EU humanitarian aid and civil protection — annual report 2015

 

SUMMARY OF:

Annual report of the EU’s humanitarian aid and civil protection policies and their implementation in 2015

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REPORT?

It presents the main European Union (EU) humanitarian aid and civil protection actions implemented in 2015 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.

KEY POINTS

2015 saw a continuing surge in humanitarian crises with armed conflicts and attacks on civilians and natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change and population growth.

A more targeted EU response to face humanitarian crises

The delivery of humanitarian aid and civil protection has become more complex, notably due to the refugee crisis and the more than 60 million people who are displaced in the world.

• Syrian crisis and its consequences: the Syrian conflict remains the biggest humanitarian and security crisis in the world. In 2015, more than €370 million was allocated to life-saving operations in Syria and neighbouring countries (e.g. Lebanon). In addition to helping displaced populations in their countries of origin, emergency humanitarian interventions were funded (€22 million) in transit countries such as Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Greece. Humanitarian aid to Iraq was also significantly increased, with up to €79 million to help the country to host almost 250,000 Syrian refugees.
• Sahel: funding for the Sahel amounted to €229 million with a focus on the food and nutrition crisis. Conflicts in Mali, the Central African Republic and northern Nigeria — spilling over into Chad, Niger and Cameroon — have also further exacerbated the food security situation.
• South Sudan: continuous armed conflict in South Sudan has generated huge humanitarian needs. EU funding, reaching €127 million in 2015, has supported life-saving activities in South Sudan and helped South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.
• Yemen: EU humanitarian funding (€50 million in 2015) targets both Yemen’s internally displaced people and its refugees. Yemen is also directly affected by the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
• Ukraine: €30 million from the EU budget was allocated in humanitarian and early recovery aid in Ukraine. In addition, in-kind assistance (assistance given in the form of goods and services, and not money) was provided through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

More EU actions to counter natural disasters

Targeted disaster risk reduction and local capacity building actions are supported by the EU in areas presenting high local vulnerabilities. Examples in 2015 include:

• a contribution of €125 million to finance emergency actions in countries affected by the extreme weather phenomenon ‘El Niño’ (in Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America);
• €15 million in immediate humanitarian relief to the victims of the Nepal earthquake, in addition to the deployment of civil protection experts, search and rescue and first-aid teams, and relief items, sent under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism;
• the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which took place in Sendai, Japan, in March 2015, adopted a new approach to disaster risk reduction. The EU took a leading role in defining further steps to reduce risks and foster disaster resilience in the context of sustainable development and building on synergies with action taken to address climate change.

Other preparedness and emergency actions

• Ebola: the EU made exceptional efforts to tackle the Ebola epidemic in West Africa until the defeat of the disease in January 2015. The lessons learned from the Ebola crisis led to the establishment in 2015 of the European Medical Corps;
• Education in emergencies: more than 1.5 million children benefited from education in emergency support in 2015. The actions vary from facilitating access to schools, including catch-up classes, to providing uniforms, teaching materials and the transport of children to educational centres;
• EU Civil Protection Mechanism: this mechanism was activated for 25 emergencies in 2015 (pre-alert, monitoring and requests for assistance) and received 19 requests for direct assistance within the EU and in other disaster-stricken countries.

EU budget for civil assistance in 2015

In 2015, the EU provided humanitarian and civil protection assistance of over €1.5 billion. This served to help more than 134 million beneficiaries caught up in natural disasters or conflict in over 80 countries. The 2015 humanitarian budget was the largest ever executed by the European Commission.

BACKGROUND

• EU humanitarian aid is a lifeline for communities and victims of new, recurrent and protracted crises. It allows them to prepare better for future emergencies.
• Complementary civil protection operations offer immediate support in the form of expert teams, rescue equipment and real-time monitoring of developing disasters, in the EU and elsewhere.
• For more information, see:
  • ‘Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection’ on the European Commission's website.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council — Annual report of the European Union’s humanitarian aid and civil protection policies and their implementation in 2015 (COM(2016) 751 final, 1.12.2016)

last update 30.01.2017