In the last few weeks, the European Union has provided EUR59 million in humanitarian aid to several countries around the globe – much needed assistance to victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts.

The European Union as a whole is one of the world’s main humanitarian aid donors and the Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) is the service of the European Commission responsible for this activity.

Through ECHO funding, some 18 million people are helped each year in more than 60 countries through 200 partners (NGOs, ICRC, and UN agencies like the UNHCR and the WFP). The Humanitarian Aid Office spends more than EUR700 million a year on financing humanitarian projects.

In the period 2002 to 2006, ECHO has provided more than EUR3,030 million in humanitarian aid. The concept is not only to provide assistance when disaster strikes but also to prevent disasters.

In line with its commitment to support Disaster Risk Reduction, on 25 July the European Commission allocated EUR18 million from its humanitarian aid budget to improve the facilities of communities at risk. The regions that will be benefiting from this aid are the Caribbean, South America and South Asia, three regions that are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tropical storms, drought, floods and landslides.

These types of disaster result in losses in the social and economic sector and reduce the development potential of the three regions. This highlights the ongoing need for disaster preparedness activities and the significance of community-based disaster risk reduction efforts, which enable the communities affected to be prepared for future natural disasters.

The importance of disaster preparedness is clearly recognised in ECHO’s mandate, and in 1996 a specific programme was launched, DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness ECHO) that is dedicated to disaster preparedness.

Since the launch of the DIPECHO programme in 1996, ECHO has invested more than EUR120 million in disaster preparedness.

A good example of this funding is the story of the Tajikistani village of Savda. During the summer, Nigora, like most of the children from Savda, often went to play near the stream situated about two kilometres from her village, in south-west Tajikistan.

Until recently, the natural source stream was the only source of fresh drinking water for the 500 inhabitants of the village.

Access to the stream is difficult, especially in winter when the path is covered with snow and ice. On average it took at least half a day to climb up to the stream and back down to the village carrying the heavy water containers, and sometimes the inhabitants were tempted to drink stagnant water. Last year, Nigora caught hepatitis after drinking infected water and died. She was only seven years old.

Thanks to ECHO funding, things have changed for the inhabitants of this isolated community. Drinking water is now brought from the stream to a big reservoir situated in the

village centre and four manual pumps have been installed to supply the whole village and guarantee that the community’s essential water needs are met.

The project was implemented by ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development).

The villagers installed the pipelines and constructed the water installation supported by the World Food Programme’s (WFP) “food for work” project. The water reservoir was donated by the local authorities.

Many Tajikistani children like Nigora have been the victims of water-related diseases, their resistance reduced by extreme poverty and a lack of adequate food in a country that is struggling to recover from the effects of severe drought and civil war. ACTED and other ECHO partners have contributed to improving access to drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in Tajikistan.

On 31 July, ECHO reached another ground-breaking partnership with the WFP – a contribution of EUR3 million aimed at strengthening the globe-straddling network of five humanitarian response depots that WFP manages on behalf of the humanitarian community.

The depots hold basic supplies (food, shelter and medical kits) and operational support equipment such as offices, living accommodation, communications equipment, logistical items and other useful tools to provide assistance.

The world in which we live is far from being perfect. Too many human beings suffer and fewer have a positive vision of the future. However, what is unbearable is that, for a large number of people, even their basic needs are not fulfilled. That is why we must unite, assist and give that little more to help.

In sub-Saharan Africa and in Southern Asia, more than 40 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. Throughout the world, 200 million children suffer from constant malnutrition. Contagious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, are shattering the poor population of developing countries. The priority is and remains poverty alleviation and sustainable development. The development policy of the EU is based on the principle of sustainable, equitable development, which also involves a social and human aspect.

The promotion of human rights, democracy and the principles of good governance are central themes. As regards emergency aid, the approach is based on the accomplishment of dealing with basic needs.

Exercising such solidarity must be seen as a major political challenge. That is why the European Union is determined to do its best to see to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals – an ambitious project that, with global commitment, can be reached.

David Casa is a Nationalist MEP

[email protected]

www.davidcasa.eu