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Federal Cabinet adopts report on German humanitarian assistance for the 2014-2017 period

07.11.2018 - Press release

On 7 November 2018, the Federal Cabinet adopted the Federal Government’s report on German humanitarian assistance abroad for the 2014-2017 period. Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement on this today (7 November):

Some 134 million people are now dependent on humanitarian assistance. This number continues to grow as a result of more and more protracted humanitarian crises.



Germany has stepped up its efforts significantly in recent years, a fact that is reflected by the report on our humanitarian assistance adopted today. We have quadrupled our humanitarian assistance since 2014 and were the world’s second-largest state donor in 2017, having contributed around 1.7 billion euros in that year. In the coming years, Germany must continue to live up to its responsibility to help people in need. I will work to ensure that this is taken into account in the budgetary affairs of the German Bundestag.


The report also shows how we are helping to get humanitarian assistance to the people who need it faster and more efficiently. We are committed to ensuring that humanitarian assistance is provided with still greater foresight. This is how we intend to reduce and, wherever possible, prevent human suffering.


Over the past four years, we have helped people affected by the Syrian conflict, whether they have found refuge in one of Syria’s neighbouring countries or are still in Syria. We have used over 40 percent of the German humanitarian assistance funds to support them. We have also been working particularly hard to alleviate the suffering caused by the Yemen conflict and food crises in parts of Africa.


Germany cannot meet the growing humanitarian need alone. This is why we are using our international role, for example, to persuade other states to get involved at donor conferences for the crisis in Syria.


Furthermore, we will be particularly committed in the UN Security Council to protecting humanitarian aid workers so that aid gets to where it is most urgently needed


Background information:

On 7 November, the Federal Cabinet adopted the Federal Government’s report on German humanitarian assistance abroad for the 2014-2017 period. The report will then be passed to the Bundestag. A decision by the Bundestag constitutes the basis for this four-yearly report, which is drafted in each legislative term.

Germany has been helping to provide humanitarian assistance around the world for many years. According to the UN, the global humanitarian need has increased sharply in recent years. In 2014, the annual demand was estimated to be 16.8 billion US dollars; in 2017, this figure was put at 23.5 billion US dollars. Against this backdrop, Germany set aside a total of 3.97 billion euros for humanitarian assistance from 2014 to 2017.

The Federal Government is working in the field of humanitarian assistance with partners such as the UN organisations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and non-governmental organisations in order to alleviate human suffering. In particular, the Federal Government is helping people in need in the Middle East (including Syria, Iraq and Yemen) and Africa (the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa).

Food and health care, aid for people affected by displacement and forced migration, humanitarian mine action and disaster relief are priorities of German humanitarian assistance.

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