Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid arriving by plane at Rinas Airport in Albania in the summer of 1999. Many organizations engaged in assisting refugees fleeing Kosovo.

A distribution point for humanitarian aid in Southern Kosovo in 1999. In this case, food donated by USAID to an international NGO is being distributed by a local NGO to recipient families. Note the cans of cooking oil and sacks of flour being broken down into family sized rations by distribution point volunteers.

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may therefore be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency.

Humanitarian aid is delivered by governmental and non-governmental aid agencies which are funded by donations from individuals, corporations, governments and other organisations. The funding and delivery of humanitarian aid is increasingly being organised at an international level to facilitate faster and more effective responses to major emergencies affecting large numbers of people (eg. see Central Emergency Response Fund). The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinates the international humanitarian response to a crisis or emergency pursuant to Resolution 46/182 of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Humanitarian Charter of the "Sphere" coalition of leading private voluntary organisations lists the following as principles of humanitarian action:
*The right to life with dignity
*The distinction between combatant and non-combatants
*The principle of non-refoulement

Humanitarian aid: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Humanitarian aid

See also

External links