Instrument for Humanitarian Aid

The Instrument for Humanitarian Aid provides special grants in the larger context of health issues. It targets third countries and aims at people in developing countries and covers not only short-term relief but also disaster prevention and reconstruction operations. Such operations are targeted at the immediate requirements arising out of natural (e.g. flooding, earthquakes) or man-made disasters (e.g. outbreaks of war and fighting) and other exceptional comparable circumstances. The humanitarian aid is primarily intended to:

save life during emergencies and their immediate aftermath;
provide the necessary assistance and relief to people affected by longer-lasting crises arising, in particular, from outbreaks of fighting or wars,
carry out short-term rehabilitation and reconstruction work, especially on infrastructure and equipment, in the post-emergency phase;
cope with the consequences of population movements by means of schemes to assist repatriation and resettlement where appropriate;
ensure preparedness for the risks concerned and use a suitable rapid earlywarning and intervention system.

A Union humanitarian aid operation can be initiated at the request of the Commission, NGOs, international organisations, Member States or beneficiary countries.