CELEX ID: 52017DC0662

--- ENGLISH ---

Document:
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 13.11.2017
COM(2017) 662 final
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
Annual report on the European Union's humanitarian aid policies and their implementation in 2016
Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Overview of the main humanitarian aid operations supported in 2016
Overview of the main humanitarian aid operations supported in 2016
Additional information and sources
Additional information and sources
Introduction
This report presents the Union's main activities and policy outcomes in 2016 in the field of humanitarian aid, as carried out through the Directorate-General 
for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations 
(DG ECHO) of the European Commission. The report is prepared pursuant to Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid, which requires
 
the Commission to submit an annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council with a summary of the operations financed in the course of the preceding year.
Overview of the main humanitarian aid operations supported in 2016
In 2016, humanitarian crises increased in number, complexity and severity. There were over 50 armed conflicts, with little or no improvement in the most severe large-scale crises such as those in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan or the Lake Chad region. Natural disasters – linked to mega-trends such as climate change, urbanisation and demographic pressures – have in recent years created humanitarian needs for an estimated 26 million people every year. Overall, more than 95 million people in 40 countries were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2016, and almost 65 million people (half of them children) were forcibly displaced – more than ever before.
Against this dramatic background, the EU's humanitarian aid budget in 2016 was the highest ever, at EUR 1.8 billion
1
.
Responding to the Syria crisis
A significant proportion of the EU's humanitarian budget in 2016 went on supporting refugees in the countries most directly affected by the crisis in Syria, as well as people inside Syria in need of humanitarian assistance.
The Commission thus allocated EUR 454 million to humanitarian operations in Syria and neighbouring countries, in line with the pledges made at the London conference of February 2016.
Inside Syria, almost half of the Commission's humanitarian assistance went to immediate life-saving and emergency humanitarian operations. In addition, the assistance included the provision of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, provision of food, child protection and emergency items. In Jordan and Lebanon, EU humanitarian funding has contributed to cash assistance for the most vulnerable refugees, lifesaving secondary healthcare, non-formal education, shelter as well as water, hygiene and sanitation. Efforts also focused on strong advocacy at international level for unhindered humanitarian access, protection of refugees and respect for international humanitarian law.
In 2016 the EU also put in place the Facility for Refugees in Turkey
2
, to help respond to the needs of the three million refugees hosted by Turkey. The EUR 1.4 billion humanitarian leg of the Facility for 2016 and 2017 is focused on supporting mainly out-of-camp refugees (who make up the vast majority of refugees in Turkey, and are also the most vulnerable). To this end, the Commission – working through the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent – launched the EU's biggest-ever humanitarian project, the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), aiming to provide monthly cash transfers to one million of the most vulnerable refugees via debit cards.
Responding to humanitarian needs in Africa
As in previous years, the response to humanitarian crises in Africa was another significant part of the EU's humanitarian assistance, with particular focus on the complex emergencies across the Sahel and Horn of Africa as well as the Lake Chad region, where food security crises were overlaid with a number of protracted conflicts. Overall, the Commission allocated EUR 747 million to crises in sub-Saharan Africa. Within this, the largest allocations went to Sudan and South Sudan
(EUR 192 million) and to the Horn of Africa (EUR 203 million), as well as West Africa (EUR 140 million). In both the Horn and in the Sahel, a central plank of the Commission's strategy was to ensure close linkages with the EU's development aid, with a view to supporting the resilience of affected communities. In the Central African Republic (CAR),
 
the EU remained a very active humanitarian donor, in line with the EU's consistent high-profile engagement for CAR, providing short- and longer-term assistance and supporting resilience-building for the victims of the conflict in the country itself as well as for refugees in neighbouring countries.
Iraq, the wider Middle East and North Africa
The EU played a key role in providing assistance to the victims of the conflict in Iraq (EUR 159 million) and was at the forefront of international advocacy efforts (inter alia through a high-level event at the UN General Assembly hosted by Commissioner Stylianides). The EU also helped deploy and coordinate in-kind assistance from EU Member States through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism
3
in the context of the conflict around Mosul.
Furthermore, the EU continued to provide significant support to humanitarian operations in Yemen (EUR 70 million), where the situation kept deteriorating both as regards basic humanitarian needs and respect for International Humanitarian Law, as well as in Palestine (EUR 25 million). In North Africa, continued support was provided to help meet the humanitarian needs of the Sahrawi refugees as well as the conflict-affected population in Libya.
Ukraine
The EU remained one of the largest humanitarian donors in the Ukraine crisis, providing food, shelter, health services and psychological support to the most vulnerable people suffering from the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In total,
EUR 28.4 million was mobilized for the EU's humanitarian response to the crisis.
Natural disaster response
Responding rapidly and effectively to natural disasters was a key priority for the Commission also in 2016. This draws both on humanitarian aid provided through partner organizations and on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which facilitates and coordinates Member States' in-kind assistance through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC).
In 2016, response to the 2016 El Niño phenomenon – one of the worst on record – was a key priority. The Commission allocated EUR 298 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to people affected by El Niño.
The Commission stood ready also to provide support in the case of sudden-onset disasters. In particular, the EU provided funding to support the victims of tropical cyclone Winston in Fiji and drought in Papua New Guinea, as well as helping people affected by the earthquake that hit Ecuador in 2016 with both humanitarian aid and the mobilization of European civil protection assistance.
Cross-cutting issues
Education in emergencies
Boosting education in emergencies has been a major priority for the Commission in recent years. In 2016 the Commission allocated more than 4% of its initial humanitarian aid budget to education programmes in humanitarian crises, in line with the commitments made by Commissioner Stylianides at the beginning of his mandate.
World Humanitarian Summit
The Commission participated actively in the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), which took place on 23-24 May 2016 in Istanbul. The EU made around 100 commitments. These included a new, development-led policy on forced displacement
4
; new guidelines on humanitarian protection; active engagement and signing up to the "Grand Bargain" with the aim of improving aid effectiveness and efficiency; continued funding for education in emergencies from the humanitarian budget; as well as signing up to the Charter on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
5
and the Charter on Urban Crises
6
.
The Grand Bargain
The Commission played a leading role in the negotiation of the Grand Bargain in the run-up to the World Humanitarian Summit as well as in the first year of implementation of its commitments. With the Grand Bargain, donors and implementing agencies have committed to a package of actions to increase the efficiency of humanitarian action in a spirit of joint action and mutual commitment. In addition to its role as facilitator for the Grand Bargain as a whole, the Commission is co-convening the work stream on impartial and comprehensive assessments of humanitarian needs. This work stream is deemed crucial as it lays the foundation for strategic planning and funding as well as for a targeted and efficient humanitarian response.
The humanitarian–development nexus
The importance of the nexus between humanitarian aid and development was at the forefront of discussion in both a number of key multilateral events and at the European level. 2016 saw progress in this regard both at policy level (e.g. the renewed European Consensus for Development
7
, WHS and Grand Bargain) and at the operational level.
Commission services worked closely together in Haiti on the response to Hurricane Matthew, notably with a view to reinforcing food security and rural resilience and on improving urban resilience. In Nigeria, a joint resilience approach was developed to address the complex crisis in the North East. Preliminary steps were taken by Commission services to jointly identify pilot countries to further enhance and showcase humanitarian-development cooperation.
In forced displacement contexts, Commission services, in collaboration with the European External Action Service (EEAS), are collaborating closely on supporting operations in the field to roll out the comprehensive, development-led approach to forced displacement. This is also a follow-up to the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 19 September 2016. It contributes, moreover, to taking forward the implementation of the European Union's Global Strategy as published in 2016.
Humanitarian and development cooperation has been strengthened to respond to the educational needs of children affected by crisis and conflict and to build more sustainable education systems in fragile and crisis-affected contexts with the "Education Cannot Wait" fund, launched at the WHS.
The Commission also continued to apply the "nexus approach" to improve food and nutrition security in the Sahel through the "Global Alliance on Resilience Initiative" (AGIR). In this context, the EU committed EUR 1.5 billion in development assistance to support resilience-building activities in Western Africa for the period 2014-2020.
The 2015/2016 El Niño crisis was another good example of joint action between humanitarian and development actors as well as between the international community and national and local governments; total EU funding amounted to
EUR 539 million.
Throughout its work in crisis-affected countries, the EU has continued to apply the "do no harm" principle, and has sought to ensure a conflict-sensitive approach in the actions its supports.
Cash as an aid modality
In line with its "Grand Bargain" commitments, the Commission further developed the use of cash-based assistance whenever the context has been appropriate. Cash as an aid modality has increasingly been used in the form of unrestricted multi-purpose transfers, which offer dignity, choice and flexibility to the targeted population. Other advantages for using cash as an aid modality include greater efficiency, value for money and ultimately improved effectiveness for donors and taxpayers, with more assistance reaching the most vulnerable population. Where possible and appropriate, there were also attempts to seek alignment with local and national mechanisms, such as social protection systems.
Forced displacement
Given the dramatic growth in the number of people displaced by conflict around the world, and the worrying trend towards ever more protracted situations of displacement, the Commission formally adopted a new development-led policy approach to forced displacement. The policy aims to prevent forced displacement from becoming protracted and to gradually end dependence on humanitarian assistance in existing displacement situations. The focus of the new approach is on fostering self-reliance and enabling the displaced to live in dignity as contributors to their host societies, until voluntary return or resettlement is possible. Furthermore, in order to enhance the knowledge base on protracted displacement situations and drivers, the European Commission's Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography (KCMD) was launched in June 2016.
Forgotten crises
The EU continued to put particular emphasis on supporting the victims of "forgotten crises", to whom at least 15% of the initial humanitarian aid budget is generally devoted. The EU notably continued its humanitarian support to Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, internally displaced people in Myanmar and Sudan, conflict-affected populations in Pakistan, and Darfur refugees in Chad.
Emergency Toolbox
The EU's Emergency Toolbox for humanitarian aid is designed to respond rapidly to sudden-onset emergencies. It is composed of three funding mechanisms: for epidemics; for small-scale response; and for support to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The financial allocation amounted to a total of EUR 11.5 million, of which EUR 3.5 million for epidemics; EUR 5 million for small-scale response and
EUR 3 million for the DREF.
ECHO Flight and other humanitarian transport and logistics operations
In certain crisis contexts, humanitarian air services are the only way to access remote areas and reach people in need owing to security constrains or lack of adequate infrastructure. Humanitarian air services are also used for medical and security evacuations. To address these needs for access in insecure or other difficult contexts, the Commission funds specific transport and logistics programmes, notably through the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service and through the Logistics Cluster (for a total of EUR 20.97 million). The Commission also has its own ECHO Flight service for the benefit of humanitarian aid workers in crisis-affected areas in Sub-Saharan Africa (with a budget of just under EUR 14 million).
Evaluation of humanitarian aid operations
DG ECHO’s evaluation programme runs over five years and aims at providing full coverage of DG ECHO's activities over this period. For humanitarian aid, this is ensured by carrying out a set of geographic and thematic evaluations that cover all important aspects of DG ECHO's humanitarian interventions. Furthermore, one comprehensive evaluation is carried out during each five-year period, which builds on 30 existing evaluations and additional research as appropriate. A comprehensive exercise of this kind is being carried out in 2017, covering 2012-2016. This evaluation examines the overall implementation of the EU's humanitarian aid policy.
2016 budget
1. 
List of funding agreements concluded by DG ECHO
8
:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/funding/agreements/agreements_2016.pdf
2. DG ECHO 2016 budget implementation
ECHO 2016 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION
Region/country
Amount
Africa
767
Sudan & South Sudan
192
Central Africa
94
Great Lakes
63
Horn of Africa
203
Southern Africa, Indian Ocean
47
West Africa
140
North Africa
20
Africa
10
Middle East and European neighbouring countries
747
Middle East
634
European neighbouring countries
114
Asia, Pacific
119
South West and Central Asia
73
South East Asia and Pacific
47
Central & South America, Caribbean
46
Central & South America
28
Caribbean
18
Worldwide disasters
41
Civil protection
42
EU Aid Volunteers
8
Dairy distribution
30
Complementary operations and support
89
TOTAL
1.889
( in million €)
Additional information and sources
·
General information on DG ECHO:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en
·
Financial information on the European Commission's humanitarian aid activities in 2016:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding-evaluations/funding-decisions-hips_en
·
Operational information from previous years:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/about/annual_reports_en.htm
·
2016 Annual Activity Report, DG ECHO:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/annual-activity-reports-2016_en
·
2016 Annual Management and Performance Report
:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/node/10237
·
DG ECHO’s evaluation reports:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding-evaluations/evaluations_en
·
European Commission and Member States' humanitarian aid funding data:
https://euaidexplorer.ec.europa.eu
·
List of partners funded in 2016:
PARTNERS 2016 - HUMANITARIAN AID OPERATIONS
Partner name
Partner nationality
ACCIÓN CONTRA EL HAMBRE - ES
SPAIN
ACTED - FR
FRANCE
ACTION AGAINST HUNGER - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM - FR
FRANCE
ACTIONAID - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
ADRA DANMARK - DK
DENMARK
ADRA DEUTSCHLAND E.V. - DE
GERMANY
AGA KHAN FOUNDATION - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
AGENCY FOR CO-OPERATION AND RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENT - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
AGRONOMES ET VETERINAIRES SANS FRONTIERES - FR
FRANCE
ALLIANCE POUR L'ACTION MEDICALE INTERNATIONALE - FR
FRANCE
ÄŒLOVEK V TÃSNI, O.P.S. - CZ
CZECH REPUBLIC
ARBEITER-SAMARITER-BUND DEUTSCHLAND E.V. - DE
GERMANY
ARTSEN ZONDER GRENZEN - NL
NETHERLANDS
ASSOCIAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE VOLONTARI LAICI- SERVIZIO DI PACE - IT
ITALY
CARE - AT
AUSTRIA
CARE - DE
GERMANY
CARE - FR
FRANCE
CARE - NL
NETHERLANDS
CARE - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
CARITAS - AT
AUSTRIA
CARITAS - CH
SWITZERLAND
CARITAS - DE
GERMANY
CARITAS - FR
FRANCE
CARITAS - LU
LUXEMBOURG
CATHOLIC AGENCY FOR OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
CESVI FONDAZIONE ONLUS – IT
ITALY
CHRISTIAN AID - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
COMITATO INTERNAZIONALE PER LO SVILUPPO DEI POPOLI - IT
ITALY
CONCERN WORLDWIDE - IE
IRELAND
COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE - IT
ITALY
DANISH COMMITTEE FOR AID TO AFGHAN REFUGEES - DK
DENMARK
DANSK FLYGTNINGEHJAELP - DK
DENMARK
DEUTSCHE WELTHUNGERHILFE E.V. - DE
GERMANY
EVANGELISCHES WERK FÜR DIAKONIE UND ENTWICKLUNG E.V. - DE
GERMANY
FAO
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
FEDERACION DE ASOCIACIONES MEDICUS MUNDI ESPAÑA - ES
SPAIN
FEDERATION HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL - FR
FRANCE
FOLKEKIRKENS NODHJAELP - DK
DENMARK
FONDAZIONE TERRE DES HOMMES ITALIA ONLUS - IT
ITALY
FUNDACION ALIANZA POR LOS DERECHOS, LA IGUALD Y LA SOLIDARIDAD INTERNACIONAL - ES
SPAIN
FUNDACION OXFAM INTERMON - ES
SPAIN
FUNDACIÓN PLAN INTERNATIONAL ESPAÑA - ES
SPAIN
FUNDACIÓN SAVE THE CHILDREN - ES
SPAIN
GOAL - IE
IRELAND
GRUPPO DI VOLONTARIATO CIVILE - IT
ITALY
HELP - HILFE ZUR SELBSTHILFE E.V. - DE
GERMANY
HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
ICRC
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
IFRC
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
INTERNATIONAL NGO SAFETY ORGANISATION - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTE - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
INTERSOS - IT
ITALY
IOM
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
JOHANNITER-UNFALL-HILFE E.V. - DE
GERMANY
KIRKENS NØDHJELP - NO
NORWAY
KIRKON ULKOMAANAPU SR. - FI
FINLAND
LA CHAINE DE L'ESPOIR - FR
FRANCE
LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION - CH
SWITZERLAND
MALTESER HILFSDIENST E.V. - DE
GERMANY
MDECINS DU MONDE - BE
BELGIUM
MEDAIR - CH
SWITZERLAND
MEDECINS DU MONDE - FR
FRANCE
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES - BE
BELGIUM
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES - CH
SWITZERLAND
MEDICO INTERNATIONAL E.V - DE
GERMANY
MEDICOS DEL MUNDO ESPAÑA - ES
SPAIN
MERCY CORPS EUROPE - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
MISSION OST FORENING - DK
DENMARK
MOVIMIENTO POR LA PAZ, EL DESARME Y LA LIBERTAD - ES
SPAIN
MUSLIM AID - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL – NO
NORWAY
OXFAM – UK
UNITED KINGDOM
OXFAM ITALIA ONLUS ASSOCIAZIONE – IT
ITALY
OXFAM-SOLIDARITE(IT) – BE
BELGIUM
PELASTAKAA LAPSET - RÄDDA BARNEN - FI
FINLAND
PLAN INTERNATIONAL - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
PLAN INTERNATIONAL SVERIGE INSAMLINGSSTIFTELSE - SE
SWEDEN
PLAN IRELAND CHARITABLE ASSISTANCE - IE
IRELAND
POLSKA AKCJA HUMANITARNA - PL
POLAND
PRACTICAL ACTION - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
PREMIERE URGENCE INTERNATIONALE - FR
FRANCE
RADDA BARNENS RKSFORBUND - SE
SWEDEN
RED BARNET - DK
DENMARK
RED CROSS - BE
BELGIUM
RED CROSS - DE
GERMANY
RED CROSS - DK
DENMARK
RED CROSS - ES
SPAIN
RED CROSS - FI
FINLAND
RED CROSS - FR
FRANCE
RED CROSS - LU
LUXEMBURG
RED CROSS - NL
NETHERLANDS
RED CROSS - NO
NORWAY
RED CROSS - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
REDD BARNA - NO
NORWAY
REDR - ENGINEERS FOR DISASTER RELIEF - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
RELIEF INTERNATIONAL - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
SAVE THE CHILDREN - NL
NETHERLANDS
SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALIA ONLUS - IT
ITALY
SOLIDAR SUISSE - CH
SWITZERLAND
SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL - FR
FRANCE
SOS SAHEL INTERNATIONAL FRANCE - FR
FRANCE
SOS-KINDERDORF INTERNATIONAL - AT
AUSTRIA
STICHTING OXFAM NOVIB - NL
NETHERLANDS
STICHTING WAR CHILD - NL
NETHERLANDS
STICHTING WORLD VISION NEDERLAND - NL
NETHERLANDS
SVENSKA KYRKAN - SE
SWEDEN
TEARFUND - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
TERRE DES HOMMES - CH
SWITZERLAND
THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC MIGRATION COMMISSION - CH
SWITZERLAND
THE SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
TIERÄRZTE OHNE GRENZEN E.V. - DE
GERMANY
TRIANGLE GENERATION HUMANITAIRE - FR
FRANCE
TROCAIRE - IE
IRELAND
UN - OCHA
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UN - OHCHR
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UN - PAHO
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNDP
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNESCO
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNFPA
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNHCR
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNICEF
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNISDR
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNOPS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNRWA
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
UNWOMEN
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
WFP
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
WHO
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION
WORLD VISION - DE
GERMANY
WORLD VISION - UK
UNITED KINGDOM
ZOA - NL
NETHERLANDS
(1)
Funding from the European Development Fund of EUR 173 million is included in this amount.
(2)
Commission Decision C(2015) 9500 of 24 November 2015 on the coordination of the actions of the Union and of the Member States through a coordination mechanism — the Refugee Facility for Turkey (OJ C 407, 8.12.2015, p. 8), as last amended by Commission Decision of 18 April 2017 on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey amending Commission Decision C(2015) 9500 of 24 November 2015.
(3)
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/what/civil-protection/mechanism_en
(4)
Commission Communication "Lives in Dignity: from aid-Dependence to Self-Reliance. Forced Displacement and Development", COM(2016) 234 final
(5)
http://humanitariandisabilitycharter.org/
(6)
https://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Global-Alliance-for-Urban-Crises-Charter-for-WHS-Final.pdf
(7)
https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/policies/european-development-policy/european-consensus-development_en
(8)
Including names of partner organisations concerned.

Summary:
EU humanitarian aid and civil protection — annual report 2016
SUMMARY OF:
Annual report (COM(2017) 662 final) on the European Union’s humanitarian aid policies and their implementation in 2016
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REPORT?
The report presents the main EU 
humanitarian aid
 and 
civil protection
 actions implemented in 2016 to:
deliver assistance to alleviate humanitarian crises around the world;
foster cooperation among EU civil protection authorities in responding to natural or man-made disasters in the EU and beyond.
The report is prepared by the 
European Commission
 in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 
1257/96
 which requires an annual report on the EU’s main humanitarian aid activities and policy outcomes during the previous year, including a summary of the operations financed.
KEY POINTS
2016 saw an increase in the number, complexity and severity of humanitarian crises:
more than 50 armed conflicts were active across the globe;
more than 95 million people in 40 countries were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2016;
almost 65 million people (half of them children) were forcibly displaced — more than ever before.
Actions
Syrian refugee crisis:
 a large proportion of the EU humanitarian budget (€454 million) was used to support refugees in the countries most affected by the crisis in Syria (particularly 
Jordan
 and 
Lebanon
), as well as people inside Syria in need of humanitarian assistance.
Facility for refugees in Turkey:
 established in 2016, the 
facility
 supports nearly 3 million refugees:
the €1.4 billion humanitarian part of the facility for 2016 and 2017 is focused on supporting mainly 
out-of-camp refugees
 who form the vast of majority of refugees and are the most vulnerable.
Africa:
 EU aid is focused particularly on the complex emergencies across the 
Sahel
 and 
Horn of Africa
 as well as the 
Lake Chad region
, where food security crises were overlaid with a number of protracted conflicts:
€747 million were allocated to crises in sub-Saharan Africa. The largest allocations went to 
Sudan and South Sudan
 (€192 million) and to the Horn of Africa (€203 million), as well as West Africa (€140 million);
in both the Horn of Africa and in the Sahel, the Commission’s strategy centred on ensuring close links with the EU’s 
development aid
, with a view to supporting the resilience of affected communities.
Iraq, wider Middle East and North Africa:
 The EU has provided:
assistance to the victims of the conflict in Iraq (€159 million) and supported international advocacy efforts. The EU also helped deploy and coordinate similar assistance from EU countries through the 
EU Civil Protection Mechanism
 in the context of the conflict around Mosul;
significant support for humanitarian operations in Yemen (€70 million) and in Palestine (€25 million);
continued support for Sahwari refugees in North Africa along with conflict-affected people in Libya.
Ukraine:
 the EU is one of the largest humanitarian donors (€28.4 million) providing food, shelter, health services and psychological support to the most vulnerable people suffering from the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Natural disaster response
Responding rapidly and effectively to natural disasters was a key priority for the Commission in 2016. It relies both on humanitarian aid provided through partner organisations and on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The Commission allocated €298 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to people affected by El Niño phenomenon.
The EU provided funding to support the victims of tropical cyclone Winston in Fiji and drought in Papua New Guinea, as well as to help people affected by the earthquake that hit Ecuador in 2016.
Other issues
Education in emergencies
 — the Commission allocated more than 4% of its initial humanitarian aid budget to education programmes in humanitarian crises.
Linking 
humanitarian aid and development
:
EU services worked closely in Haiti in response to Hurricane Matthew and in Nigeria to address the complex crisis there;
in cases of 
forced displacement
, the Commission services worked together with the 
European External Action Service
 to support operations in the field to roll out the comprehensive, development-led approach.
Forgotten crises
 — at least 15% of the initial humanitarian aid budget is generally devoted to victims of forgotten crises. These include humanitarian support to Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, internally displaced people in Myanmar and Sudan, conflict-affected populations in Pakistan, and Darfur refugees in Chad.
BACKGROUND
For more information, see:
Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid
 (
European Commission
).
MAIN DOCUMENT
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council — Annual report on the European Union’s humanitarian aid policies and their implementation in 2016 (
COM(2017) 662 final
, 13.11.2017)
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Lives in Dignity: from Aid-dependence to Self-reliance — Forced Displacement and Development (
COM(2016) 234 final
, 26.4.2016)
Commission 
Decision
 of 24 November 2015 on the coordination of the actions of the Union and of the Member States through a coordination mechanism — the Refugee Facility for Turkey (OJ C 407, 8.12.2015, pp. 8–13)
Successive amendments to the Decision have been incorporated into the original document. This 
consolidated version
 is of documentary value only.
Decision No 
1313/2013/EU
 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 924–947)
Council Regulation (EC) No 
1257/96
 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid (OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, pp. 1–6)
See 
consolidated version
.
last update 12.06.2018

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