Head office of the humanitarian aid

ECHO (acronym of the English European Community Humanitarian aid Office ) is the Service of Humanitarian Aid of the European commission.

The European Union as a whole (i.e. the whole of the Member States and the Commission) is one of the principal givers of humanitarian aid on a world level.

The mandate entrusted to ECHO by the European Union (EC) n°1257/96 consists in carrying emergency assistance and help to the victims of natural disasters or conflicts apart from the European Union. This help is directly directed towards the populations in distress, without reference of race, religion or political opinion.

To achieve its mission, the Service of Humanitarian Aid quickly mobilizes helps in kind (goods of first need, food products specific, medical device, drugs, fuel) or in the form of services (medical teams, teams of water treatment, logistical support) by calling upon its partners.

Since 1992, ECHO conveyed of emergency aid and the assistance to the rebuilding in areas in crisis of more than 85 countries of the world. The annual budget managed by ECHO is of more than 500 million Euros.

The budget of ECHO varies in the neighborhoods of 500 - 600 million Euro S each year. It is redistributed to approximately 80-90% for the conflicts and 10-20% for the natural disasters.

The assistance arrives mainly at the Africa (50%) and for the Asia (20%).

External bonds

Official site of ECHO
Activities of the European Union - Synthesis of the legislation in the field of the humanitarian aid
Payment (EC) No 1257/96 of the Council of June 20th, 1996 concerning the humanitarian aid (OJ L 163 of the 2.7.1996, p. 1)

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