What is humanitarian aid?
Help in times of need
As a result of disasters, conflicts or crises, people often find themselves in life-threatening emergency situations. In such cases, Help provides humanitarian aid. But what does this term actually mean and what are the humanitarian principles?
Definition: Humanitarian aid
“Humanitarian aid” refers to support for people in acute humanitarian emergencies that they are unable to cope with on their own. Humanitarian need arises, for example, as a result of armed conflicts, natural disasters or health crises such as epidemics. In such situations, many people are left with nothing. Humanitarian aid aims to provide rapid assistance to those affected, ensure their survival and alleviate their suffering.
Aid organizations such as Help then provide people with drinking water, food, medicines, tents and other relief supplies, but also provide initial medical care, psychosocial support or cash assistance.
In 2024, around 320 million people worldwide were dependent on humanitarian aid, particularly in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Sahel region.
Fundamental humanitarian principles
To ensure that people in emergency situations can survive in dignity, humanitarian aid is based on four fundamental principles that have been recognized by the UN General Assembly as the basis of global humanitarian aid.
All humanitarian aid organizations work according to these basic principles.
- Humanity: The aim of humanitarian aid is to alleviate human suffering wherever possible and to save lives.
- Impartiality: Humanitarian aid is based on need and must not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religious affiliation, nationality, ethnicity or ideology.
- Neutrality: In conflict situations, no sides are taken or certain sides favored. Neutrality enables aid providers to gain access to people in need.
- Independence: Humanitarian objectives are independent of political, military, economic or other objectives.
Difference: Humanitarian aid and development cooperation
Humanitarian aid aims to alleviate the suffering of people who are acutely affected by crises, conflicts or disasters in the short term. This emergency aid can last for several weeks to months.
Development cooperation, on the other hand, aims to improve living conditions as well as economic, social, ecological and political conditions on a long-term and sustainable basis. Development cooperation combats poverty and helps to prevent crises by strengthening people's resilience. As this involves working together with the countries and the population, it is often referred to as "international cooperation".
Helping people to help themselves is at the heart of development cooperation. Typical measures include the promotion of agricultural activities, the creation of jobs and the strengthening of structures.
Humanitarian aid and development cooperation usually go hand in hand: after acute emergencies, humanitarian aid often turns into development cooperation, for example to promote sustainable reconstruction or to help those affected to become self-sufficient in the long term.
World Humanitarian Day
Humanitarian aid workers are exposed to many risks every day in conflict and crisis areas. In 2024, more people died during aid missions than ever before: 339 humanitarian aid workers were killed - 197 of them in the Gaza Strip alone. A further 198 were injured and 111 kidnapped.
To honor the commitment of humanitarian aid workers worldwide and raise awareness of the challenges and dangers they face in their work, the United Nations has declared a day of remembrance. World Humanitarian Day is dedicated to humanitarian aid workers every year on August 19.
August 19 was chosen to commemorate the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003, which killed 22 people, including UN Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. World Humanitarian Day is also an occasion to promote global solidarity and encourage the international community to provide and support humanitarian aid.
