The Federal Foreign Office's humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid supports people who are in acute need as a result of natural disasters, epidemics, armed conflicts or internal unrest.

The German Government funds suitable relief projects run by UN humanitarian organizations, German NGOs and Red Cross organizations. The Federal Foreign Office is responsible for this field within the German Government.

The central guiding principle of the German Government's work is that humanitarian aid be geared exclusively to meeting the needs created by the emergency and be granted regardless of race, sex, religion, nationality, political convictions or other criteria.

The Federal Foreign Office funds humanitarian emergency and disaster aid, in particular help for refugees and internally displaced persons. In awareness of the fact that the devastating effects of major natural disasters are usually due to insufficient preparedness, the Federal Foreign Office also finances measures in the sphere of disaster prevention. By contrast, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provides development-oriented emergency aid, thus providing support which immediately follows emergency humanitarian aid and which bridges the gap until longer-term development cooperation begins or lays the groundwork for such cooperation. It fosters projects involving food aid, the creation or restoration of a minimum degree of infrastructure, food security and the reintegration of refugees.

In 2005, the Federal Foreign Office funded almost 341 humanitarian aid projects to the tune of some 72 million euro. Of this amount, 16,6 million euro alone were allocated to aid for Darfur. In addition to this, some 5 million euro were used for assistance within the context of the Balkans Stability Pact, and roughly 16,7 million for humanitarian mine action projects. Germany is thus one of the world's major donors of humanitarian relief.