EU, €1.8 billion allocated for humanitarian assistance in 2024. A quarter to Gaza and the Middle East

Brussels – More than €1.8 billion to support nearly 300 million people worldwide in 2024, while “the gap between humanitarian needs and available resources continues to widen.” Today (Feb. 12), the European Commission released the allocations for humanitarian aid in the new year, following the adoption of the initial annual budget in this policy area. “In 2023, the funding gap has reached new record levels, as not even 40 per cent of the $56.7 billion needed has been provided,” warned Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič: “In the face of this worrying trend, the EU Commission will continue to fund humanitarian action in support of the most vulnerable, regardless of who and where they are in the world.”

Of the €1.8 billion in humanitarian aid available to the EU executive for the new year, a quarter (470 million) will be allocated “to address the extreme humanitarian needs of Gaza and the Palestinian civilian population” but also to meet the needs of the ongoing regional crisis in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and neighbouring Middle Eastern countries. Another €200 million for the consequences of “forced displacement, food insecurity, acute and chronic malnutrition, natural hazards, and recurrent epidemics” in the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger), the Central African Republic, and the Lake Chad Basin (Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria). About €346 million will support people in Eastern and Southern Africa affected by conflicts in the Great Lakes region and those displaced by extreme weather events and armed conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Madagascar, Mozambique, and the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia).

The remaining humanitarian aid budget will be divided among Asia, the European neighbourhood, and the Americas, plus €315 million reserved for sudden-onset emergencies and unforeseen humanitarian crises that may occur during the year (also given the resource drain at the end of 2023). Specifically, 115 million will be allocated to Southeastern Europe and the European neighbourhood (primarily to deal with the consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine and for the effects of the Syrian crisis in Turkey), 186 million to Southern Asia and the Pacific (for the impact of climate change and humanitarian response in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the Philippines) and 111.6 million will go to Central and South America and the Caribbean (crises in Venezuela and Haiti, consequences of armed conflicts in Colombia, and rampant violence in Mexico and Ecuador).

“This shared global responsibility cannot be taken on by Europe alone,” the European Commissioner for Crisis Management warned. However: “In 2023, over 91 per cent of contributions came from just 20 donors,” among which the top three (including the European Union) will provide “58 per cent of the humanitarian aid available globally.” Commissioner Lenarčič described this situation as “unsustainable”, and, for this reason,  “it is essential that the international community finds a more balanced and equitable way to finance humanitarian assistance, in line with the capacities of each individual country.” For its part, the outgoing EU Commission also promises for the future of the Union that “we will continue to support and mobilize the international community to close this alarming funding gap collectively.”