News
| May |
“Mahasen” – Assessing the damage
21/05/2013 - Fears of widespread devastation were allayed as tropical storm Mahasen lost power quickly as it moved inland after hitting Patuakhali district in southern Bangladesh on Thursday. ...
Tropical Cyclone Mahasen: Experts arriving in Bangladesh
16/05/2013 - As Tropical Cyclone Mahasen begins to lash the coast of Bangladesh and Myanmar with fierce winds and heavy rain, three humanitarian experts from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) are due to arrive in Bangladesh on Thursday morning...
The new Emergency Response Centre: Ready to respond when disaster strikes
15/05/2013 - Natural and man-made disasters continue to increase in number and intensity since many years: in 1975 there were 78 recorded disasters worldwide; since the year 2000, the number has consistently been between 310 and 432 per year, including in Europe...
The European Union allocates an extra €12 million in humanitarian aid for Mali
15/05/2013 - The European Union will allocate an extra €12 million in humanitarian aid for Mali. This was announced today by ECHO´s commissioner Kristalina Georgieva during the international donor conference for the development of Mali, organised in Brussels jointly by the European Union, France and Mali...
Jordan: Commissioner Georgieva announces additional funding for Syrian Crisis
13/05/2013 - On Saturday, 11 May, Commissioner Georgieva announced an additional humanitarian funding allocation of €65 million for the spiralling humanitarian crisis in and around Syria...
ECHO and UNICEF launch EU Children of Peace Project
13/05/2013 - With financing from the Nobel Peace Prize Money awarded to the European Union last December, UNICEF and the EU today signed an agreement to support the education of 3 000 conflict-affected children in North-western Pakistan as part of the EU Children of Peace initiative to which the Nobel Peace Prize funds are dedicated...
Providing food vouchers in Lebanon to Syrian refugees
07/05/2013 - Lebanon, which borders with Syria’s southwest, is a common destination for Syrians fleeing the bloodshed in their country. ..
| April |
European and African decision-makers discuss improving food security and boosting resilience to disasters
26/04/2013 - Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva is in Addis Ababa where members of the European Commission are meeting the African Union Commission for their 6th joint session...
Time is running out for Syria
25/04/2013 - Commissioner Kristalina GEORGIEVA issues this dire warning in an Op-Ed which appeared in the Huff Post on 23 April...
Madagascar: Fall-out from cyclone Haruna - EU activates Civil Protection Mechanism
05/04/2013 - The passage of the tropical cyclone Haruna in February 2013, which affected over 40,000 people in Madagascar, has again highlighted the dangers of chemical and industrial accidents and spills following natural disasters....
| March |
Southern Africa – ECHO and IFRC Responding to Small Scale Disasters
27/03/2013 - Heavy rains have pounded Southern African countries resulting in widespread flooding, destruction of property, and loss of lives...
Worsening humanitarian situation in Central African Republic
25/03/2013 - Following the Séléka rebel coalition takeover of Central African Republic's (CAR) capital city Bangui, the situation in the city remains unclear. Lootings of humanitarian compounds and people's homes have been reported...
EU-Japan: forging closer cooperation in disaster management
25/03/2013 - Kristalina Georgieva and Akihiro Ohta have exchanged letters providing a framework to further enhance EU-Japan cooperation in disaster management....
Water is life – Celebrating World Water Day on 22 March
22/03/2013 - It is the most basic of human needs. It is something we often take for granted but for more than 2 billion people around the world, water is a luxury...
Better protection against disasters for Europeans and Russians
22/03/2013 - The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department ECHO and The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) have today strengthened the 2008 agreement on cooperation during emergencies...
Additional €1,5 million for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean
15/03/2013 - Almost five months after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Caribbean and North America, the EU has increased its aid to the victims of the disaster...
New EU policy to improve nutrition and save millions of lives
13/03/2013 - The European Union steps up its efforts against hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition...
€3 million in humanitarian aid to help the flood-affected population of Mozambique
12/03/2013 - The European Commission is allocating €3 million in humanitarian aid to help the most vulnerable people affected by heavy rains which have battered several Southern African countries...
Japan earthquake and tsunami – two years on
11/03/2013 - Two years have passed today since one of the biggest disasters in Japan's history...
International Women's Day: Women in Emergency situations
08/03/2013 - In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) meeting protection needs of vulnerable IDPs remains one of the biggest challenges during periods of conflict....
Sombre statistic: Syrian refugees numbers pass the 1 million mark
07/03/2013 - The humanitarian situation in Syria has continued to worsen over the past weeks as violence intensifies and fighting continues throughout the country...
ECHO - Red Cross partnership for Disaster Relief Emergency Fund Renewed
06/03/2013 – Whether major or silent, disasters have been measuredly increasing around the world for the last 30 years. With millions of lives affected, the national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies have helped victims of small and large disasters, often in partnership with ECHO...
Additional humanitarian aid for the victims of Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines
05/03/2013 –An additional €7 million of humanitarian aid have been released by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department ECHO to help those affected by typhoon Bopha...
Immediate humanitarian aid of €200 000 allocated for Madagascar's cyclone victims
01/03/2013 – Madagascar, the world’s fourth biggest island is prone to cyclones and tropical storms, particularly during the rainy season between January and April. This year saw the strongest tropical cyclone so far, Haruna...
| February |
Turning up the volume of silent disasters
18/02/2013 – 91% of disasters the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) respond to are not reported by the media as they are deemed small or medium sized disasters. Despite this, the suffering of people cannot be measured...
€1.8 million of humanitarian aid for victims of tropical cyclone Evan in Fiji and Samoa
14/02/2013 – The European Union is providing €1.8 million to fund humanitarian assistance to communities affected by tropical cyclone Evan, which caused wide-spread damage in Fiji and Samoa in December 2012...
Feb 17th, 150 years of humanitarian aid: Happy Birthday ICRC!
14/02/2013 – Only a few symbols qualify as "universal". One of these has been present for 150 years now on our planet and wherever humans are hit by the violence of other humans or conflict, it reminds us of this permanent movement of humanity and solidarity: the Red Cross...
WFP and EU present "Building Stronger Communities" in Brussels
08/02/2013 – Public photography exhibition highlighting cooperation to fight hunger and save lives...
| January |
€100 million extra pledged to Syria as humanitarian needs grow
29/01/2013 – With over 4 million people in need of aid from the Syrian conflict, the European Commission will pledge an additional €100 million of humanitarian funding...
Mali crisis – additional €20 million to respond to worsening humanitarian situation
22/01/2013 – Commissioner Georgieva today announced the mobilisation of an additional €20 million for Mali as the worsening crisis requires immediate relief for the people fleeing the conflict and for the growing number of severely malnourished children...
Urban refugees through the lens of photographer Andrew McConnell at St Pancras International in London
15/01/2013 – The awareness raising campaign about urban refugees conceived by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in cooperation with the European Commission has reached London in January this year...
Haiti earthquake three years on: ECHO scales up humanitarian aid by €30.5 million
11/01/2013 – Three years after the devastating earthquake struck Haiti, the EU continues to address the humanitarian needs in the country...
Severe weather in northern Jordan: Blankets and heaters have reached Syrian refugees
11/01/2013 – Heavy rain, snow and sub-zero temperatures in northern Jordan have greatly worsened the situation of the 47,000 Syrian refugees at the Za'atari camp near the border...
Where the European Commission's humanitarian aid will go in 2013
The European Commission has adopted its plan for the allocation of over €661 million in humanitarian aid funding for 2013. This so-called World-Wide Decision on Humanitarian Aid is the financial backbone of the Commission's humanitarian aid operational strategy for 2013.
New Food Assistance Convention comes into force
01/01/2013 - The new Food Assistance Convention comes into force on 01 January 2013. Strongly supported by the European Commission, the Food Assistance Convention is an agreement confirming the international community’s commitment to fight against hunger and under-nutrition.
