400 humanitarian expert staff in 44 
field offices, located in those countries most severely 
affected by crises in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 
Along with its human and financial resources, its 
framework for action has been constantly adapted to 
allow the EU to face ever-greater challenges.

In 2007, the EU's institutions and the then 27 Member 
States agreed on a key policy document entitled the 

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Afghans receive tools as part of an ECHO-funded response to 
a drought that caused hunger and displacement.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED   
   
 
 
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‘European consensus on humanitarian aid’. It stressed 
that EU humanitarian aid is not a political tool and 
reaffirmed the guiding principles of humanitarian aid: 
humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. It 
also clearly defined the roles of different 
humanitarian actors in crisis zones to strengthen the 
EU’s capacity to help.

The Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 
1 December 2009, introduced a legal basis for EU 
humanitarian aid as well as for civil protection policies. 
It defines the EU’s role in improving disaster protection 
and prevention and states that the EU should apply 
international humanitarian law including impartiality 
and non-discrimination.

Plans to reinforce and continue to improve the way the 
EU manages its response to disasters are being 
considered.

Swift and efficient response

The EU has provided help to victims in the aftermath of 
numerous disasters around the globe. The following 
presents a short selection of key interventions.

•  The war in former Yugoslavia left hundreds of 

thousands of people displaced, hungry and traumatised 
in 1992. The EU delivered aid including 300 000 tonnes 
of food, blankets, mattresses and toiletries. 

•  Victims fleeing their homes after the 1994 Rwandan 
genocide received EU aid that included medical care 
such as rehydration kits and vaccinations for children. 
Those returning to destroyed villages received 
resettlement kits. 

•  Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the EU 
has provided more than €584 million in aid to meet 
the urgent needs of the Afghan people.

•  When a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit 

Japan in 2011, the EU provided 400 tonnes of in-kind 
assistance and deployed a European Civil Protection 
team including experts in logistics and radiology. 
European financial aid assisted families in the worst 
affected provinces.

•  In 2012, the EU helped millions of people in the Sahel 

facing hunger. Humanitarian assistance reached 
hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing 
conflict in their country.

•  Since the outbreak of civil war in South Sudan in 

2013, more than 1.7 million people have fled their 
homes, including 450 000 who have sought refuge in 
neighbouring countries. The EU has reached  
2.4 million people with food assistance, nutrition, 
health, water and sanitation, shelter and protection.

•  Following catastrophic floods in the Balkans in 2014, 
the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated, with 
23 Member States deploying relief workers, rescue 
and evacuation helicopters, motor boats, generators, 
sandbags, tents, blankets and humanitarian aid kits.

Stepping up prevention to save lives

The EU’s efforts have covered actions both inside and 
outside our Member States, with achievements ranging 
from efficient coordination at European level to the 
successful training of local experts in other parts of the 
world.

•  The EU has developed various early-warning systems 
including the online alert platform ‘Meteoalarm’ and 
the ‘Global Disaster Alerts and Coordination System’, 
a round-the-clock data-gathering and alert system. It 
has also invested in warning and detection systems 
for specific hazards such as earthquakes, floods, 
forest fires and tsunamis.

•  In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 

•  EU investment in disaster prevention and mitigation 

230 000 people. The EU’s initial response focused on 
ensuring the survival of its victims. Longer-term 
projects included the construction of camps for the 
homeless, funding for health workers and the 
purchase of fishing boats to rebuild livelihoods.

technologies and close cooperation with other 
partners has resulted in the development of the 
European Forest Fire Information System and the 
European Flood Alert System.

•  In 2010, large-scale aid operations took place in 

Sudan and Pakistan. In Sudan, the EU supported the 
delivery of humanitarian aid to six million people who 
were victims of conflict and seasonal flooding. In 
Pakistan, 12.5 million people received shelter, food, 
drinking water, healthcare and sanitation facilities 
after the country was hit by flooding.

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CASE STUDY

Syria: a multifaceted humanitarian and 
security disaster

Since the violent crackdown on protests in Syria in 
March 2011, the conflict has evolved towards a 
fully-fledged civil war with severe humanitarian 
consequences in Syria and its neighbouring 
countries. 

Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives due 
to the fighting and half of the population has been 
forced to flee in order to seek protection in safer 
areas. More than three million have sought refuge in 
neighbouring countries while others have been under 
siege in areas where fighting is taking place. 

The humanitarian situation has continued to 
deteriorate, causing what is the largest 
humanitarian and security crisis in the world. An 
entire generation of children has been exposed to  

war, violence and death, and is being deprived of 
basic freedoms, protection and education.

While security conditions limit access to besieged 
areas, the EU has made nearly €3 billion available 
since the beginning of the crisis, making it the 
world’s largest donor to the Syrian conflict. This 
assistance addresses the most urgent needs of the 
most vulnerable people in Syria and neighbouring 
countries, most notably the expansion of healthcare 
and water supply services. 

Aid has been provided in support of an estimated 
10.8 million people affected by the crisis and in 
need of humanitarian assistance via medical 
emergency relief including food-nutritional items, 
protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter 
and logistics services. The EU continues to lead the 
international response to the Syria crisis through its 
sustained humanitarian presence on the ground, 
increased international coordination and advocacy 
efforts.

CASE STUDY

Sahel: alerting the world to a forgotten crisis

One in eight people in the world suffered from 
chronic hunger between 2011 and 2013 and this 
figure continues to rise. This is due to population 
growth and the increasing frequency and intensity of 
natural and man-made disasters, reducing the 
capacity of the most vulnerable communities to feed 
themselves.

The Sahel belt that stretches from west to east 
across sub-Saharan Africa is among the poorest 
regions in the world. Consecutive food and nutrition 
crises, drought and underdevelopment are putting 
tens of millions of people at risk of not getting 
enough to eat. As the magnitude of this 
humanitarian crisis grows, so too does the EU’s 
support. Since the beginning of 2012, the EU has 
increased its humanitarian aid contribution in this 
area to more than €507 million. Its intervention 
relies on a phased approach combining resilience-

building through the AGIR initiative with emergency 
response during the annual lean seasons and 
recovery in their aftermath.

The humanitarian response to this crisis has 
succeeded in saving many lives and reducing its 
impact on families. The EU has been instrumental in 
shining a spotlight on the Sahel crisis. Beyond the 
emergency help provided, it also works to promote 
the recognition of food insecurity as a structural 
issue by stressing its key role in the fight against 
poverty.

In the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa, repeated 
drought resulted in acute food insecurity for millions 
of people. However, vulnerable populations in other 
countries, including Pakistan and Yemen, are also 
facing food and nutrition insecurity. More than one 
third of the EU annual humanitarian aid budget is 
used to provide emergency food and nutrition 
assistance, making it one of the world’s major 
donors of humanitarian food assistance. Since 
2010, ECHO has supported more than 100 million 
people facing acute food insecurity. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED   
   
   
  
  
CASE STUDY

Balkans floods: from complex operation to 
European cooperation

In May 2014 Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina 
were hit by devastating floods, the worst in over a 
century. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their 
livelihoods and were evacuated from their homes. 

The situation was complex. Cities were left without 
electricity or running water and with shortages of 
bottled water, food, medication and blankets. Key 
infrastructure across the region, including bridges 
and roads as well as health and educational 
facilities, were damaged in many affected areas. It 
is estimated that more than three million people in 
both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia were 
affected by the floods, mudslides and landslides. 

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated, 
resulting in offers from 23 Member States. In-kind 
assistance included rescue and evacuation  

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helicopters, motor boats, generators, sandbags, 
tents, blankets and humanitarian aid kits, along 
with more than 800 relief workers deployed to the 
two countries. In addition, two EU Civil Protection 
teams were sent to Serbia and Bosnia and 
Herzegovina to help with the coordination of relief 
efforts and assist rescue operations. More than 
1700 people were rescued in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina alone. The European Commission also 
co-financed the transportation of relief material and 
personnel. In addition, more than 80 satellite maps 
were produced to support both the affected 
countries and those providing assistance.

On top of the in-kind assistance provided by the EU 
Member States via the EU Civil Protection 
Mechanism, the EU also released €3 million in 
humanitarian aid to help the most vulnerable 
people in the two affected countries. This allocation 
provided humanitarian assistance to half a million 
people. But extensive recovery and reconstruction 
needs remain in both countries. 

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Through the EU Civil 
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Slovenian helicopter provides 
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people affected by the floods 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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CASE STUDY

Ebola in West Africa: EU response to the worst 
outbreak ever recorded

West Africa is facing the worst epidemic of the Ebola 
virus disease on record. This is the first time Ebola 
has spread in this region since the discovery of the 
virus in 1976. After the first case was discovered in 
Guinea in March 2014 the virus quickly spread to 
Liberia and Sierra Leone, infecting and killing 
thousands. With no vaccine or specific treatment 
available, Ebola has a 60 to 90 % mortality rate, 
making it one of the deadliest diseases. 

The EU was one of the first responders to address 
the epidemic and the critical needs on the ground. 
The European Commission and Member States have 
given over €1 billion and contributed to the 
strengthening of national healthcare systems, 
provided urgent humanitarian and development aid 
to the affected people, medical research and mobile 
laboratories, as well as equipment and personnel.

While the affected countries and humanitarian 
organisations are working to control the spread of 
the disease, they are facing challenging 
circumstances including limited transport 
capabilities, the infection and death of health 
workers, a lack of medical equipment and growing 
food insecurity and limited access to safe drinking 
water and sanitation.

In response, the European Commission has deployed 
humanitarian experts and equipment, including air 
transport for goods and emergency evacuation for 
personnel. 

The EU’s efforts are being continuously scaled up in 
order to contain the unremitting spread of the virus. 
At the request of the World Health Organisation, the 
EU Civil Protection Mechanism was also activated to 
provide a comprehensive and coordinated response 
to the region through the deployment of in-kind 
assistance and further expertise.

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The biggest Ebola outbreak 
ever recorded in West Africa 
requires an intensification of 
efforts to prevent it from 
spreading further and 
claiming many more lives.

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15

Where we go from here

Meeting the needs

The EU has been at the forefront when responding to 
humanitarian needs worldwide, not only as a major 
donor but also by setting standards for the respect of 
international humanitarian law and humanitarian 
principles. It is vital that the mechanisms put in place to 
deal with emergencies keep pace with the challenges 
posed by an increasingly fragile world and the growing 
variety of new needs. In order to achieve this, the EU 
continuously seeks to adapt and improve its efforts to 
respond to disasters in a more effective and efficient 
manner. 

The EU believes disaster response is best served by 
having the right resources available at the local level.  
It is focusing on strengthening the resilience of local 
communities to better withstand future shocks. 

The EU will be an active participant in the discussions 
relating to the World Humanitarian Summit to improve 
the effectiveness of the international humanitarian 
system. 

Civil protection coordination is also expanding its 
responsibilities and scope with a new legal basis, a 
number of innovative instruments such as the voluntary 
pool of European assets, a fully effective operational 
hub — our Emergency Response Coordination Centre — 
as well as an enlarged scope of action promoting the 
solidarity clause and strategic outreach to international 
partners and cooperation among Commission services. 

EU aid volunteers

The EU has established a European voluntary 
humanitarian aid corps to give citizens the opportunity 
to be involved in humanitarian action. As envisaged by 
the Treaty of Lisbon, in September 2012, the European 
Commission tabled plans which will create opportunities 
for 18 000 people to volunteer in humanitarian 
operations worldwide between 2014 and 2020.

The volunteer programme is open to young people who 
plan to take up a career in emergency aid work and 
humanitarian aid experts who already have experience. 

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Diana Tonea from Romania, deployed in Haiti as a member  
of the voluntary corps, describes her experience as 
‘challenging and fulfilling’.

The EU will ensure that participants are sent where their 
skills are most needed and ensure that they contribute 
to strengthening local capacities and local volunteering. 
The security of the volunteers is a priority.

In the first series of pilot projects, more than 250 
Europeans have been sent to 40 countries including 
Haiti, Indonesia, Mozambique and Tajikistan. To prepare 
them for field work, they receive a mix of classroom-
based and practical training prior to their deployment. 
As the pilot phase of the programme ends, the first 
deployment of EU Aid Volunteers will take place in 
2015.

The EU Aid Volunteers programme will strengthen the 
Union’s capacity to provide needs-based humanitarian 
aid and train the humanitarian leaders of tomorrow 
while giving young Europeans an opportunity to show 
solidarity with people in need.

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The EU Children of Peace initiative, a 
Nobel Peace Prize legacy

On 10 December 2012, the European Union was 
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Inspired by the 
prize, the EU Children of Peace initiative was 
created to fund humanitarian projects ensuring 
education for children affected by conflict.  Since 
2012 it has continued to scale up its funding for the 
EU Children of Peace initiative to help the youngest 
victims of conflict. 

Children are the most vulnerable victims of conflict. 
Ninety percent of the victims of conflicts are 
civilians and half of them are children. Seven million 
children are refugees and over 13 million children 
have been displaced within their own countries 
because of conflict. More than 28 million have been 
prevented from receiving an education. One of the 
priorities in helping and protecting children affected 
by conflict is to invest in access to schools, safe 
learning environments and psycho-social support to 
address their traumatic war experiences.  

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Through projects funded by the European Union and 
implemented by partner humanitarian 
organisations, the EU Children of Peace initiative 
has so far reached more than 108 000 girls and 
boys in 12 countries around the world. So far, 
children from Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, Ethiopia, Syrian refugees in Iraq, South 
Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Somalia, 
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Colombia and Ecuador have 
benefited from the initiative.

Education helps children in conflict to remain children.

EU Children of Peace (http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/
what/humanitarian-aid/children-of-peace)

Find out more

 X EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/
 X EU Aid Volunteers: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/what/humanitarian-aid/eu-aid-volunteers
 X EU Children of Peace: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/what/humanitarian-aid/children-of-peace
 X Questions about the European Union? Europe Direct can help: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 

http://europedirect.europa.eu

ISBN 978-92-79-42487-8
doi:10.2775/81195

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED