August 19th marks World Humanitarian Day, a day to celebrate the tireless, life-saving efforts of aid workers around the world. When crises erupt and conflicts break out, humanitarian workers are among the first on the scene to provide emergency assistance to those affected. Recent global crises such as Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East have unfortunately shown that aid workers all too often pay the highest price for their efforts. 2023 has been the deadliest year on record for aid workers, and 2024 is likely to continue the same tragic trend.
Many aid workers are deployed under the EU's commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by man-made and natural disasters around the world. The EU has been delivering on this humanitarian commitment for over 30 years in more than 110 countries, reaching millions of people around the world every year. In fact, the EU (together with its countries and institutions) is the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid, with an initial humanitarian budget of €1.8 billion for 2024.
EU humanitarian assistance covers areas of intervention such as food and nutrition in emergencies, shelter, health, water and sanitation, and education. Aid is provided fairly to affected people, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, nationality or political affiliation, with a focus on the most vulnerable. A network of EU humanitarian experts in more than 40 countries around the world allows for close monitoring of crisis situations and relief operations.
Recent major EU humanitarian operations include:
Launching EU humanitarian aid bridge flights to deliver aid to the hardest-to-reach areas. These air bridge flights have proven to be a lifeline to deliver aid in transporting aid to people in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and more recently in Gaza during the Tigray crisis. Developing a global aid stockpile (European Humanitarian Response Capacity) stored in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Europe to be able to send aid more quickly to crisis areas, such as in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in 2023.
In addition, the EU provided 149,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine through the largest-ever operation under the Civil Defence Mechanism and coordinated the evacuation of more than 3,500 Ukrainian patients to hospitals across Europe.
To protect aid workers on the ground around the world, the EU has launched the “Protect Aid Workers” initiative to support those who fall victim to attacks and other security incidents while on mission with legal assistance and rapid financial assistance. The first of its kind, the mechanism has distributed grants totaling more than 240,000 euros to 25 humanitarian workers in need since February 2024. Through the initiative, the EU aims to create a safety net for aid workers on the ground, who often have limited resources and cannot rely on the protection of large international organizations.
More Information
EU humanitarian aid
Statement by High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell and Commissioner Janez Lenarčić on World Humanitarian Day 2024
Protecting aid workers
EU Humanitarian Aid Bridge
