Humanitarian aid is assistance provided in order to help others, usually those in developing countries, and is often a response to a humanitarian crisis. The help that humanitarian aid provides may be logistical or material and its central aims are to alleviate suffering and to save lives. Today, there are over 200,000 humanitarian aid workers and this figure increases each year.
Specific reasons for providing humanitarian aid include saving lives during, and in the aftermath of, natural disasters and emergencies and coping with the population movement that can be caused by natural or man-made disasters. Population movement may also be a result of refugees, returnees or displaced people. As well as providing assistance during and after natural disasters, humanitarians also provide aid in order to ensure that countries are prepared for the risks of future natural disasters, including providing them with early-warning and intervention systems. Another major reason for the provision of humanitarian aid is war and fighting. Aid provides relief to people who have been affected by long-lasting crises that are a result of armed conflict. Humanitarian aid also supports civil operations which protect the victims of fighting.
The funding that pays for humanitarian aid is raised through donations. Money is donated to charities that provide humanitarian aid by governments, individuals and businesses. In the wake of a major emergency such as a natural disaster, funds are raised through donations from around the world. The funds that have been raised are then co-ordinated by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs who will organise the international response.
The European Commission also organises humanitarian aid and civil protection through ECHO, whose task it is to provide relief and assistance in emergency situations following crises involving armed conflict or natural disasters outside of the EU. ECHO aims to deliver goods and services to people in crisis zones as quickly as possible, regardless of religion, race or political convictions. The types of humanitarian aid that the organisation is involved with include the supplying of water, food, fuel, medicine and medical equipment. ECHO has previously funded humanitarian aid in over 80 different countries.
